They haven't gone to the movies since before COVID. Five years later, they’re still choosing streaming.

Five years ago, when the world went into lockdown during the COVID pandemic in March 2020, many in the film industry feared that moviegoing was on the verge of collapse. Over the next year, movie theater chains like AMC and Regal faced financial losses, while concerns over virus exposure left people wondering if the traditional theater experience would ever fully recover.

For some movie lovers, the hesitation to return isn’t just about finances or convenience. Houston-based paralegal Kathryn Courtney, 45, who hasn’t been to the movies since seeing Uncut Gems in December 2019, said pandemic anxiety changed her priorities.

“I didn't want to go during COVID because I was worried about my health and safety,” she told Yahoo Entertainment. “Even now, the idea of unknowingly passing something along to others still makes me uneasy. It’s not just about me. It’s about everyone else in that room.”

New York City resident Nai Syriani, 36, shares similar concerns. “I became more health-conscious,” she told Yahoo. “The idea of sitting together with so many people in the same room is not something I’m able to get over.”

Although moviegoing hasn’t fully rebounded to pre-pandemic levels, some have shared with Yahoo which film finally drew them back to the theater.

Katie McConaughy, a Brooklyn-based fitness instructor, finally caved and saw Wicked after not going to the movies since Cats in December 2019.

“It was visually stunning and worth every penny,” she said. “Being in a packed house made me realize how much I’d missed the collective energy of an audience.”

At the height of the pandemic, movie studios were forced to make quick decisions. Many films, like No Time to Die and Fast & Furious 9, pushed back their original 2020 release dates by a year. Others, like Christopher Nolan’s Tenet, attempted a release after the shutdowns and raked in $350 million in box office sales, prompting debates of whether it was a success or a letdown given the circumstances.

While streaming became a safer, more comfortable alternative to theatergoing, for people like Courtney, it came with its own set of costs.

“The movie previews in the theater are probably what kept a lot of people coming back, but we've lost a lot of that with streaming,” she said. “The commercials that they've trickled back into streaming services are more for car insurance than what's about to hit theaters, so I usually don't even know what's coming out.”

‘Streaming is more convenient’

The multibillion dollar toll that the pandemic left on the industry was stark.

According to data from Box Office Mojo, U.S. box office sales topped $11 billion in 2019, but in 2020, they plummeted 81% to just $2.1 billion. It slowly built back to $8.9 billion in 2023, thanks to the success of Barbie and Oppenheimer, dropping slightly to $8.5 billion in 2024.

Meanwhile, in 2020, global subscriptions for streaming services exceeded 1 billion users for the first time ever, according to a Motion Picture Association report. By 2021, a handful of blockbusters like Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021), the first to make $1 billion at the box office during the pandemic, and Top Gun: Maverick (2022) helped drive audiences back into theaters.

Regardless, it was clear that the streaming boom had permanently altered the way people consume films, with subscriptions in 2021 increasing 14% from 2020, according to the Motion Picture Association. Now, according to a May 2024 poll by HarrisX, around two-thirds of U.S. adults prefer to wait for films to be released on streaming rather than make the trip to the cinema.

Johnny Cooper, 41, of Chicago, is one of them.

“Streaming is more convenient and less expensive. The hassle of going to a theater and dealing with crowds just doesn't have the appeal it once did,” Cooper, who hasn’t been to a movie theater since 2019, told Yahoo. “Life has also changed. I have two children now who are not quite movie-going age, so that limits our ability. I would, however, take my kids to the movies when they are older, but for now, it’s easier to stay home.”

Media psychologist Pamela Rutledge argues that the pandemic didn’t just disrupt theater attendance — it fundamentally altered how we experience entertainment.

“Stress reshapes our perception of comfort, effort and safety in ways that alter our behavior,” she told Yahoo. “Familiar and predictable experiences feel safer, and home is an emotionally safe space where it’s easier for people to self-regulate their emotional experience.”

Cooper said he was reminded of the theater experience when Anora director Sean Baker made a passionate plea at the 2025 Oscars earlier this month, urging filmmakers to “keep making films for the big screen,” calling the movie theater a “communal experience you simply don’t get at home.”

“I would go back because of that call to action — otherwise, I have had no motivation and certainly no appeal drawing me to theaters,” Cooper said.

But while most people aren’t consciously avoiding theaters due to COVID fears, Rutledge notes that the lingering stress still influences behavior in subtle ways.

“[Today’s movie-watching habits] reflect a subconscious psychological adaptation due to the chronic stress of the pandemic,” she explained.

Breaking the dry spell

For some, no amount of streaming convenience matches the pull of a traditional movie experience — especially when the right film comes along.

James Hester, 59, an author living in Martha's Vineyard, Mass., decided to return to the theater last year to catch a screening of the Luther Vandross documentary, Luther: Never Too Much, though he admits going to the movies hasn’t been the same.

“I missed laughing or crying with a full audience,” he told Yahoo about returning to the theaters. “But it just hasn’t been the same the few times I went back. It’s always empty.”

Others have tried creative approaches to ease back into moviegoing. Orlando Reece, a media industry sales executive in his mid-50s, rented a private screening room at a movie theater in upstate New York to watch House of Gucci in 2021 with friends, making sure to socially distance. He hasn’t returned to the movies since.

“The allure of home streaming has kept me nestled on my couch,” he told Yahoo. “The ability to pause for snack breaks without missing a beat is a luxury I’ve come to appreciate. Plus, my snacks at home are better!”

Reece nearly broke his dry spell for Wicked in November 2024, but ultimately decided to wait a few weeks for it to hit on demand (it officially starts streaming on Peacock March 21).

“Enjoying it from my living room, with the added bonus of singing along without judgment, and being able to rewind a few songs and scenes, was well worth the wait.”

For Texas resident Ro Taherivand, 54, the shift to at-home viewing was driven by worry about exposing her aging parents and 104-year-old grandmother — who later died from COVID complications in 2020.

Taherivand found the lure of watching movies from home in “comfy clothes” too appealing, so she put going to the theater on the back burner. She finally returned to theaters in July 2023 for Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One. She wasn’t the only one. The film ultimately raked in $80 million during its opening weekend.

“A movie with that kind of action is not something to see at home,” she said of the Tom Cruise blockbuster. “To watch it on the big screen with the effects, the nachos and of course the previews, was incredible. I’m now waiting for MI8 and will definitely go back to see it on the big screen.”