Ryan Gosling has insisted it is Hollywood's "job" to keep cinemas afloat.
The Project Hail Mary actor made a surprise appearance at a New York movie theatre for the opening night of the new blockbuster, and he told the audience it isn't their responsibility to save the cinema-going experience amid concerns over the rise of streaming services and falling box office figures.
Instead, Ryan argued it is up to moviemakers themselves to ensure they are creating content that people want to see on the big screen.
According to Variety, he said: “Six years ago, I got the manuscript. [It’s] the most ambitious thing I’ll ever make; it seemed impossible. It was too good not to give it a shot. Six years later, we did it.
"Here we are, we’re all back in theaters. It’s not your job to keep them open, it’s our job to make things that make it worth you coming out.
“You’re about to go to another galaxy, make an alien best friend and save the stars. This movie is for you. Enjoy the trip!”
Meanwhile, One Battle After Another star Leonardo DiCaprio recently expressed his fear for the future of cinema as a result of the rise in popularity of streaming services.
He told the Sunday Times Culture magazine: “It’s changing at a lightning speed.
“We’re looking at a huge transition. First, documentaries disappeared from cinemas. Now, dramas only get finite time and people wait to see it on streamers. I don’t know.
“Do people still have the appetite? Or will cinemas become silos — like jazz bars?”
His One Battle After Another director Paul Thomas Anderson agreed: "It's hand-to-hand combat."
The Once Upon a Time... In Hollywood actor is worried the rise to drive people away from cinemas and back into their own home will have a negative impact on "real visionaries".
He said: “I just hope enough people, who are real visionaries, get opportunities to do unique things in the future that are seen in the cinema. But that remains to be seen.”
Avatar director James Cameron has also voiced his fears for the future of cinema in response to the popularity of streaming at home.
He told The Times newspaper: There’s no way to talk about what audiences want without talking about the decline of cinema.
"The cinematic experience is being supplanted in our cultural discussion by streaming.
"Covid gave cinema a big kick and people moved to a different way of taking in their storytelling.
"And so when people go to a cinema they want something so far outside the norm that it’s worth hiring a babysitter for. Avatar sits in that demographic and so I don’t see it being diminished much, but I mourn box-office revenues.
"We are coming out of a tragic year at the cinema.”
