I wonder that. Especially because streaming services like Netflix and Co. Are gaining more and more popularity and are also publishing exclusive content more frequently.
In addition, the cinema was mostly closed this year and for the most part last year anyway.
Perhaps not extinction.
But maybe it will always be expensive or it will again only be accessible to people with certain privileges.
I don't think so because I'd just love to go to the cinema with friends. It remains something special and you can make wonderful memories. For me, that can't be replaced by a Netflix evening.
You can't predict that. But if the point is that you can watch films at home, then cinema should have long since died out. After all, the video cassette, for example, has been around for over 40 years, the DVD for more than 20 years, and the Bluray for almost 15. These formats have been and are being replaced by things like Netflix.
But yes, people have already become comfortable as the availability on the Internet is great. Many cinemas will certainly disappear, but not completely die out. After all, it has its appeal to go to the cinema, especially when "Corona" is over again.
I think streaming services will replace video stores or have already done so, but not the cinema. I can still remember the time when the video rental operators set heaven and earth in motion to take action against the illegal DVD distillery, even though the DVD had to be borrowed in order to burn it. Then came the streaming services and with a self-confident "C'est la vie" showed video rental operators where the real enemy lurks.
The cinemas won't kill them, they just bleed something. Streaming services can't replace the cinema experience. The cinema is more likely to be hurt by distributors who can't get enough of their throats and drive up prices.
Regarding the argument "You could watch films at home earlier" I would like to say that the important point is the release dates.
As a rule, a film appears first in the cinema and only about six months later as a DVD or the like. And at some point the film is no longer shown in the cinemas. So you don't always have to choose between "cinema or DVD", but also between "now or later". If the cinema and DVD releases of a film were to happen at the same time, I could well imagine that fewer people would go to the cinema and simply say to themselves "A DVD is cheaper than 4 cinema tickets and the living room does too". As a rule, the big companies probably don't do this because moviegoers make enough money.
But if streaming services manage to make more money with direct-to-stream publications and corresponding subscription models than with a cinema publication, the latter would no longer be worthwhile and then it could possibly be critical for the cinemas. It remains to be seen whether this is really the case.
Well, of course, going to the cinema is a different experience, but in the end it will probably be decisive whether it is still profitable enough for the film industry and not how it feels to the viewer.
I think cinema is a special kind of art. People who try to influence other people through acting in such a way that they sympathize, sympathize, love or hate. Of course there are also bad films at the moment, no wonder with all the sequels, prequels and remakes. And you can certainly watch a film in a cozy atmosphere at home. But when a captivating story with gripping acting and great backdrops is filmed, for me it just belongs on a big screen with a good sound system in the dark cinema hall. That is the atmosphere I need to really "see" a good film. And since many other people see it that way, cinema will exist for many years to come.
