As the world reopens from pandemic lockdowns, we examine movie theater resurgence as a proxy for where we are in the recovery. While the theater industry was already dealing with secular headwinds such as better home entertainment experiences and the rise of streaming prior to the pandemic, we attempt to understand how the acceleration of streaming adoption during COVID-19 might affect attitudes toward theater-going now. The upshot: theaters are back, but not quite to pre-COVID levels.

With vaccination rates in the U.S. now exceeding over two-thirds of the total population, life is beginning to regain some sense of normalcy as people resume non-essential activities many had not experienced since before the pandemic. Returning to movie theaters is one activity many of us missed and, now that studios are again releasing blockbusters, movie-goers are eager to return to theaters to see these much-anticipated films. But the theater industry's future remains uncertain with secular trends, especially streaming, presenting headwinds even before the start of the pandemic. Using Similarweb estimates, we looked at the current state of the theater industry to gain a better understanding of people's desire to return to theaters.