NOT WITH A BANG, BUT A WHIMPER: Streaming is overtaking theaters for movie watchers, new poll finds.

Americans are more likely to watch newly released movies from the comfort of their own homes instead of heading out to a theater, according to a new poll.

About three-quarters of U.S. adults said they watched a new movie on streaming instead of in the theater at least once in the past year, according to the survey from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research, including about 3 in 10 who watched new movies on streaming at least once a month.

Meanwhile, about two-thirds of Americans said that they’ve watched a recently released movie in a theater in the past year, and only 16% said they went at least once a month.

The results suggest that, on the whole, American moviegoers are more likely to stream a film than see it in the theaters, a shifting tide that was only accelerated during the COVID-19 pandemic and its aftermath. Convenience and cost are both factors for many people who can’t find the time to go to a theater or pay the increasingly high price for a ticket.

Movies were one of the last mass-media events. I’m sorry to see them abandon this model after 125 frequently brilliant years: Like Golfballs Through A Garden Hose…This is the streaming suck of our lives.

UPDATE: There Are Too Many Streaming Services & Many Will Be Forced to Shutdown Soon or Merge.

UPDATE (11/21/25): If only there was a tried and true method to put butts in seats in front of a big screen: