In the Age of OTT, Audiences Return to Theaters

Movie theaters were once one of the most popular places for leisure. However, after the COVID-19 pandemic, they went through a long period of decline due to operating restrictions and lower attendance. The growth of OTT services such as Netflix, Disney+, and TVING, also changed how people watch movies, too.

With people able to view content at home whenever they wanted and ticket prices continuing to rise, consumers began to question whether going to the theater was worth the cost.

Recently, however, this trend has begun to change. Audiences are returning to theaters with the release of highly anticipated movies such as The Odyssey and Spider-Man: Brand New Day. In particular, the Culture Day movie discount, a government-supported initiative, was previously available only on the last Wednesday of each month but was expanded this year to include the second Wednesday as well.

Why Are Audiences Returning to Theaters?

A good example of the recent theater boom is The Odyssey. As expected for a movie directed by Christopher Nolan, it has attracted high expectations, especially for IMAX screenings. Some audiences even paid more than 30 times the original ticket price on secondhand platforms to get tickets for their preferred times. This shows that audiences place high value on the large screens, powerful sound, and immersive experience that only theaters can provide.

Spider-Man: Brand New Day is also continuing this trend. Audiences are visiting theaters not only for regular screenings but also for special theaters such as IMAX, Dolby Cinema, and ULTRA 4DX. Large screens, three-dimensional sound, moving seats, and special effects create an experience that is clearly different from watching a movie on an OTT service at home. Theaters are also expanding special screens and offering limited-edition goods such as photo cards and posters, along with weekly events linked to new releases, giving audiences more reasons to visit.

Industry data also shows signs of recovery. According to the Korean Film Council, total theater sales from January to July this year reached about 692.9 billion won, a 32.6% increase from the same period last year. CGV, one of Korea’s leading multiplex chains, also recorded 1.1673 trillion won in sales and 20.2 billion won in operating profit in the first half of this year. Compared with the same period last year, sales increased by about 13.86% and operating profit by 312%. However, it remains to be seen whether this recovery comes from the success of a few blockbusters or represents a structural change across the theater industry.

From ‘A Place to Watch Movies’ to ‘A Place to Experience Movies’

Do current trends mean that the theater industry is truly making a comeback? Recent audience growth has been strongly influenced by the success of The Odyssey and Spider-Man: Brand New Day, rather than being evenly spread across all movies. If the number of moviegoers continues to change greatly depending on the success of a few releases, it is difficult to view the current recovery as a full recovery of the theater industry. Competition with OTT services also continues. Since OTT services offer the convenience of watching content anytime and anywhere, theaters cannot overcome this advantage simply with a bigger screen. They need to create experiences that can only be enjoyed at a theater so that audiences are willing to pay the ticket price.

In the future, theaters need to change from simply being “places to watch movies” into “places to experience movies.” By offering various experiences, such as immersive special theaters, limited-edition goods, events, and pop-up stores, theaters should encourage audiences to think not only about “what movie to watch,” but also “where and how to experience it.” Whether the recent excitement created by big releases will remain a temporary trend or lead to a new movie-going culture will depend on how quickly theaters respond to these changes.

Reporters

Sua Lee

sualee7@seoultech.ac.kr

Hayeon Cha

yeongcha@seoultech.ac.kr

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