With the holidays right around the corner, America is used to the release of great comedy, romance and thriller themed holiday movies. Unfortunately, as the second strong surge of COVID-19 takes over the United States soil is closing down restaurants, bowling alleys and other sources of entertainment, including movie theatres, again until at least the 10th of January. Big December movie releases such as Peter Rabbit 2, Death on the Nile and Free Guy will all have pushed back release dates due to this second surge of the virus.

OHS senior Joey Brien is a big movie guy, spending most of his time surfing through Netflix. Brien was asked how he feels about movie theaters being closed resulting in pushing back movie release dates. Brien said, “I think the movie theaters should be open, it gives people something to do, and there is lots of space in movie theaters to have people spread out if need be.” Brien was looking forward to watching Death on the Nile as Ryan Reynolds is one of his favorite actors. 

Kanin Habel is a junior at OHS who is also into movies. Habel watches most of his material by Netflix, Hulu or by DVD . Habel said, “Movie theaters across the country will begin to lose lots of money due to the lack of business, but for production companies, I think they will be okay as their product can be released at a different time.” 

It already seems to be a common theme that movies are being watched more by digital platforms than ever before, with 73 million Netflix subscriptions and 36.6 million Hulu subscriptions. Habel said, “Quarantine will change the way we watch movies, as everyone is staying home more they are getting used to the comfort of their home, and learning about different platforms at home to watch movies on.” WIth technology getting better, more movie apps like Netflix releasing Christmas themed movies.  Titles like Holidate, Christmas on the Square and Operation Christmas Drop which were all Holiday releases, Hulu which is releasing Happiest Season and HBO which is releasing Wonder Woman 1984 on Christmas day, watching movies could become more convenient and comfortable at home, it could be right around the corner where movie theaters are a thing of the past.

With it being a long winter inside, a good way to pass the time is enjoying a great holiday movie. So get your hands on a new release from the comfort of your home or it could be a great opportunity to catch up on some classics.