Evolution of Movie Consumption

Then: Video Stores

Now: One Click Away

Hand holding a remote points at a television.

You now have a full library of movies right at your fingertips.

How do the movies shown in theaters differ from those that go straight to streaming? And speaking of streaming, is it actually true that we have more choices today than ever before? Will Scheibel, professor of film and screen studies in the Department of English, answers these questions and explores what’s new in how Americans consume film.

How has our movie consumption changed over the past 25 years?

Will Scheibel (WS): Right now, movie theaters in the U.S. are dominated by franchise films like "Deadpool & Wolverine", kids' films based on pre-sold properties such as "Inside Out 2", and the kind of old-fashioned Hollywood extravaganzas that have enjoyed a long history of popularity with mainstream audiences (the musical "Wicked", the sword-and-sandal epic "Gladiator II"). Mid-budget comedies and dramas aimed at adults, the sort of fare that would have received theatrical releases in the not-too-distant past, are either going straight to streaming—the latest Lindsay Lohan rom-com "Our Little Secret" on Netflix—or given a limited theatrical distribution before they’re made available to watch on a particular streaming platform, for example, Clint Eastwood’s "Juror No. 2" on Max.

How do the choices available to us today compare to 25 years ago?

(WS): Streaming has been promoted as a format that offers greater choice at one’s fingertips when, in fact, the catalogues on platforms like Netflix and Hulu are very presentist. A good independent video store in the '80s and '90s would have had a more historically comprehensive selection.

Box-office totals are still below pre-COVID levels, so streaming has become a formidable competitor with movie theaters. A positive development, however, has been streaming services like Kanopy, The Criterion Channel, and MUBI, which cater to cinephiles, providing both classic films and more recent international or art-house releases that rarely play long—if at all—in multiplexes.