COMMENT: Singapore cinemas are closing down - and maybe it's time they did
When Cathay Cineplexes closed down, reading about people standing outside its shuttered doors in disbelief and calling it a "sad day for Singaporean cinema" made me laugh out loud.
That's simply because there is no way we didn't see this coming.
Let's be real - since COVID-19 happened and ticket prices soared, no one was really going to the movies anyway. Movie-goers have dwindled to practically a handful at screenings in recent times.
Don't blame rising rentals, or the government's lack of support for the arts. The reality is, people like the idea of the cinema, but aren't willing to give their time and money to keep it open.
And that's okay, because I wouldn't either. The Gen Z in me would pick a café outing over any movie screening.
Why would I subject myself to hours of staring at a massive screen, squinting to make out what characters are doing in the dark, or having my eardrums threatening to burst every time a character speaks a decibel louder than normal?
Why the sudden sadness?
With the closure of the Cathay chain and The Projector, farewell posts and nostalgic comments about the "end of an era" have flooded social media.
However, the stats are telling - both organisations cited losses that were too large to bear.
According to a report by The Straits Times, the Projector owed $1.2 million to creditors at the time of closure, while Cathay Cineplexes was $3.4 million in debt on March 27.
Cinemas have been struggling to make a profit for years, as shifting demands and fading movie-going culture take their toll. The likes of Golden Village and Shaw Theatres may still be around, but are hardly immune to these pressures: Shaw shuttered its Seletar Mall outlet last December.
The sudden reminiscence about the good old days is little more than an afterthought - belated at best, and performative at worst. If the cinema really meant as much to us as these posts claim, the shutdowns would never have happened.
Younger audience find tickets a waste of money
Truth be told, I am among the many who shy away from contributing to cinema culture, and for good reason.
Weekend ticket prices are now a staggering $15, which just doesn't feel worth it anymore.
The same price - or even less - gets you a month of unlimited movies on Netflix, Disney+, Apple TV and other streaming platforms, minus the guilt of splurging on a measly two hours of entertainment.
In the 2010s, going to the movies cost about $8 per person. If we were lucky, we sat next to each other at a good distance from the screen, or craned our necks to catch a glimpse of the movie for the next two hours.
I last stepped into a cinema in August, for the first time in two years. I did so knowing that I could buy a ticket even at the last minute, since most of the hall would be empty.
The pandemic killed the cinema
Perhaps it is the pandemic that has dealt the final blow to movie-going culture.
When we were all locked in our own homes, there was nothing like a good movie to remind us of the world beyond.
Watching Netflix became a weekly family affair, instead of scouring the last few pages of Life! for movie timings and reviews every Sunday.
When the pandemic ended, many never returned to the cinema.
As a Reddit user commented: "We already subscribe to Netflix, why would we add one more subscription that we have to get out of our comfy sofa for?"
Older generations remain sentimental
Not everyone is as cynical about the state of cinema. Older generations still hold fond memories of the communal experience of watching a movie together.
It is a remembrance of a time when bringing a date to the movies was a rite of passage, or a family cinema trip was a highly anticipated outing.
The other day, I was subjected to my father's 30-minute TED Talk about the good old days and the "irreplaceable experience" of going to the cinema.
"Going to the movies was a family affair. It was such a treat, to be anywhere with air-conditioning," he said, recounting how patrons paid $1.50 for a wooden seat right in front of the screen, while premium seats were $3.50 and above back in the 80s.
It wasn't just the novelty of watching movies on the big screen - it was the small things, from the walk to the cinema together, the overlapping chatter of movie ending predictions, to the excited retelling of favourite scenes post-movie.
Yet, even his movie-going habits have gradually changed, as he mused: "It's not so much the cinema, but the idea of it that I will miss."
And this is echoed in everyone's "Farewell, Projector" post - you won't miss the $15 tickets, the sub-par seats, or the inconvenience of travelling down to the theatre.
You will miss the memory of what cinemas stood for. Pure, unfiltered entertainment, with buddies in tow and emotions running high.
Movie culture is changing, and it's time to embrace that
Love it or hate it, the recent cinema closures indeed mark the "end of an era", fading into the background as newer streaming platforms gain traction.
And it is not just cinemas facing this fate. Libraries, concert theatres, newspapers, even workplaces, are moving into the digital space.
There are still plenty of cinemas operating in Singapore, of course. But as they face what appears to be their last curtain call, it is time to accept that movie culture is going through the same shift.
Perhaps from now on, we will gather not in cinemas, but on living room couches, for watch parties featuring our favourite streaming platform shows.
Because it's not just about where we watch movies, but who we watch them with.
