How I Decide Whether to See a Movie in Theaters in 2026

Earlier this morning I opened Douban and saw that Shen Teng's new movie, Welcome to the Dragon Restaurant, opened with a Douban score 0.1 higher than The Odyssey has right now.

A few days ago I asked on WeChat Moments whether people would recommend it, and said I'd go if it was good. A friend did recommend it, but when it came to buying a ticket, I still hesitated.

The main reason is that tickets are kind of expensive. At the theaters near me, they're at least 20 or 30 yuan. Not that I won't spend more than that on a movie. I paid 90 yuan to see Spider-Man: Brand New Day, for example. So I'm not someone who goes to the movies on the cheap. After all, if I really wanted to save money, I could just not go.

But I have to admit tickets cost a lot more now than when I was a student.

I looked it up a few days ago. In 2019, after Avengers: Endgame came out, I saw it in theaters three times. Even the most expensive one, in IMAX, cost me only thirty-something yuan. All three screenings together came to less than 100 yuan.

Also, for whatever reason, ever since I graduated from college there have been fewer and fewer good movies in theaters. And industry reports show it too: lots of cinemas are closing, and fewer and fewer people go.

So a few years ago, I set myself some rules for when I go to the cinema.

First, I don't go to the cinema for dramas. That includes Welcome to the Dragon Restaurant, the one I was thinking about today, and Grandma's Love Letters, which got great word of mouth earlier this year.

Second, I only go to the cinema for big visual spectacles. A visual spectacle can also be a drama, like The Odyssey, which opens tomorrow, but a visual spectacle usually means a big production, big set pieces, and a big-name director.

Third, musicals and re-releases of classics. After I saw The Greatest Showman and Witness for the Prosecution, I added musicals and classic re-releases to my list. Since then I've also seen the re-release of La La Land in theaters, and down the line I plan to see Kill Bill and The Shawshank Redemption there too.

I set the rules this way mostly because of what makes a cinema special. A cinema has a big screen and great sound, and compared with watching on a phone, the picture, sound, and immersion are much better. (I actually prefer Dolby Cinema to IMAX.) So when I'm deciding whether to see something in a theater, the first thing I ask is whether the movie's picture and sound can really make use of what a cinema offers.

That's why I don't consider seeing dramas in theaters. Dramas usually win you over with the subtle emotions between characters and in the story, and that comes through on any screen.

So in the end I decided not to see Welcome to the Dragon Restaurant in theaters. Of course, that doesn't mean it's a bad movie.