“One Battle After Another” had a good night over the weekend after winning Best Picture, and director Paul Thomas Anderson nabbed Best Director at the Critics’ Choice Awards. The film’s star, Leonardo DiCaprio, had recently spoken with the United Kingdom outlet The Times about the state of the industry and shared his growing worry that, in the future, movie theaters could end up as niche as “jazz bars” are.
DiCaprio shared his thoughts on the future of theatrical experience and how it could become a rare entertainment experience, “It’s changing at a lightning speed. We’re looking at a huge transition. First, documentaries disappeared from cinemas. Now, dramas only get finite time, and people wait to see it on streamers. I don’t know.” Adding, “Do people still have the appetite? Or will cinemas become silos, like jazz bars?”
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At the same time, “One Battle After Another” ended up a huge deal for filmmaker-driven studio features as Warner Bros. reportedly spent over $135 million to make the award-winning satirical project from Anderson (admittedly, the event film was inspired by Thomas Pynchon‘s book “Vineland“) alongside releasing Zach Cregger‘s impressive occult film “Weapons” (earning $269 million on a modest budget of $38 million) and Ryan Coogler‘s pricey original vampire flick “Sinners,” the latter ended up making a decent $368 million (after some trade box office articles tried to convince readers the movie was a “disappointment”).
Hard to walk away from 2025 and look toward the theatrical lineup of 2026 without seeing how originals and creator-focused projects were still able to find audiences while also getting critical/award show love, when there is this consistent talk of theaters “dying.” Then again, Leonardo DiCaprio’s concerned sentiment isn’t without merit, as audiences stay at home with endless streaming options at their fingertips from the comfort of their couch.
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