Movies as opera‑style civic events

Moviegoing will consolidate into one or two spectacular venues per city — lavish, expensive palaces that program only a handful of premium presentations a year, supported by rich donors and marketed as civic cultural experiences rather than everyday entertainment. This shifts film from a mass, commodity product to an eventized cultural good with limited schedules and high prices. — If true, this would reshape urban cultural infrastructure, widen access inequalities, and change how films are financed and distributed — with implications for public subsidy, downtown planning, and cultural equity.