The magic of going to the movie theater is gone. 

I remember at the beginning of quarantine in March, I plopped onto my couch and opened Disney Plus on one tab and Netflix on the other. After minutes of scrolling through a large variety of television shows and movies, I decided to start Grey’s Anatomy. With 16 seasons, I figured it would occupy me for a good amount of time, especially because each episode is 45 minutes, and there are close to 20 episodes per season. 

I was wrong. I finished all of it in one month. I binged day after day, episode after episode, until I was done. I cried and I laughed, and it was an insane emotional rollercoaster and experience. The television shows that I binged very quickly included The Vampire Diaries, The Originals, Legacies and The 100 on Netflix. I became sucked into all the individual plots, plot twists and developed connections to a lot of the characters. 

With my Disney Plus subscription, I was lucky to have long movie series to watch, such as the Marvel Cinematic Universe and the Pirates of the Carribean movies. These two film series are the only exception for me. Also, with but a few coming-of-age films from the ’90s and early 2010s, almost every movie I watched during quarantine was just to give me something to do. However, I watched The Fault in Our Stars repeatedly because I fell in love with the plot, and I never got bored. It is a sad movie, but for me it brings so much comfort and love in a time of desperation and loneliness. 

Watching movies at home during the stay-at-home orders has helped pass the time, to be sure, but I do also miss actually leaving my house to see a film in a theater. 

Going to the movie theater was such a fond memory. My family would pick a movie, typically a comedy, we would eat dinner before, and then we would catch a late showing. But now, it’s a little less fun to watch movies because watching a movie at home in comparison to watching a movie at the theater is so different. The only positive thing about watching movies at home is that you don’t have to worry about disturbing others. You can laugh, cry and scream at the screen as much as you want because there is nobody listening to the sound but you and your family. 

Watching movies at home is so different from watching movies at a theater. Watching movies at home makes it possible for you to grab a blanket, and curl up on the couch instead of being confined to a leather chair for two hours.

Still, we all miss going to theaters, each in our own way. The reality is, though, that even when the pandemic passes the movie theater may be very different — if it even exists at all. 

Many large theater corporations have had bankruptcy scares because of the lack of income coming in. Regal Cinemas is one of them. The company has managed to receive a $450 million dollar loan to stay afloat. However, large amounts of money could lead to immense debt and could eventually lead to the downfall of movie theaters themselves. 

AMC said it may have to file for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy. AMC is a very large corporation, but just like many others it could lose everything because of COVID-19. We all miss the AMC movie experience, as well as the snacks they provide. AMC makes popcorn a certain way that is so amazing.

Do I miss watching movies at the theater? Yes, I do, but there are a lot of plus sides to watching movies at home. For example, I never thought that pausing a movie would help me understand the plot a little better, but it does.

In any case, it’s not like any of us are going to be attending a red carpet premiere anytime soon, right?