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Brian Lehrer: Brian Lehrer on WNYC. Now we're going to end the show on a lighter note. It's a call-in on what movies actually got you to go to a movie theater in the last year as opposed to watching it at home. 212-433-WNYC, 212-433-9692. What movies actually got you to go to a movie theater in the last year as opposed to watching it at home? 212-433-WNYC. You know why we're asking? Oscar nominations for the 2023 Academy Awards were announced yesterday. Everything Everywhere All at Once led with 11 nominations overall. The nominations were full of snubs, surprises, and overdue recognition for some people in the entertainment industry.

The pandemic isn't over, which is our hook into this, but people started heading back to the theaters last year. However, the LA Times reported that while box office sales for 2022 ended at roughly seven and a third billion dollars, and that sounds like a lot of money, that was down 35% compared to the last pre-pandemic year of 2019. There were a handful of hits in the theaters like Everything Everywhere All at Once, Top Gun: Maverick, and Glass Onion that drew huge audiences to theaters. What movies did you go to see in the theater last year? 212-433-WNYC, 212-433-9692.

That same LA Times article, by the way, points to a shortage of films to even see in the theaters as one possible reason people aren't going as often. If there were more movies with theatrical releases, would you go in person? Have your movie-watching habits changed in the past few years? Because so much stuff just comes out first on Netflix or HBO Max or wherever you watch. 212-433-WNYC, 212-433-9692. Call us and let us know how your movie-watching habits have changed and whether because of COVID or just because of convenience or for any other reason. 212-433-9692. It's a call-in on what movies actually got you to go to a movie theater in the last year as opposed to watching it at home. 212-433-9692. We'll take your calls right after this.

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Brian Lehrer: Brian Lehrer on WNYC. Now to your calls on what movies actually got you to go to a movie theater in the last year as opposed to watching it at home or don't you just do that anymore, either because of COVID or because you don't have to, to see all the good films. 212-433-9692. Darren in [unintelligible 00:03:13], you're on WNYC. Hi, Darren.

Darren: Hi, Brian. How are you?

Brian Lehrer: Good.

Darren: I got to see Avatar 2 in Lincoln Square, and it's the largest IMAX in the United States. I was able to sneak out with my wife. We have two young kids, so it was a special treat. James Cameron said specifically, this is a movie that you need to pay attention to, not watching on your phone. I think he was right about it. It was really compelling, a mega blockbuster, and just an amazing thing to watch on a huge IMAX screen. It was worthwhile for sure.

Brian Lehrer: Darren, thank you very much. [unintelligible 00:03:51] in Hoboken, you're on WNY C. Hi, [unintelligible 00:03:53].

Caller 2: Hey, Brian. A super long-time listener, finally first-time caller. Great to speak with you.

Brian Lehrer: Glad you're on.

Caller 2: Thanks. I was just relating to your screener that I finally broke my COVID drought of not going to the movies. I finally geared myself up when I went to go see the Top Gun movie, and it was not what I was hoping for. Definitely not worth breaking the drought over it. It was not a fun experience all things considered.

Brian Lehrer: You didn't like the movie? How was the-

Caller 2: I did not.

Brian Lehrer: -experience of the screen after not having gone to a theater for a while?

Caller 2: Yes, great question. It was wonderful. Obviously something I definitely missed. I would say that between COVID, being cautious about COVID and losing my income during that period and then also my local movie theater going out of business, the opportunities to go were reduced to nothing. At least getting to sit in a theater and watching on a big screen was cool. I'll give it that. There was--

Brian Lehrer: [unintelligible 00:05:09], thank you so much. Call us again. Carrie in Croton, you're on WNYC. Hi, Carrie.

Carrie: Hey, thank you for having me. I love your show.

Brian Lehrer: Thank you. What got you out there?

Carrie: The movie I saw-- [chuckles] I love it here. Love it. I saw Wings Over Water, which was in 3D. It was a real art film, actually a social action film about birds and their migration and about preserving our wetlands. It was fabulous, by some local artists here, Andrew Young and-- It was really wonderful.

Brian Lehrer: A good nature film on a big screen is unbelievable, isn't it?

Carrie: Oh, it's 3D. It was so fabulous, and they are so talented. Afterwards, there was a question and answer with their explaining things of some of the shots. Their local people, they were just wonderful. Susan Todd was the other-- the two filmmakers. It was just thrilling. The other one that was good at the same theater, a small theater near here, it was in Pleasantville, the Burns, was Where the Crawdads Sing. Seeing that, another kind of a nature film, was wonderful to see it on the screen. I got a friend out who doesn't get out much, and it was just so much fun to see it with her. She was thrilled to get out and has had a lot [crosstalk].

Brian Lehrer: All right, it's the creatures that brought Carrie back to the movies. Carrie, thank you very much. Nicole in Manhattan, you're on WNYC. Hi, Nicole.

Nicole: Hi. Thanks so much for [inaudible 00:06:49]. I got out to see Elvis and Top Gun: Maverick back to back at the Millerton Moviehouse this summer. [unintelligible 00:07:00].

Brian Lehrer: When you say back to back, you mean like a double feature?

Nicole: Well, sorry, no, one day after another. We just loved the experience of being back in the theater again. Both films, I felt the visual effects made such a huge impact, seeing them outside of one's home.

Brian Lehrer: Does it make you want to go more or the fact that you can get so many movies at home now makes you think, "Well, that was good, but I'm not going to do it as much as I did it before the pandemic"?

Nicole: Such a good question. There is definitely an expense to it, and there haven't been that many films that I've wanted to go see. I think now there is just a surplus of what's readily available, and fortunately or unfortunately, films coming too quickly to the home screen so you can take advantage of them more easily has gotten me to go less.

Brian Lehrer: Nicole, thank you very much. Most of the people, by the way, I will report, either saw Avatar or Top Gun or Elvis. Let's take an Elvis caller. I know Nicole said she saw Elvis and Top Gun: Maverick on back-to-back days. Let's talk about Elvis with Jasmine in North Plainfield. Jasmine, you're on WNYC. Hi.

Jasmine: Hi. Elvis wasn't one of the only movies I saw, but I think it got me the full movie experience I had been missing. It was opening weekend for the theater. Just seeing such a really visually stunning film, sound-wise, everything, it was really just a beautiful experience to be back in the theaters and enjoy with so many people.

Brian Lehrer: For people who haven't seen it, when you say the cinematography was so great, is there something you can put into words briefly about why?

Jasmine: If you're familiar at all with Baz Luhrmann then I'm sure you'll understand Moulin Rouge is one of my favorite movies. All the colors, the dazzle, the sparkle, it's just a really fun movie to see. It just brings back all the charm that I enjoy so much from Moulin Rouge. I'm not a huge fan of Elvis, but I think if you are, you maybe will get that same feeling. It will spark something in you. It's hard to put into words, but it's very bright, very loud, very exciting-

Brian Lehrer: Jasmine, thank you.

Jasmine: -in the best way possible.

Brian Lehrer: Thank you so much.

Jasmine: Thank you.

Brian Lehrer: One listener tweets, "I went as usual to the cinema to see the Oscar shorts, love them, so there's something to do." On Twitter, we have Everything Everywhere All at Once. Nobody who has seen that. I'm sure that's among the top films that some of you have seen in theaters, but nobody on the phone is seeing it. One more than a number of people are bringing up. I'll let Jeff in Newark do it. Hi, Jeff, you're on WNYC.

Jeff: Hey, Brian. I was motivated to go to some of those big ones that other people have seen, but what I actually went to see was Puss in Boots and it was in 3D. Really, anything that the whole family is going to be motivated to do, that's what we get out to do. We've got a five-year-old and a seven-year-old. It was really beautiful. It was really an amazing story of, you've got your ninth life, no longer living a fearless life, but do you retreat back and feel like that's it and somewhere in between really being appreciative and embracing everything that is in this life? It was really beautiful. It was wonderful.

Brian Lehrer: Nicely said. Do you have your eye on the next one?

Jeff: Not yet, but it's interesting that the availability of movies on the [unintelligible 00:11:02]. I've watched Banshees of Inisherin multiple times at home, but probably, the next time there's a kids-focused movie, we're going to load up and roll out and go see it.

Brian Lehrer: All right. The five-year-old rules the roost. Jeff, thank you very much. Thanks to all of you for your calls on what drew you back to the movie theaters.

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