In accepting the Oscar for Best Director at the 97th Academy Awards, Sean Baker reminded audiences about the importance of movie theaters. Sean Baker was a perfect four-for-four at the Oscars with wins for Best Picture, Director, Editing, and Original Screenplay.

It’s not an understatement that the “theatergoing experience is under threat” as Sean Baker said in his speech. The go-to IMAX screen locally was among the theaters that closed coming out of the pandemic. Other communities suffered as well. At the same time, a number of studios came out of the pandemic by reaching agreements with distributors for a shorter theatrical window. Lest we forget how Warner Bros. Pictures released its entire 2021 theatrical slate both day-and-date in theaters and streaming on HBO Max.

Going with what Sean Baker is saying, I think back to Pixar releasing way too many feature films on Disney+ instead of giving them a theatrical release. It was one thing to release Soul on Disney+ in late 2020. I can understand why both Luca and Turning Red received Disney+ releases rather than theatrical, especially with children being in the targeted demographic. Make no mistake that it had a noticeable impact on the studio’s morale. Did it impact the Lightyear box office? Possibly, especially knowing a Disney+ release was happening sooner than later.

The distributors only play a part of the role in saving the theatrical experience at the cinema. Exhibitors play an essential role. Unless you’ve been living in a cave, prices have increased tremendously in recent years. Obviously, art house theaters are doing what they can to survive and Sean Baker notes that the independent theaters are struggling. I wrote about it in both April and May of 2024. I said it last May and I’ll say it again: if I have to choose between food, medication, and entertainment. I’m choosing food and medication each and every time. Nothing against movies but household essentials are, well, essential!

If you missed Anora in theaters, you can catch the Sean Baker film when it launches March 17 on Hulu.

What follows is a brief excerpt from Sean Baker’s speech:

We’re all here tonight and watching this broadcast because we love movies. Where did we fall in love with the movies? At the movie theater.

Watching a film, watching a film in the theater with an audience is an experience. We can laugh together, cry together, scream in fright together, perhaps sit in devastated silence together, and in a time in which the world can feel very divided, this is more important than ever. It’s a communal experience you simply don’t get at home.

And right now the theatergoing experience is under threat. Movie theaters, especially independently owned theaters, are struggling, and it’s up to us to support them. During the pandemic we lost nearly 1000 screens in the U.S., and we continue to lose them regularly. If we don’t reverse this trend, we’ll be losing a vital part of our culture.

This is my battle cry. Filmmakers keep making films for the big screen. I know I will. Distributors, please focus first and foremost on the theatrical releases of your films. Neon did that for me, and I thank you from the bottom of my heart.

Parents, introduce your children to feature films in movie theaters, and you’ll be molding the next generation of movie lovers and filmmakers.

And for all of us, when we can, please watch movies in the theater and let’s keep the great tradition of the moviegoing experience alive and well.

Anora is now available on home video.

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