Why We Need the Movies: Especially in a Post-Pandemic World of Screens, Streams and Smartphones

For more than 100 years, movie theaters have served up laughs, screams, tears and gasps. They’ve endured World Wars and stock market crashes, box-office bombs and competing entertainment. But what about a global pandemic? When COVID-19 disrupted life in 2020, thousands of screens were forced to go dark. Thousands of venues closed, some for good. And once again, skeptics of cinema’s relevance in a changing world declared movie theaters dead. But what if they’re wrong? What if theaters actually have a future? And what if, even more importantly, we should desperately care that they do? Two journalists raised in an age of screens, streams and smartphones explore these questions (and a whole lot more) in Why We Need the Movies. Both a tribute to cinema and an honest exploration of the industry’s path forward, this book compiles nearly two years of research and original reporting, including dozens of interviews with theater owners, movie executives and moviegoers. Some of its questions are serious, and some trivial: Is streaming sustainable? Do movie stars still exist? Does moviegoing make a society healthier? Are video games the key to cinema’s future? And why in the world is popcorn so expensive? The entire journey, however, reminds us clearly: The movies matter. And we need them.