If this becomes the norm, I wonder what theaters will do to not lose too much of their appeal once the pandemic is over (all those that'll have survived by then, that is). They'll still have the bigger screen, and going to the movies is always a good plan when there aren't viruses all around, but many people will just choose not to spend that extra money if they have the chance to watch the same movie "for free" in the coziness of their home instead.
I know of a little theater that doesn't have the latest releases. Instead, the movies shown there are usually difficult to find in other places or services, the audience is therefore different, and that's what makes it work. Also, its prices are noticeably lower. Something like that is what I think the big theaters could do - combining the latest releases with some older movies that people would be willing to see but are not available on streaming services, while asking for a price that's enticing for the general audience.
Or they could perhaps embrace some technology that would really make a difference between them and their streamed counterparts. I don't know what that could be right now, however, but it should be something that could be done on the theater end without too much of an extra cost. 3D, for instance, was a nice feature, but it was dependant on the film being shot at that specific format and wasn't worth the (sometimes abusive) price increase it came with - not to me, at least.
Or if they've tried everything and still haven't been able to defeat their enemies, then let'em just join them. Theaters could make collaboration agreements with the subscription services, so that the movies that are available both in theaters and online have a (big) discount for people who buy the tickets for the theaters through their subscription service. That way, streaming services would still be (even more) appealing, because they would offer exclusive promotions, but not so much at the cost of theaters' own appeal, because those promotions would directly benefit them.
Or maybe they could try a combination of some or all of the above, or just not listen to what some random freak says on the internet and do something totally different or, well, nothing at all. Whatever the case, theaters will still face hard times after covid, which is kinda sad.
I'm mostly a lurker now.
