From a purely financial prospective it probably makes sense to just put up the prestige stuff on streaming but it makes me kind of sad. I'm in my early 40s and generally like a lot of movies that are considered arthouse or prestige. When I do see these movies in theatres, I am also often the youngest person in the theatre by about 25-3…
From a purely financial prospective it probably makes sense to just put up the prestige stuff on streaming but it makes me kind of sad. I'm in my early 40s and generally like a lot of movies that are considered arthouse or prestige. When I do see these movies in theatres, I am also often the youngest person in the theatre by about 25-30 years or so, maybe more. This was true before the pandemic (Kore'era Hirokazu's Shoplifters and My Little Sister) and after the pandemic (Drive My Car).
There was a cultural sea change and I think it happened before Avatar but the explosion of the MCU and movies like Avatar continued the trend. I think in the 1960s, there was a bit of cultural cache for at least attempting to be into what would become the Criterion Cannon. It was exciting and different than the stuff produced by Hollywood. Now this cultural cache appears to be gone except among a small section of society (aka SLAC graduates).
I live in the Bay Area, which probably has more of a penchant for going to theaters for prestige cinema than most places. But even here your observation about the age of the audience would hold some portion of truth. Lots of younger people at Avatar, MCU, etc. Lots of older people at prestige dramas. I also watch it all on streaming too -- but there is something special about the live, collective experience, they going out to get a drink and talk afterwards, etc. There's also something about timing where there's an actual sense of a "release." I think those things are/were so important to building a community around shared culture.
From a purely financial prospective it probably makes sense to just put up the prestige stuff on streaming but it makes me kind of sad. I'm in my early 40s and generally like a lot of movies that are considered arthouse or prestige. When I do see these movies in theatres, I am also often the youngest person in the theatre by about 25-30 years or so, maybe more. This was true before the pandemic (Kore'era Hirokazu's Shoplifters and My Little Sister) and after the pandemic (Drive My Car).
There was a cultural sea change and I think it happened before Avatar but the explosion of the MCU and movies like Avatar continued the trend. I think in the 1960s, there was a bit of cultural cache for at least attempting to be into what would become the Criterion Cannon. It was exciting and different than the stuff produced by Hollywood. Now this cultural cache appears to be gone except among a small section of society (aka SLAC graduates).
I live in the Bay Area, which probably has more of a penchant for going to theaters for prestige cinema than most places. But even here your observation about the age of the audience would hold some portion of truth. Lots of younger people at Avatar, MCU, etc. Lots of older people at prestige dramas. I also watch it all on streaming too -- but there is something special about the live, collective experience, they going out to get a drink and talk afterwards, etc. There's also something about timing where there's an actual sense of a "release." I think those things are/were so important to building a community around shared culture.