Is the future of local movie theater bleak? With the growing clout of the Internet, this question often impinges the mind. On several occasions the demise of the local movie theater have been prophesized, one such event was the appearance of television and VCR on the entertainment scene. Fortunately at that instance, the movie theaters survived because of their exclusive distribution rights and the predictions were annulled. Today, the picture is completely different. The Internet has screwed up the traditional controls over distribution. People are now confronted with the option of downloading a copy of movie on the week of its release or even earlier. The January 2005 TMDB report clearly indicates the impact of this phenomenon. It states that the tickets sold in 2004 fell 2.5 percent from the previous year, and is down 7.5 percent since 2002.

Going to the movie in the past was considered to be a social event and the theaters were not merely devices for displaying films, but several sociological changes have taken place in last half-century due to which, the world has become a society of individuals. This coupled with technological changes allow us to spend less time in public and more time at home. To download a movie from the Internet or to rent a DVD from the local video store or to subscribe DVD rental services, is a cheaper proposition, when compared to $14 tickets at the Arclight. Though, watching Superman, Spiderman or Star Wars on the big screen for the first time is an entrancing experience, but with time the novelty wears off and convenience becomes more important. Watching movie in the comfortable environment of home with the LCD projector or home theater system diminishes the various theater irritants as crying babies or theaters hoppers.

Despite of these alarming factors, which are responsible for the fall of the popularity of local movie theaters, some hope can still be imbibed from the enthusiasm of movie theater buffs. While some of them believe that it is only a cyclical trend, soon the tides will recede and people will return to their theaters, a few others state that bringing down the prices of tickets can enhance the return.