Newsweek: Why Movie Theaters Will Survive Streaming | Opinion

Newsweek: Why Movie Theaters Will Survive Streaming | Opinion

Most Americans don’t have a full home theater, but many have big-screen TVs where they can watch movies in a way that complements—but doesn’t fully replace—the theatrical experience. Just as the advent of refrigerators, microwaves and ovens didn’t get rid of the restaurant industry, so streaming services aren’t likely to replace theatergoing, but rather to complement it, perhaps saving the theatrical experience for those films that have special meaning to viewers.

But beyond the space and financial limitations that keep Americans from making a theater at home, there is also the basic fact that people like to get away from their homes in large dark rooms and experience movies communally, with friends and family, laughing, crying, cheering and being inspired together. Sure, you could watch a rock concert in your living room on a big screen, but there’s something about the communal experience of being there that can never be replaced.