By Kang Hyun-kyung
Will cinemas be crowded again, if and when the COVID-19 curve flattens?
As people gather again for various social outings, encouraged by the rising number of vaccinated people, some have begun to contemplate whether or not eased social distancing rules will also benefit cinemas which have been hit hardest in the entertainment industry.
Noh Ga-yeong, one of four co-authors of the recently published book which tentatively can be translated into English as "Content Will be All the More Important in 2022," presents her view in favor of the post-pandemic cinema boom.
She explains that cinemas suffered from a 70 percent drop in revenue after the pandemic, partly because movies are "relationship-driven."
"Let's suppose there's a familiar family scene. When a mother proposes her entire family go to a theater for a movie during the weekend, her 'compliant' husband would respond to her call by searching eateries in the neighborhood of the theater where his family can have a meal after the movie. Their children, meanwhile, would search other new movies to watch during the same time while their parents watch theirs," she writes.
Noh goes on to say that going to a movie theater is a cultural experience much more than simply watching a movie together as it usually involves various family events that take place during and after the film.
This relationship-oriented nature of watching movies in theaters is mostly responsible for its huge losses after the pandemic when people have been advised to stay at home.
Compared to cinemas, Noh says other performances, such as plays, musicals and concerts, are "purpose-driven," meaning people go there purely to watch or listen, without other bond-based activities.
What she said sounds convincing. But I don't buy into her idea about the rosy, post-pandemic cinema scene.
Cinemas will inevitably suffer the fallout of the pandemic. My pessimistic view about the post-pandemic cinema scene is based on the booming streaming services.
Before the pandemic, there were people concerned about the fallout of streaming services on cinemas. But many thought online platforms and cinemas would be complementary and their competition wouldn't turn out to be a zero-sum game.
Like Noh says, going to a movie theater is a multi-purposed decision as cinemas are a place to watch movies and also to deepen family ties or bond with friends. In this regard, cinema is irreplaceable, they claim.
Those who present an optimistic view about the post-pandemic cinema scene come from this group.
What these traditionalists don't catch is the enormous change that has occurred during the prolonged pandemic.
Being stuck at home, people have fewer options to do during their free time. Their desire for binge watching has enabled Netflix and other streaming services to witness a surge in subscribers. It also helped viewers discover the merits of shows streamed online.
The pandemic itself is not the sole reason that drove the sudden rise of streaming services.
To differentiate their services from movies or TV dramas, over-the-top (OTT) service providers invested a lot and released their own services, better known as original series, to give their subscribers a unique viewer experience. As seen in several successful Netflix and other streaming giants' original series, viewers are treated with unprecedented experiences in various genres and the way stories are told. A wide selection of movies and shows is a bonus for subscribers.
Also, streaming services let viewers be in control.
They can watch whatever they want at any time they choose if they pay 10,000 won or so per month, which is barely enough money to buy a ticket for one movie at a theater.
There is another lesser told viewer experience that is only available on the streaming services. Viewers can rewind to see previous scenes or episodes again to better understand the movies or shows they are watching. They can also watch the same movies or shows again and again if they wish, a benefit cinemas don't provide unless viewers pay for tickets to see the same movie again.
Will there still be movies that can generate 10 million or more ticket sales once the pandemic is over?
If your answer to the question is simply "yes" or "no," you are still living in pre-pandemic days.
The question lies in the nature of the relationship between cinemas and streaming services and how this has changed since the beginning of the pandemic. They are no longer complementary services as they used to be in pre-pandemic days.
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As people gather again for various social outings, encouraged by the rising number of vaccinated people, some have begun to contemplate whether or not eased social distancing rules will also benefit cinemas which have been hit hardest in the entertainment industry.
Noh Ga-yeong, one of four co-authors of the recently published book which tentatively can be translated into English as "Content Will be All the More Important in 2022," presents her view in favor of the post-pandemic cinema boom.
She explains that cinemas suffered from a 70 percent drop in revenue after the pandemic, partly because movies are "relationship-driven."
"Let's suppose there's a familiar family scene. When a mother proposes her entire family go to a theater for a movie during the weekend, her 'compliant' husband would respond to her call by searching eateries in the neighborhood of the theater where his family can have a meal after the movie. Their children, meanwhile, would search other new movies to watch during the same time while their parents watch theirs," she writes.
Noh goes on to say that going to a movie theater is a cultural experience much more than simply watching a movie together as it usually involves various family events that take place during and after the film.
This relationship-oriented nature of watching movies in theaters is mostly responsible for its huge losses after the pandemic when people have been advised to stay at home.
Compared to cinemas, Noh says other performances, such as plays, musicals and concerts, are "purpose-driven," meaning people go there purely to watch or listen, without other bond-based activities.
What she said sounds convincing. But I don't buy into her idea about the rosy, post-pandemic cinema scene.
Cinemas will inevitably suffer the fallout of the pandemic. My pessimistic view about the post-pandemic cinema scene is based on the booming streaming services.
Before the pandemic, there were people concerned about the fallout of streaming services on cinemas. But many thought online platforms and cinemas would be complementary and their competition wouldn't turn out to be a zero-sum game.
Like Noh says, going to a movie theater is a multi-purposed decision as cinemas are a place to watch movies and also to deepen family ties or bond with friends. In this regard, cinema is irreplaceable, they claim.
Those who present an optimistic view about the post-pandemic cinema scene come from this group.
What these traditionalists don't catch is the enormous change that has occurred during the prolonged pandemic.
Being stuck at home, people have fewer options to do during their free time. Their desire for binge watching has enabled Netflix and other streaming services to witness a surge in subscribers. It also helped viewers discover the merits of shows streamed online.
The pandemic itself is not the sole reason that drove the sudden rise of streaming services.
To differentiate their services from movies or TV dramas, over-the-top (OTT) service providers invested a lot and released their own services, better known as original series, to give their subscribers a unique viewer experience. As seen in several successful Netflix and other streaming giants' original series, viewers are treated with unprecedented experiences in various genres and the way stories are told. A wide selection of movies and shows is a bonus for subscribers.
Also, streaming services let viewers be in control.
They can watch whatever they want at any time they choose if they pay 10,000 won or so per month, which is barely enough money to buy a ticket for one movie at a theater.
There is another lesser told viewer experience that is only available on the streaming services. Viewers can rewind to see previous scenes or episodes again to better understand the movies or shows they are watching. They can also watch the same movies or shows again and again if they wish, a benefit cinemas don't provide unless viewers pay for tickets to see the same movie again.
Will there still be movies that can generate 10 million or more ticket sales once the pandemic is over?
If your answer to the question is simply "yes" or "no," you are still living in pre-pandemic days.
The question lies in the nature of the relationship between cinemas and streaming services and how this has changed since the beginning of the pandemic. They are no longer complementary services as they used to be in pre-pandemic days.
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