The cinema is the worst place to watch a film

I’ve always loved cinema, but hardly ever cinemas. It’s no surprise to me that movie-going audiences are in decline. Ticket sales this year are only $4.8 billion, down from $6 billion in 2023. Apparently 65 per cent of Americans now prefer to watch a movie at home, compared with 35 per cent who say they prefer to watch it in a theatre. This is probably due to improved home cinema technology and the ever-shortening gap between when a movie is released in cinemas and is available at home. The chain of Curzon cinemas sold this month for a measly £3.9 million.

I can’t say that I find this trend upsetting. I don’t miss feeling my shoes sticking to the carpet, small children emptying popcorn down my neck or discovering that my underpants have become infested with fleas.

My worst experience as a cinema-goer came in 1987, as I attempted to watch Oliver Stone’s Vietnam movie Platoon in the crumbling structure of the Odeon, Holloway Road.