Are New Yorkers going back to the movies?

While box office numbers remain lower than pre-pandemic levels, many people are still headed to the theaters. 

By: Aria Lehri

Movie theaters are struggling to bounce back as the entertainment industry recovers from the pandemic and Hollywood strikes, according to domestic box office numbers.

Collectively, about 2,000 theaters across the country made just over $9 billion from ticket sales in 2023, down from $11.4 billion in 2019, according to Forbes. There were also 17 fewer releases played at 600 theaters or more in 2023 as compared to 2019. While the pandemic and last year’s Screen Actors Guild and Writers Guild of America strikes have reduced attendance, many people are still headed to theaters. 

“It’s a whole experience in itself, to get people together to go to the movie theater,” said Valeria Hidalgo-Valencia, a 21-year-old student at New York University.

In addition to snacks and a “clean environment,” the group cinema experience is what brings New Yorkers back time and time again, according to a movie theater employee in Lower Manhattan who declined to share her name. 

She mentioned the success of “Barbenheimer,” a cultural phenomenon last summer wherein blockbuster films “Barbie” and “Oppenheimer” were released on the same day. 

Within the first week of release, Barbenheimer brought in $492.4 million in domestic ticket sales, according to Forbes. Moviegoers arrived in groups and themed outfits, the employee said — and many still continue the trend. 

The latest installments in the “Godzilla,” “Ghostbusters” and “Dune” franchises also saw a similar group attendance, according to the employee.

Many recent releases, including Denis Villeneuve’s “Dune 2” and Christopher Nolan’s “Oppenheimer,” are also specially formatted for theater technology, she said, which makes the viewing experience better in theaters than at home.

“You want to be enveloped in a movie like Dune,” she said, explaining why many came to theaters for the film. 

However, some New Yorkers find that the price of a ticket doesn’t justify the experience. 

Hidalgo-Valencia, a New Jersey native, said she was deterred by prices in the city, where a single ticket can cost nearly $20 at many franchise theaters such as AMC Theatres or Regal Cinemas, compared to around $16 in New Jersey.

“I went home [to watch “Dune”], where it’s not 20 bucks,” she said.

Many recent movies, such as Adam Rehmeier’s “Snack Shack” or Eric Appel’s “Weird: The Al Yankovic Story” have also been doing limited runs or going straight to streaming, which decreases the opportunities for people to visit the cinema. 

A self-described movie enthusiast, John Rick, 36, is convinced that nothing compares to a good, old-fashioned movie theater.

“I don’t love [streaming]. I understand it, but there’s something just really special about seeing something on the big screen,” he said. “It’s something that I hope all movies get to do.”