Cinema has been celebrated and revered for delivering a form of art to audiences for over a century. Avid fans flocked to theaters hungry for more answers in “The Empire Strikes Back” (1980) while teary-eyed viewers walked out fascinated by what they saw in “Titanic” (1997). Movies like these transcended generations with their sound design, editing, camerawork, dialogue and subtle motifs.
The big screen now faces a series of challenges from a lack of audience engagement to production slowdowns. A report from ProdPro shows Hollywood spent $11.3 billion on productions in the second quarter of 2024, an increase of approximately 39% from the same period in 2023.
A higher budget doesn’t necessarily mean audience attendance is guaranteed to be successful. “The 355” (2022), a film about a team of international female spies who join forces to prevent a global threat involving a powerful cyber weapon, had a $75 million budget but made only $18 million worldwide. The production team made no profit as fewer people watched the movie than expected.
“This purpose, this drive, this reason, this obsession, and this delusion to make art, it’s not to make money,” said AJ Fitzgerald, screenwriter and producer for The Last Option. “If you are making movies to make money, you are doing this wrong.”
Streaming Services’ Impact
The COVID-19 pandemic shifted the film industry as movie theaters closed and many lost their jobs. Consumers turned to streaming services like Netflix, Hulu and Disney+, where their movie-watching experience transformed. Companies realized the profitability of streaming and decided to release movies like “Turning Red” (2022), “Prey” (2022), and “Nomadland” (2020) directly to those platforms.
Netflix added more than 8 million subscribers in its second quarter in 2024, growing its number of users to 277.6 million. The success of streaming services can be attributed to the return of big hits like “Bridgerton” (2020) and the live recording of “The Roast of Tom Brady” (2022).
“Streaming is a big reason why everything is just way more accessible, but I think also the quality of what we can find online has become oversaturated,” said Michelle Hung, Filmgate Operations’ manager. “There’s now a saturation of content specifically curated to people’s interests and niches.”
Artificial Intelligence
The recent surge in artificial intelligence (AI) programs has also impacted theater attendance. AI has transformed how content is created and consumed with streaming services like Netflix and Amazon Prime using AI algorithms to recommend personalized content. Viewers are now shown movies that are catered to their liking, in addition to a wide range of content on their TVs, rather than relying solely on traditional cinema.
“[AI] definitely has a long way to go, but I think Sora’s coming out with OpenAI, showing some of the examples of the videos we’ve been able to create,” said Tony Romeo, a film director from the University of Miami. “Even the people . . . it’s insane how detailed and high-quality it is. It’s pretty advanced, so it poses a pretty big threat.”
These quick visual implementations have led to big-budget films being produced faster. The action and sci-fi film “Everything, Everywhere, All at Once” (2022), which follows an ordinary woman who must connect with alternate versions of herself from parallel universes to stop a powerful entity from destroying the multiverse, was created using Runway AI, and the film scored many Oscar awards the following year. Romeo shared he’s already taken classes catered to using AI in digital media.
“It’s definitely a long way, but there are programs coming out soon that I feel are going to cause problems for a lot of people in the film industry,” said Romeo. “These programs can recreate them in 4K and you won’t even know the difference.”
The Movie Experience
The current film production process and viewer consumption patterns reflects the industry’s tendency to adapt quickly to changing times. Since the start of the pandemic, the number of movie theaters has decreased significantly. This decline persists today, with many theaters struggling to attract audiences who have grown accustomed to the convenience of streaming services. The ongoing impact includes hybrid release models and fewer opportunities for smaller films, reshaping the industry’s landscape.
“The film industry is experiencing a renaissance, characterized by experimentation and innovation,” said Hung. “As consumers, we crave films that bring us back to reality, telling stories that resonate with our everyday lives and experiences.”
The moviegoing experience of sitting in a theater with strangers cannot be replicated on a couch at home. The collective gasp at a plot twist, the shared laughter at a comedic moment, and the simultaneous tears during a poignant scene create a unique atmosphere that enhances the overall impact of a film. This communal aspect of movie-watching fosters a sense of unity and shared experience that transcends individual differences.
“I remember when Percy Jackson came out,” Romeo reminisced. “We went to the movie theaters, and we were sitting on the floor because of how packed the theater was. It was the best thing I’d ever seen at the time, and even on the floor, it was an experience.”
Popular streaming services, advancements in AI, the availability of international films, and changes in audience behavior all contribute to cinema’s new path. As the industry continues to navigate these sudden changes, it will be interesting to see how film’s future unfolds, balancing innovation and new technologies with the timeless need for generational storytelling.
