Renaissance of the silver screen
The smell of popcorn, the dimming of lights, and the collective hush before the opening frame – going to the cinema is a ritual many thought had faded for good. Yet something has shifted. With the advent of movies like Utshob, Bonolota Express and Project Hail Mary, everyone’s flocking to the nearest theatres. On one hand, it takes a lot of the older audience on a trip down memory lane, when watching movies was one of the only forms of public entertainment. On the other hand, some of the younger audience are watching films in theatres because it’s trendy. This also highlights the segregation between the older and newer theatres.
The newer theatres, like Star Cineplex and Blockbuster Cinemas, have a higher percentage of younger audiences, meaning these cinema halls would profit more from running films that took social media by storm. And the cost of being trendy is expensive, from ticket prices to venue costs. Younger audiences tend to show affinity for Hollywood films, which is evident by the fact that tickets are being sold out every time the whiff of a new movie being aired is heard.
However, the theatres that stood the test of time, like Balaka, don’t have half the audience of newer theatres, a trend attributed to the decline of the local film industry and a lack of sleek branding. Mishkatul Jannat Maheen (Sophomore, CSE) states, “Multiplexes are usually located in shopping malls, meaning I can do a plethora of activities after the movie ends; however, Balaka offers a more cinema-centric experience, albeit with fewer nearby attractions.”
This shift in preference sheds light on the fact that an all-in-one experience is an important factor in determining the popularity of a theatre. While traditional halls like Balaka hold a special place in our history, the rise of multiplexes portrays the evolution of how cinema is enjoyed today.
