When Sean Baker won best director for Anora at last year's Oscars, he ended his acceptance speech with an ode to the communal experience of going to the theater: "Please watch movies in the theater, and let's keep the great tradition of the movie-going experience alive and well," he said.
He's not alone, as movie icons like Zendaya and Ryan Coogler encourage a return to the theater.
They have an uphill battle: since 2019, the number of movie theater screens in the country has dropped by over 5,000 — nearly 14%, according to research firm Omdia — and theaters continue to struggle to bring in audiences in line with pre-pandemic numbers. The Oscars recently announced they'll no longer host member screenings of award hopefuls, reflecting broader shifts in the movie industry.
According to an analysis by NPR, movie theater releases for eventual Oscar best picture nominees mirror these trends. Compared to past nominees, recent movies with best picture nods are showing in fewer theaters nine or 10 weeks after their initial theatrical release, creating a shorter tail for audiences to see them.
The patterns reflect a jumble of variables, including release dates, voters' taste, and shifts in theatrical exhibition patterns. But they show how industry trends are reflected in Oscar hopefuls.
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Every year is a little bit different. A high number of blockbusters that came out in 2019 were nominated for best picture, including Once Upon A Time ... In Hollywood, Ford v. Ferrari and Joker — so they showed in more theaters that year. In 2020 and 2021, the pandemic slowed down production to a halt and changed how movies rolled out in theaters.
For decades, studios kept their movies in theaters for at least 90 days before making them available at home. But those norms began to change even before the pandemic — in 2018, Netflix released best picture nominee Roma, for example, for roughly three weeks in theaters before making it available to stream.
And standard exclusivity periods went out the window with COVID-19. Since then, movie theaters have been pushing for a 45-day theatrical window — and theatrical exclusivity windows remain a topic of debate in Hollywood. Just this week, Universal announced that it'll keep its movies exclusively in theaters for at least five weekends, and longer starting in 2027.
Streaming is inevitably playing a role in exhibition trends, but Paul Dergarabedian, the head of marketplace trends at research firm Comscore, says it's clear that studios still value the theatrical experience: "[Streaming giants] understand the power of the movie theater to generate interest, prestige for these films, and give them more value down the road," he says. "If Apple had put F1 just on streaming, they would have lost out on all that marketing gravitas, the power of that movie theater experience to raise the level of that movie — that did a lot for Apple."
Another major factor coming into play are the release dates, according to Dergarabedian. To avoid competition with major box office hits during the summer season, studios have long released many of their smaller films towards the end of the year to get screen space.
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This end-of-year release timing provides an advantage. Because many movies start with limited releases that build up over time, they're able to extend their theater runs into the new year, circumventing the summer season to make the film more visible. However, with these releases clustered around the same time period, there's fewer screens to share. And in tandem with what are already busy end-of-year movie slates, shorter runs for Oscar contenders in theaters mean it's getting even harder for movie fans to see Oscar hopefuls.
Independent theaters making a comeback
Despite this, arthouse and independent theaters still see Oscar season as an opportunity. Tori A. Baker, the CEO & President of Salt Lake Film Society, runs Broadway Centre Cinemas, an arthouse theater in the city. Her busiest season is after the nominations, which brings in a crowd.
"Our summer season is the Oscar season," says Baker. "Our audiences spike during the period where the most films are getting the most attention for their critical acclaim."
Still, smaller theaters have to make compromises. Stephanie Silverman runs the Belcourt Theater, a three-screen movie theater in Nashville, which posted record memberships at the end of 2025. Her audience looks forward to Oscar nominations, but because of the packed release schedule in November and December, she has to make choices, particularly this year.
"We have to be very strategic and make our picks," says Silverman. "Sometimes we miss out on something that could have been really special, but we only have so much room."
Silverman has expanded her Oscar offerings in the Belcourt theater with a marathon of the best picture nominees, which has proven to be a success even though viewers can watch the nominees at home. Silverman also ran best picture nominee Hamnet for 12 weeks, attributing the success to its long theatrical run.
"[Hamnet] just kept building and audiences were consistent," said Silverman. "It was a film that needed some space to find its audience and then it really found its audience."
Gen Z leading the way
Though recent trends reflect challenges for the industry, movie theater owners see reason for hope. Since the pandemic, Gen Z has spearheaded the return to theaters. On average, they're attending movies six times a year in 2025, up from 4.9 the year prior. It's cathartic, according to Baker.
"[Gen Z wants] to have an experience that feels very real, that is not technology-based in the same way that playing a digital game is, or communicating on their iPhone," she says.
Many Gen Z audience members not only want to see new showings, but older films, fitting into the programming of many smaller theaters. The Belcourt in Nashville has shown previous Oscar nominees like Paul Thompson Anderson's Magnolia, while the Broadway Centre in Salt Lake City hosts a "summer showdown" pitting two classic films against each other.
"Younger audiences want to see the repertory and classic films that they've been hearing about from their other generations in their family that are older," says Baker.
It's a shift from the pandemic experience. Instead of watching a film alone on a small screen, tempted by phone notifications, movie fans are now stepping back in camaraderie to arthouse and independent theaters.
"Theatrical exhibition is the greatest communal experience that you can have," says Baker. "Whether everybody's just full of dread because it's a horror movie or whether they're laughing or crying, it's such a special thing."
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