The Current - Blockbusters can still bring us to the cinema

Episode Date: July 16, 2026

Christopher Nolan’s highly anticipated adaptation of The Odyssey is expected to bring audiences to movie theatres this weekend. We revisit a conversation with The Current Producer Meli Gumus on the magic of cinema and what we should be watching together.

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is a CBC podcast. Hello, I'm Matt Galloway, and this is the current podcast. So when was the last time you went to see a movie in a theater instead of hearing something like this? That Netflix chime is getting a lot of airtime these days. Checking showtimes, picking seats, grabbing fresh buttery popcorn, maybe a cold drink. Going to the movies is an experience many of us loved growing up, but then something happened, and we just stopped going. Watching a film in the theater with an audience is an experience.

And right now, the theater-going experience is under threat, and it's up to us to support them. If we don't reverse this trend, we'll be losing a vital part of our culture. This is my battle cry. That was director Sean Baker at the Oscars in 2025 after he won multiple Academy Awards for his movie, Anora. Sean isn't alone in his battle cry. There are many people in the industry worried about slipping box office sales. So why did we stop going to the movies? And what does that mean for our communities and for the industry?

The occurrence, Mali Gumush, spoke with Matt Galloway about this just ahead of the Academy Awards this past March. Here's their conversation. I actually want to start by asking you a question. Oh. When was the last time you went to see a movie? I couldn't possibly tell you. Like, I actually don't remember. I'm serious.

I don't remember the last time I went and sat in a theater. to watch a movie. Okay, so that's exactly why we're having this conversation today. Fewer people are going to the movies and people who still go, they don't go often. I know this because we work together. Every morning you are here with us putting out the current and I know you talk a lot about movies. You aren't part of that group. You go to a lot of movies. I'm not. I do go to a lot of movies. I love going to the movies and I always have. My mom took me to my first movie when I was 5. It was Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, the 2005 version. Not the original. No, not the original. And with the chocolate and the singing and the big screen, I was immediately sold. But the movie that made me actually fall in love with going to the theaters was James Cameron's avatar.

I saw it when I was 9 and Matt, I thought it was the most magical experience. And since then, going to the movies with people or by myself. it just became a part of my life. You go to a lot of movies? I go to a lot of movies. I try to go at least twice a month. And last year, I've seen about 30 movies in the theaters. That would, I think, would make you an outlier, right? A major one.

So Telefilm Canada did a national study to look at these movie-going habits in 2024. And in 2019, Canadians, on average, bought three tickets per person. And in 2024, that number dropped to 1.6 tickets. Every year. Every year. So that's almost half of what it was before the pandemic.

And I see this when I go as well. Most of the time, theaters aren't full. And I've been there when I was the only person before. And it might sound like a cool experience having the place all to yourself. But it doesn't feel right. Kind of weird. Who is still going, aside from you, who is still going to the movies? Younger people are the biggest ticket buyers.

85% of Canadians under 35 went to the movies in 2024. And that's a lot more than people over 35. And that trend still continues today. I spoke with Tirthadar. He's a professor and department chair of marketing and consumer studies at the University of Guelph. And he focuses on movies. 2005 was actually slightly better than 2024 in terms of attendance. Now what has happened is that Zensi moviegoers share of their attendance.

increased. So you can say a slight increase in the revenue, but it's not a sort of something that we can really celebrate in the sense. Still, the trend line is clear that this business, especially in terms of attendance, is a declining business. A declining business. There are some pretty obvious reasons that I could think of, but I'm not the expert. Why, as you understand it, are people not going to the movies? Like you said, some obvious reasons here. And the most obvious one, of course, is streaming platforms. I don't have to go to the movies. I can watch the movie at home. Exactly.

And we got used to that habit of watching movies at home, especially during the pandemic, because why would you go to a movie theater when you have hundreds and thousands of movies just a click away from you all the time? And a few years ago, it might have been easier for movie theaters to make a case for themselves

because most likely if you wanted to see that new blockbuster, you would only be able to see that at the theaters, not at home. But that's not the case anymore. Till Netflix and all the streamers came in, in general, it was three months between theatrical release versus any other, you know, sequential release in terms of DVDs or Blu-rays or, you know, television. Now, these streamers, you know, when they're making movies, they're basically putting this timeline much shorter, on a shorter leash. So a lot of the time, within two or three weeks, they are basically saying the movie needs to be on the streaming platform. And they have every interest to do that because they are not really making money on.

the theater. Their money is basically on the subscription side. So sooner they can put the movie on subscription, they're in fine shape. Frankenstein, Gerima D'Ltoro's latest movie. It was a great example of that this year. It's nominated for several Oscars and it was released exclusively in theaters, but only for three weeks, then started streaming on Netflix while still playing in theaters. How much of this isn't just about convenience, but it's also about the cost of actually going to the movies? So Matt, when getting people to go to the movies is already a challenge, it's even a harder sell to get people to pay for a movie that they can watch on a streaming platform that they already pay for,

especially now in an affordability crisis. And we talk to some people in downtown Vancouver about this. I used to go to movie theaters a lot like last year, especially with the $5 deal on Tuesdays. But now that I'm going to school and working part-time, I don't have a lot of money, so I don't go to the movie. movies a lot. But when I can, I still go because I love going to the movies. I wouldn't just, like, leave my house and go to the movies because I can binge on my couch. There's Netflix,

there's Prime, and all of those things. I still go, but not as often as before, because the price is obviously increased. The easiness of just staying at home kind of, and obviously the factor of the cost going up as well, too, and you're already paying for, like the Netflix's and others already. So I think people are generally trying to stay at home more often. I'm so old that I remember when it was the cheap night was $2 and $250 Tuesdays. Are there other reasons? Thank you. Are there other reasons that people stopped going to the movies? Awareness is another big one.

Many movies, they don't really get a big marketing push for theatrical release anymore, unless it's a big budget blockbuster. So if going to the movies and checking regularly what's in the theaters is not something that you already do, you might never hear about some of these movies until they appear on streaming. It happens to me, and I watch a lot of movies. Obviously. So if you don't know what movies are there, you're not going to go and see them. Exactly.

And for streaming platforms, that's okay. Their business relies on building habits and keeping subscriptions rather than selling movies. But for movie theaters, that's the key. So I ask you this as somebody who doesn't go to the movies, but you do. Why should we care about going to the movies? What do we actually gain from that experience, do you think? A lot, I think. And the quality of the experience is one thing.

But it's also so much more than that. It's this unique experience. We come together with other people in one room. We sit in silence and we feel things together. There's this sense of collectiveness. We laugh together. We cry together and we react as one. And it doesn't have to be all positive reactions either.

disliking a movie together or questioning what even is going on on the screen, it's fun. It's magical. I think the social aspect of it, especially with the movie that you're going to hate watch, like the whole room comes together just to hate on the movie, I guess. I really hope it doesn't die. If it dies, I don't know what I'm going to do. There's these aesthetics that come with the big screen, the popcorn, the snacks. There are movies that you don't just want to see on your phone or on.

Netflix. You just want to see it on the big screen. I think the last one I went to was Barbie with a girlfriend. The feeling of being with many, many people together in a large dark room and having the same experience, I enjoyed that a lot. But also that if it's a movie in a theater, it's contemporary. So you're experiencing something that has just been issued. It's part of the total feeling of society at the time. Like you're part of something larger. Does that feel familiar to?

So familiar. But I also had forgotten about that experience during the pandemic. Then theaters reopened and I went to see the new Spider-Man movie at the time. It was Spider-Man No Way Home. And Matt, I immediately fell back in love with the experience. The whole movie felt like I was watching it with my closest. friends, we all gasped at the same time, we laughed at the same time. It was just beautiful and we just truly enjoy the experience together. But that's exactly what the movie theaters do. They

make us feel immersed in the movie, be in the moment and it lets us connect with these strangers around us and feel something special together. Okay, so there are millions of podcasts and maybe you're cool to stick with the ones you already know you like. But if you're just a little paranoid about missing out on the best new stuff, we can help. Every other Thursday, the Sounds Good newsletter will bring you one must-hear show from CBC podcasts. And because we're true audio nerds, we'll also tell you about shows that we love that we didn't make. Go to cbc.ca.ca.s.coms sounds good to subscribe.

I mean, then that's a whole lot different than sitting at home by, it doesn't matter how big your television is, but sitting at home by yourself watching this on your own, right? Exactly. And especially in a movie theater, you focus better too. You're in this dark room. It's loud. There's a big screen, no talking, and there are no phones. And for many of us, that's a rare experience nowadays. When do we ever go to three hours during the day without being distracted by our phones and just watching and focusing what's in front of us and just what's in front of us? definitely can't do that while watching a movie at home. And watching it at home, you lose some of that magic. Not going to film theaters is kind of a loss. Some films are not made for being seen in the living room. I do remember a lot of films that have been looking in a film theater, whereas the films that I've been looking from the film theater.

whereas the films that I've been looking from the platforms, I don't remember the experience of it. Make your choice. That's Andre Goddrault. He's a cinema professor at the University of Montreal. He's also the Canada researcher in cinema and media studies. And just like Andre, I can remember my first and many other movie experiences, but I can't tell you the first movie I watched on a streaming platform

or even last week. How much, my sense is that I am not alone in this, that I haven't gone to a movie theater in a while, and I'm sure a lot of people haven't gone. How much are the movie theaters themselves feeling the pinch of people aren't going as much as they used to? So last year, the total box office revenue in Canada was almost $840 million.

And that's a lot of money. But actually, when we look at the pre-pandemic numbers, the average revenue was over one. billion dollars a year. And that pinch is being felt most in independent theaters across this country. In 2024, the group that represents independent theaters, they reported that 60% of Canada's indie theaters operated at a loss. And Park Theater is an independent theater in Vancouver. It was run by Cineplex up until last year when Cineplex announced they're not going to renew the lease. So Park was planning to close its doors. Then Rio Theater, also in Maine,

Vancouver, they stepped up and took over Park with the support of some industry backers, including Sean Baker, who we heard from earlier, and Finn Wolffart from Stranger Things. Now, Park is operating under Rio, which also had its own challenges over the years, and Rachel Fox is the senior program at Rio. The actual cost of a movie ticket, at least where I work, hasn't really changed that much, and I've worked in the same place for almost 15 years. But the cost of running a movie theater has gone up a lot. And if you think about what movies are, they're cheap entertainment. And when it's no longer cheap entertainment, I don't think it works in the same way. The Rios always sort of got something going on. There's always been, I've always sort of said it's a bit like the Muppet Show.

We have to save the theater. There was a moment in time, you know, in 2018, the property came up for sale. And we knew that unless a stake was planted in the ground, some entity was going to buy the corner of commercial and Broadway and turn it into condos. So the response was to buy the property. During COVID was the Rio about to close? I never thought so. I thought that we had to really figure out how to keep going and be dynamic and be innovative in order to remind people about something that they liked to do.

And also, you know, leaning on the community to understand that it's not enough to say, oh, I love the movies but never show up. It's a two-way street. And, I mean, we did see that during COVID a lot. The restaurants and bar industry, they were. Like, if you don't patronize us, we're going to go. And people heeded that call and they participated. And that's what allowed those places to stay open.

So how are those theaters that Rio and the Park Theater doing? Both theaters, they have a strong community behind them. So they're finding the best ways to serve that community. But they're also trying to find and make the best financial decisions for themselves. And an important thing about these theaters, they're single-screen venues. So they juggle showing new movies with other movies like classics. Operating a single-screen venue is very different than operating a multiplex. We're a restaurant with one table.

So would it make sense for us to play one movie only for three, four, five weeks at a time? Those terms, usually from a studio or distributor, they're going to say, well, we want to see two or three or four screenings a day. When you have one screen, it means you're only playing that movie. So there's a bit of a strategy to it, and it's up to each venue to really know their community and decide, is this a good idea? Is this sustainable? When it comes to this venue, it wasn't sustainable, which is why we are choosing a different model than what Cineplex did. What we do as a hybrid venue, it is a lot of work. It is the most sometimes complicated, exhausting game of Tetris you could possibly imagine, but we do make it work. And that makes me happy to know that people who live

around here that are within walking distance or making a plan. You know, maybe every Sunday that is part of their routine or maybe that's very ambitious. Maybe every other Sunday, maybe every third Sunday. You're going to go for some brunch with your friend. You're going to go for a coffee. You're going to go for a walk and then you're going to go see a movie and then you're going to go home early and get ready for, you know, a nice week ahead. That, to me, is community.

And that's in Vancouver where there are other theaters. For many rural communities, independent theaters are the only way for people to go see a movie. And when they have to close for financial reasons, the community loses that space to come together. And if the nearest big box theater is an hour away from you, you're even more likely to stay at home. So what else, we heard about Vancouver, what else are theaters doing to stay afloat and get people to come back or, to her point, show up more often? They're doing a bunch of things. and the goal is something your screen at home can't match with. Here's Tir Tadar from the University of Guelph again.

Theaters are definitely spending more money or investing on experiences. You know, they are better seats, better audio system, better screen within the theater, you know, food services. But the experience gap has to be big enough for someone to say, look, you know, I don't want to sit in my basement. I want to go and watch the movie at the theater. movie theaters with say iMac screen really large screen they are doing better they are definitely doing better than say just average movie theaters and theaters are doing other things as well like cheaper days like half price tuesdays maybe not a two dollar one and memberships and special screenings like showing older classics or seasonal movies even surprise screenings this is something that you pay less for a ticket and you go and watch an unreleased movie without knowing what the movie is beforehand. Oh, cool.

And I've been to a couple of those, and the theaters are definitely busier. Is all of this enough? These are interesting ideas, but is this enough to keep the theaters that people aren't going to as much afloat? All of these things help, but it's not enough.

Many theaters are finding that just having movies is not the most profitable long-term plan. But what's new and has been working is live programming, like screenings of live concerts, sports games, or even popular TV shows. The Park and Rio theaters in Vancouver are doing this. Here's Rachel Fox again. I've always sort of thought of the Rio.

Live events were the bricks, movies were the mortar, and they kind of filled in the gaps. One of the investors of this property is Finn Wolfheart, who's a Vancouver actor, and he's in this little show called Stranger Things. And when Stranger Things had its final episode, the Duffer Brothers said we want to I screened in theaters and Netflix said no. And then people said, actually, maybe you do want to screen it in theaters. And they turned what could have just been people sitting at home watching Netflix into a pop culture phenomenon, which was upwards of a million people going to see the final episode of Stranger Things. And we participated in that. And we had Finn Wolfheart joining us with

500 people over the years. I've had countless experiences like that with actors and filmmakers. They're really hard to organize. But when they pop off, boy, do they ever pop off. It's fairy dust. It's Hollywood. It's movie magic. I should say, I remember the first movie I ever saw in a theater. I went to see Star Wars with my dad in 1977, changed my life. I took my kids to see movies, and it was amazing. You're in a room with a lot of other people as they said that you don't know. You don't know these other people and you're having this collective experience. But things change, right? Life is different now than it was in 1977. There are easier, there are cheaper ways to watch movies. What would you say to somebody who says, that's life, that things move on and we do other

things. We do different things now. But it's still magical. So we lose that rare experience of coming together as a community and feeling things collectively. But the impacts also go beyond that. Over the past few months, we've been watching that bidding war between Netflix and Paramount to by Warner Brothers. And recently, Netflix backed away. from its bit, but Paramount is still in the game, and deals between streaming platforms and film studios are very worrisome to the movie theater industry and some filmmakers. James Cameron, the director of Avatar and Titanic, he called this Netflix deal disastrous and said, these are his words, the theatrical experience of movies could become a sinking ship. This is from the guy who made Titanic.

He would know. He would know. So he is worrying that if the streaming giant, take over movie studios, then the theatrical releases won't be a priority. And that will mean job losses, the quality of the movies suffering, and some important stories never getting told. And this all obviously doesn't mean that we need to eliminate streaming completely from our lives. Rachel Fox says going to the movies is something that's in our collective DNA. So we just need to remember that magic. We need more fun. We need fun as collectively as people,

living on this planet, more fun. And fun could be, you know, anything. And I mean, I think you could still go see a depressing movie and afterwards say, wow, I had a lot of fun. And I think we need more of that because, yeah, the world's on fire all the time. Get away from it. Go into a dark space. Get drawn like a moth to the flame to whatever's going on screen and disappear in a great story. And we feel it together. It's it really is you're experiencing a roller coaster of emotions with a room. full of people. It's a joyful thing and it's cheap entertainment, baby. The world is on fire. We need more fun and we need more joy and we need more magic. I'm convinced. I have to go and see a movie. I need to go and look at the, do they have listings anymore to tell you what's coming up in

the theater? I'll just ask you. Melly, thank you very much. Thanks for having me. Melly Gummish is a producer here at the current. She and Matt spoke back in March. You've been listening to the current podcast. My name is Matt Galloway. Thanks for listening. I'll talk to you soon. For more CBC podcasts, go to cBC.ca.ca slash podcasts.