Back in 2020 the movie theatre industry was forced to come to a sudden halt due to the pandemic, theatres were closed nationwide and many big studios had to turn to straight to streaming releases to make up for lost ticket sales, but what has been happening with the industry in the years following and how have streaming and other things affected theaters?
Mike Klassen is the manager and programmer at the Hyland cinema and says that audiences have “looked different for sure” since covid saying the younger demographic is “smarter and more well-watched than any other demographic.”
While some may suggest streaming is hurting the theatre industry Klassen says that the access to huge libraries of movies through platforms like Criterion channel and Tubi has led to the 15-25 demographic watching such a large amount of movies because of the variety of options and easy access to the platforms as well as the popularity of movie review platforms such as Letterboxd.
While some may still prefer the environment of a movie night at home over a night at the theatre, Klassen talked about the theatre experience the Hyland offers saying “we try to differentiate ourselves from other experiences at bigger theatres” as well as the theatre’s focus with their showings, “we try to focus on what’s called event-ising films, whether that’s retro programming or newer films.” Klassen also said the theatre pride themselves on their friendly and passionate staff and that the Hyland is the only theatre in the area to still play movies on 35 millimeter film.
While streaming may be an option now for those looking to have a night at home, Klassen says that the industry can combat all the obstacles in their way by making their shows an event for the viewers on top of the movie.
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