trending down

— पांच हजार चार सौ पचास — I am well on track for 2023 to be the year I went to the movies the fewest times since—well, 2020 of course, but that year should not even be counted. If we're talking "non-pandemic years," or let's say, years in which movie theaters wer open the entire year, it's on track to me the year I went to the movies the fewest times in over 20 years. So far in 2023, I've gone to the movies an average of 7.3 times per month. Pre-pandemic, it was much more accurate when I told people "I go to the movies two to three times per week," but now it's a lot more accurate to say I go once or twice a week. Still far more often than most people—and god knows it still makes my AMC Stubbs membership worth it, which pays for itself with only two movies in one month—but a lot less than has usually been the case in my long history of movie-going. Anyway, if you extrapolate that 7.3 times per month through the end of the year, and thus multiply it by 12, I am on track to have gone to the movies 87 times this year. Prior to 2020, I hadn't even gone to the movie as few as 104 times since 2010, and that was unusually low at the time. And pre-pandemic, by far the lowest number of times I ever went to the movies in a given year was in 2002, when I went 88 times. This year may be yet even lower than that. It could yet be slightly higher, but it won't be much higher. It's very likely I'll exceed that 104 number from 2010. Here I have a reverse-chonological list of annual filmgoing numbers, to give full context. Even counting 2021 as a pandemic year, as I did not return to movie theaters until halfway through it, I was still reviewing streaming films as of 2020 and only actually went to the movies in a theater 52 times in 2021. But, I wrote a record-breaking 135 movie reviews that year. Last year, I went to the movies in-theater 77 times but wrote 101 reviews. 2022: 77 in-theater; watched 101 I reviewed
2021: 52 in-theater; watched 135 I reviewed
2020: 17 in-theater; watched 56 I reviewed
2019: 119
2018: 110
2017: 109
2016: 116
2015: 116
2014: 128
2013: 113
2012: 134
2011: 130
2010: 104
2009: 119
2008: 129
2007: 123
2006: 128
2005: 113
2004: 131 (most not reviewed)
2003: 122 (none reviewed)
2002: 88 (none reviewed) Note that I did not start reviewing every movie I went to the movies to see until October 2004. Until 2020, I had a very strict rule about this: I only wrote reviews for movies I saw in their original run in movie theaters. The pandemic forced a pivot on that front, as movies originally slated for theatrical release were getting released on streaming platforms because theaters were closed. I even reviewed a record-low (by a large margin) 56 movies in 2020 because I reviewed nothing whatsoever between April and September, and only one movie between February and September: it took some months before studios started offering new releases even on streamers, giving me nothing new to review. 2021 saw a much more mixed list of movies I reviewed, between theatrical releases (which I did not start going back to until May) and streamers. Even in 2023 I'm actually somewhat open to reviewing a streaming release if I feel circumstances warrant it—for example, if it's something I expect a lot of people will be talking about. It just hasn't happened a lot so far in 2023, which has been the closest to the "pre-pandemic" experience since 2019. So far this year, I have only reviewed three movies I watched streaming at home, with one of them accessed via one of Shobhit's screeners for the SAG Awards, and the other two being streaning options during SIFF for movies whose theatrical showings in the festival could not work with my schedule. All of this is to say, I have seen a movie in the theater, or reviewed a movie watched at home, 53 times so far in 2023. By this same time last year, it was 67. Now, with typical Oscar-bait releases getting more concentrated releases in the fall, the numbers will likely go up faster later this year. But, I took myself to see Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem last night, and it had been the first movie I reviewed in over three weeks—not since July 23, when I reviewed Barbie. Now, there have been two more times I went to the movies since then, but they were both second viewings: Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One with Alexia and Shobhit on July 25; and Barbie with Laney and Shobhit on August 12, last Sunday. In the middle of that, of course, I had my eight-day trip to the Twin Cities, during which I likely would have gone to anywhere between one and three more movies had I been home. Still, there's a lot more than just the long tail of pandemic effects contributing to my going to the movies still so much less often than I was prior to 2020. There are two key things, actually. The more gradual thing, but still very real, is simply a changing industry, resulting in fewer choices at theaters that feel critical to go see. These changes had been gradually happening for some time prior to the pandemic, but the pandemic really kind of put a lot of it into turbo drive. The much more immediate thing, right now, is the dual writers and actors strikes, which is already resulting in postponed release dates of tentpole movies I had initially expected to see this year. It's not even certain anymore if DUNE Part Two will actually get released this fall after all. God, I hope so. I wasn't even super enthusiastic about going to this Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie. But, the reviews have otherwise been surprisingly good, and it had just been too long since I had reviewed a movie. This was really my only option this week for any movie in theaters that looked even halfway worth going to see. And now, having that checked off, I don't have a movie theater-going plan again until Tuesday next week, when Laneyand I plan to see Strays. I may have more than one movie to see over the week following, at least. I'm hoping. My calendar is looking pretty sparse with theatrical releases that look worthy of a look. — पांच हजार चार सौ पचास — — पांच हजार चार सौ पचास — The movie last night was at 5:00, and I could have chosen tonight or tomorrow night to go instead, but Shobhit already had a Braeburn Condos virtual board meeting to attend to last night, so I figured yesterday was the best choice. The next couple of days can get back to catching up on TV shows. Right now I have four shows in new seasons with weekly releases, including the latest I was reminded (by Gabriel) I need to add: season 2 of Winning Time, on which I am two episodes behind, is on Sundays; Only Murders in the Building released Tuesdays; Reservation Dogs Wednesdays; and What We Do in the Shadows Thursdays. This never used to be the case in summertime, but right now it's a pretty full weekly schedule of TV to watch. Anyway. The movie was only 99 minutes, which was a nice change of pace from way too many overlong tentpole movies of recent years. I got home around 7:00, and took another hour or so to write my review. I didn't watch any particular TV shows after that, but I did take my laptop back out into the living room so I could sit with Shobhit as I updated the draft of the next Social Review, finally getting up to date with all the links associated with the trip to the Twin Cities. There was a lot to do there, and this gave me a window in which to get it done. And, with that taken care of, for the next couple of days at least, I can just enjoy watching some stuff at home for which I don't have to write any reviews. — पांच हजार चार सौ पचास — [posted 12:33 pm]