Penn’s Pix for Flix

I ain't scared.

That's something I often say to myself just ahead of a hard workout or when facing a challenging task at hand. I usually say it in the hopes that it will become self-fulfilling. Like that line in Waiting for a Miracle: "Stand up tall, pretend you're strong in the hopes that you can be." 2020 has been like that for a lot of people, including me. Put on your brave face and wheel to the storm. 

So has the storm passed? If we've learned anything this year, it's that we know nothing. In March, the Penn Cinema team sat in my office and game planned a "worst case scenario." I remember saying, “Oh my gosh, what if it goes until April?” Nah, no way it could go until April. That's cute. Now we’re game planning with nobody willing to set a timeline for normalcy. But that's cool, that's the smart way to look at it. Hope for the best, prepare for the worst—right?

Okay, so that's my global, overall outlook on Covid-19 and how the pandemic has changed the way I plan for things. But what about being scared? What about the number one, most common question I get lately: “Now that everybody's streaming at home, do you worry that nobody will come to the theaters?” My unwavering, totally confident answer? “Nope, not at all.” 

And here's why I ain’t scared of Netflix: On a rainy day, a couple of weeks ago, people poured into the theater. Their outdoor plans were canceled, and they wanted to be out of the house, so they took a rainy day to come see a movie. What movie did they come see? I have no idea, and they probably don't either. But they had fun, they escaped the house, the office, or whatever, and they came out to be entertained. They probably watched something else online at home, as well, but at some point during a rainy weekend, they wanted to get out—and so they came. They came to share an experience with "people." It's called community and we're part of it.

Another great example? As I sit here and type, the number one movie at Penn Cinema is a film called After We Collided. It's the number one movie by a long, long way. When it opened on Friday, it gave us our busiest day since March 2020. The next day, it beat that number. What's interesting about this movie is that while it is crushing it here at Penn Cinema, it’s also currently available at home. So apples to apples, we have a popular film—available at home now—that people are coming out to the theaters to see on the big screen.

You can't replace the big screen and you can't replace the shared movie-going experience. Or the real deal popcorn.

So am I anxious about Covid-19? Yup. Do I worry about my family, my friends, and the people I love? Of course. But am I scared of Netflix, AppleTV, and Hulu? Nah, I ain't scared. 

By Penn Ketchum