The Seats Are Emptier, But the Feeling Isn't Gone
Walk into a movie theatre on a Friday night and you might notice something that didn't used to feel so conspicuous: empty seats. Across Canada, cinema attendance has yet to fully bounce back from the one-two punch of COVID-19 shutdowns and the explosion of streaming services that followed. Netflix, Crave, Disney+, the options are endless, the couch is comfortable, and the popcorn is cheaper.
And yet, for a certain kind of moviegoer, something is lost when you skip the theatre entirely.
The Room Makes the Movie
Film enthusiasts and critics have long argued that cinema is a collective art form, one that only fully comes alive when it's shared. There's a reason the best moments in a great film hit differently in a packed house: laughter ripples through rows, gasps synchronize, and silence becomes something you can almost feel.
That's the argument at the heart of a recent CBC The Current feature, which spoke with film lovers about what gets lost when you opt for the couch over the cinema. The consensus? Streaming is convenient, but it strips away the spontaneous, unscripted emotional experience of watching alongside strangers who become, for two hours, your community.
You can pause a movie at home. You can check your phone. You can rewind. But you can't manufacture the collective intake of breath when a plot twist lands, or the way a whole audience erupts together at the perfect comedic beat.
Streaming Changed the Math, But Not the Magic
The pandemic accelerated a shift that was already underway. Studios began releasing films simultaneously to streaming platforms. Budgets for mid-range dramas and comedies, the kind of films that once filled indie cinemas, dried up in favour of franchise blockbusters. Theatres that survived COVID did so with a narrower slate of films and a more uncertain future.
But the film industry hasn't given up on the big screen, and neither have audiences entirely. Theatrical releases like Oppenheimer, Barbie, and more recently a wave of prestige dramas have proven that when a movie feels like an event, Canadians will still leave the house for it.
Ottawa's Cinema Scene Holds On
For Ottawa residents, the choice between streaming and a night out at the movies is one many navigate regularly. From the Landmark Cinemas at Kanata to the Cineplex at the Rideau Centre, and beloved independents like the ByTowne Cinema, which has long been a cultural anchor for arthouse fans in the capital. There are still screens worth showing up for.
The ByTowne, in particular, has built its identity around exactly the kind of communal film experience CBC's feature describes: curated programming, engaged audiences, and a room full of people who chose to be there.
A Case for Showing Up
If the cinema is going to survive, and most film lovers would argue it should. It needs audiences willing to make the trip. Not for every movie, maybe. But for the ones that deserve to be seen on a big screen, with strangers who feel what you feel, at exactly the same moment.
That shared emotional experience isn't a marketing pitch. It's what makes cinema cinema.
Source: CBC The Current, The magic of going to the theatres isn't about the movie. It's about watching it with strangers
