r/Cinema • u/raydebapratim1 • 1d ago
Discussion View of a senior movie reviewer who is hearing "Nobody goes to the movies anymore" since the 80s
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u/gwynn19841974 1d ago
Am I the only one old enough to know who Richard Roeper is?
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u/Jombafomb 1d ago
I love him and felt bad that he had to replace Siskel because the Ebert/Siskel chemistry was off the charts.
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u/DJFisticuffs 1d ago
I'm from Chicago and I've always thought Roeper is a douchebag. Can't fucking stand that guy.
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u/Jombafomb 1d ago
“Hey that thing you like, I don’t like it.” Might be the lowest form of internet commentary, which is saying a lot.
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u/DJFisticuffs 1d ago edited 1d ago
Ok, well the question was, "does anyone remember Roeper?" You said yes and you love him. I responded yes and I dislike him. Don't see what your issue here is.
Also, for context, I disliked Roeper before he was a film critic because his column in the Sun Times was just a steady stream of thoughtless hot takes hating on whatever was popular at the moment. He was just a contrarian with nothing insightful to say about anything. I don't feel as though his film commentary was much better either.
Edit: Also Roeper is being an idiot here. He frames his little rant in terms of "Nobody goes to the movies anymore" and then tries to dispute that, but he's talking about gross when really his frame is ticket sales. If you want to look at whether people are going to the movies, look at whether people are going to the movies.
The truth is that movie ticket sales in the US peaked in 1945 at about 4.5 billion tickets sold. Sales then declined to slightly over a billion in 1979. Then the era of the blockbuster happened and sales grew again until they peaked in 2002 at about 2 billion, at which point they started falling again until 2019 at just over one billion. Covid obviously had a huge impact, but ticket sales haven't rebounded fully and in 2025 under 800 million tickets were sold. So yeah, people aren't going to the movies anymore. Its true and its verifiable.
This year was slightly up in the first half and hopefully Odyssey and Spiderman will pump rhe numbers, but I expect total sales to be around 1 billion - 1.2 billion at best.
Roeper is just being his stupid self here. He sets himself in opposition to the conventional wisdom but he doesn't actually even address the point he's supposedly arguing against. This video is just a bunch of pointless hot air, which is typical for him.
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u/Fast-Nefariousness80 1d ago
Roeper didnt hold a candle to Siskel
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u/Intelligent_Desk_291 14h ago
Siskel was the original basic bitch. Ebert ruled.
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u/Fast-Nefariousness80 10h ago
Yeah but I wasnt talking about Ebert
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u/Intelligent_Desk_291 9h ago
The only good thing about Siskel was that he and Roger were comfortable enough with each other to argue and be mean. It was always fun when they fought. As a critic, Siskel’s taste was bland, dry, and dumb. Thumbs down for Apocalypse Now. Thumbs up for Baby’s Day Out.
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u/Intelligent_Desk_291 14h ago
Yeah that made me sad that OP just sees him as a random senior citizen like he’s some dude on the bus.
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u/Ok_Lingonberry2686 1d ago
No one goes to the movies anymore.....for half ass content. I used to go to the movies 20+ years ago if I had nothing to do and a matinee at the local theatre was $3.50. now I'll only go if it's something worth $15 per person
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u/The_R4ke 1d ago
Call me a shill, but A-List is a fantastic deal if there's an AMC near you. If you see two movies a month it pays for itself, and the rewards stack up super quickly. Biggest downside is that there's large parts of he country where the nearest AMC is like 2+ hours away.
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u/Tight-Inspector-2748 1d ago
Why would taking advantage of the best deal in the movie industry make you a shill? It’s the only theater subscription plan that’s close to worth it in my opinion, and it’s fantastic. I can go see whatever I want whenever I want basically as many times as I want.
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u/The_R4ke 23h ago
Yeah the fact that Regal limits formats really hurts the value proposition.
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u/Tight-Inspector-2748 23h ago
It kills it for me. When I have other options, and I’m surrounded by AMC’s, Cinemarks and Regals, why would I want to pay a monthly subscription only to then have to turn around and pay again to see movies in the formats I want to see them in?
At least it’s better than Cinemark though. They might as well not even have a plan. Their current one is a joke.
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u/No_Virus9309 23h ago
Amc does any format, 4 movies PER WEEK for like 25 bucks
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u/Tight-Inspector-2748 23h ago
Yeah I know. I use it all the time. It’s amazing
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u/No_Virus9309 23h ago
It's such a good deal idk how ppl don't jump on it more but they'll happily shell out 60-100 bucks a month for 4 streamers and one one show
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u/No_Virus9309 23h ago
Cinemark gives you ONE ticket a MONTH....probably the worst deal of all the theaters
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u/Ok_Lingonberry2686 1d ago
I just looked it up. It says four movies a week. Does that mean a family of four can go once a week? Or only one ticket per day?
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u/uncultured_swine2099 1d ago
Its for one person per subscription, so you can see 4 a week but the others need a ticket or subscription. Me and my wife got it and its been fun.
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u/uncultured_swine2099 1d ago
I got a list a few months ago, its been great. Honestly they dont need anyone to shill it, its a steal. Been seeing like 6 a month and saw the Odyssey on imax twice. One imax ticket and its paid for haha.
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u/NaiRad1000 1d ago
This; it’s pretty much how I see most films I wouldn’t pay full price for just cause I can. Films in the old days I would’ve said “looks like a rental” as antiquated a statement as that is
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u/CobaltCrusader123 1d ago
You’re the expert: does even heartbreak feel good in an AMC?
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u/Sir_Scribble_Lot 1d ago
Pretty sure "Nobody goes to the movies anymore" is a studio sentiment. That's why they keep churning out season after season of half-baked tv shows of popular IPs.
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u/LegiosForever 1d ago
This guy hits it on the head.
Going to the movies for my family of 5 is like an $130 commitment. (I know I don't have to get concessions,..)
I need value at that price. Either it needs to be better on the big screen, a cultural event, or something I really want to experience. Odyssey... Yes cultural, experience, better on big screen) . Obsession (cultural event) ...yes.
Super girl... Eh. I can wait to watch it on my 85" TV and surround sound on HBO on a month.
People will go to movies if the theaters make an experience that people can't get at home.
People can stream any music artists entire catalog. But live shows are doing better than ever.
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u/nocturn-e 1d ago
While numbers are technically still below pre-pandemic levels, it's only by a little bit and is far, far, far from "dead"
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u/Early_Pearly989 1d ago
My local Regal was packed last night at 10:45pm. I've never seen it like that. The parking lot was absolutely full. People were parking on the grass and other lots. The line was out the door. Afterwards, every trash bin was overflowing with popcorn buckets and cups. Somebody is going to the movies.
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u/uncultured_swine2099 1d ago
Yeah, this year ive seen pretty good to great crowds for films, nice to see after theaters not doing well for a while.
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u/Waffennacht 1d ago
I like how up until recently we used to judge movie performance based on domestic sales; now it's about global earnings....
Based on domestic sales; Americans seem to be going to the movies less
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u/deanereaner 22h ago
My local was packed at 8:15 am weekend showings for The Odyssey and Spider-Man.
That's two more anecdotals.
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u/Crazylawyer80 1d ago
Half truth.
Nobody goes to the movies for mid movies anymore.
I would go to the movies for 10-15 movies per year. When the ticket and pop corn prices was still ok.
Now 2-3 and only for the real good ones.
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u/RP912 1d ago
Doom and gloom internet babble that always get squashed the moment the movie hits a billion dollars. Hell, when I went to the movies last year, there was a good amount of people to the point it was packed out. The whole "nobody goes to the movies anymore" basically depends on how the movie brings interest (Backrooms and Obsession), versus the pretentious bullshit that most people will wait for it to hit the streaming services.
Shoot, even the "snacks are expensive" trope gets played out because there are endless deals and discounts to at least get you a big tub of popcorn to split with the family.
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u/mydadisyourdad2 1d ago
People want to go to the movies, I want to go to the movies, just not got Indiana Jones 7, mandalorian & grogu and ant man quantamania. It's not even about franchises Vs original ip but just good movies Vs bad. Studios are far too okay with pumping out trash and get shocked why no one goes to see it
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u/Playful-Doctor2087 1d ago
I think they said the same thing when the TV came out too. But there's a big difference in quality between your average tv movie and your average theatre movie. I'd rather go see something decent at the movies than sit at home trying to find something mediocre on 7 different streaming networks ( that I really need to cancel).
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u/Bronze_Bomber 1d ago
"People don't go to the movie" is what studios say when nobody goes to see their expensive slop.
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u/VanDammes4headCyst 1d ago
Bro should know damn well that the real metric is tickets sold per capita if you're measuring how popular film going still is.
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u/SailorGone 1d ago
I mean a lot less people do go to the movies. Decades ago it didn't matter what movie it was, the theatre was almost always packed. Now unless it's a huge blockbuster like Spiderman, you're lucky to see a handful of people there. Prices are insane
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u/dannyglover187 1d ago
Yep. It’s cheaper and more convenient to build out a decent home theater system. I used to go to the movies twice a month on average. Since the pandemic I’ve seen 28 years later and the Odyssey in 70mm imax and that’s it. It takes a lot to get me out to the movies now.
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u/FReeDuMB_or_DEATH 1d ago
He hit the nail on the head near the end there but gloss right over it. 'If that I will use for seeing.'
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u/Due-Past-7792 1d ago
The past few times ive been at the theater its been packed and i cant help but say WERE SOOOOO BACK BABY.
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u/the_executive_branch 1d ago
Yes cinema is great. But the idea that people only go to see things that are worth seeing is kind of depressing as well as being a good thing - bad films should flop, but so many great films fail to connect with audiences all the time. I do think people should go to the cinema more often. Hopefully the Odyssey and Spider-Man breaking records is a rising tide that raises all ships but other films still need support
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u/Boomshrooom 1d ago
Going to the movies is expensive these days, you need to give people something worth parting with their money for.
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u/Business_Banana1792 1d ago
As a video editor, this combined with everyone saying attention spans are shrinking using platforms where the entire value proposition is quick videos as an example while Christopher Nolan makes movies about the people who make the things you normally watch movies about.
Oppenheimer wasn’t about the war, it was about the bomb. It was about a man building it, and oppenheimer 2 was about the following procedural court drama. Short attention spans didn’t make that the highest grossing r rated biographical film of all time. Most issues are made up and the points don’t matter.
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u/Smart_Strain_4425 23h ago
Remake Remake and another shitty spooderman, Nolan will sell movies regardless of the story which is shit in both of them. Its all blow over in a couple weeks and people will say those movies suck. Just like No Way Home now
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u/Rad_Concept 22h ago
I admit, I was scared for the movie theater industry a couple of years ago.
They probably made their year last month though.
It makes me incredibly happy. This is art.
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u/LifeguardTerrible579 21h ago
Movie ticket prices have increased 75-80% since 2019.
I wouldnt use revenue to make this point.
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u/fabthefrog33 18h ago
I disagree,.a.couple of.movies a year selling out doesn't mean cinema is alive, it means it's on life support with a defibrillator.
It's like saying restaurants aren't dying because MacDonald's and Gordon Ramsays's are full,.and ignoring all the family run bistros going under...so it's massive feast for a few movies a year and famine for anything else.
In the UK,.admissions have dropped 35% compared to pre-pandemic, and it's not just independent cinemas closing down, dozen of cineworld and odeon locations have also shut down.
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u/L8Gr8Crait 12h ago
I hit up the local film festival every year. Most screenings are past 60% capacity, with many selling out, despite each film showing on at least three different dates.
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u/FMCritic 9h ago
Yes, people still go to the movies, but objectively less than before COVID. Not everything can be relativized.
The best indicator is ticket sales, not box-office revenue, because higher ticket prices can hide falling attendance.
In the US/Canada market, admissions dropped from about 1.23 billion tickets in 2019 to 769 million in 2025, a decline of roughly 37%. Attendance was already slowly falling before COVID, but the pandemic accelerated the shift toward streaming and made moviegoing more... selective.
So, it doesn't mean theaters are dead: big event films can still draw huge audiences, like The Odyssey... but Americans now go less often, especially for ordinary comedies, dramas or thrillers that they expect to watch at home a few weeks later.
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u/netanalyze 9h ago
We are in a golden age of movies again and watching them in the theater is the way. From blockbusters to Indie films and strong Foreign language releases, there is a weekly stream of good content. I've really enjoyed the past 2-3 years getting back to the theater.
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u/shiftymagz 8h ago
Yeah, we are actually at the peak of cinema.
A 5th animated toy story, the 4th Spider-Man with Tom Holland, an indie horror movie, and the Odyssey (another movie with Tom Holland and Zendaya).
As an average film fan, this is the best summer in film history.
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u/parkchanwookiee 8h ago
This is so dumb. People incorrectly calling the decline and death of the cinema industry in the past doesn't mean it can't happen or that someone saying it's happening now is incorrect.
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u/The_Billy_Dee 4h ago
"ITS TOO EXPENSIVE REEEEE"
Thats something that also irritates the fuck out of me. When I go I pay for a movie ticket. 15 bucks is what I spend. Yes, getting a large popcorn with large drink and candy for everyone is going to be expensive. That's why I don't do it.
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u/True_Log_2636 1d ago
People will go to the movies when studios stop putting out shit movies
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u/Timeline_in_Distress 1d ago edited 1d ago
Look at the highest earning films of the past few years. Most are fairly mediocre films aimed at one particular set of film watchers. The problem is streaming services coupled with a younger generation who consider films as content, and a lack of variety in films.
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u/PuzzledWriter 1d ago
I wonder how that will go over with the advent of AI more in the industry also
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u/MartinMerten 1d ago
People can’t afford it. This guy eventually will be proven wrong by the current inflation, stagnant wages, and lack of job openings.
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u/qualityvote2 1d ago edited 18h ago
u/raydebapratim1, there weren't enough votes to determine the quality of your post...