The public no longer chooses to read: the folded movies moved to the subtitled

“People don’t want to read, they want to have read,” said writer Alejandro Dolina years ago. Without knowing it, the lack of commitment to the reading that he observed at that time would end up influencing the cinema. Today 90% of the functions of a film are bent, while only 10% are subtitledaccording to sector sources. This was not always like this: Before the average was 60% to 40% or 70% to 30% depending on the type of cinema and its location. This change is not an isolated fact, but a symptom more than one consumer that prioritizes comfort. The demands are a thing of the past.

“The subtitling index of everything on offer should not reach 7 or 8% per year”he said in dialogue with Adrián Ortiz scope, programmer of more than 200 cinemas in the country. In other words, watching a subtitled film means shortened alternatives: functions at night and at certain venues. Less options, less possibilities.

The folded films moved to the subtitled: the main reasons

This habit change did not occur overnight. After the pandemic, the index of the adult public in theaters decreased. There was an audience that had preference for subtitled films, since they chose to watch cult or foreign stories. It is not necessary to ignore that, 15 years ago, Argentina was one of the countries with the highest European film consumption index. However, slowly that spectator began to prefer to stay at home and absent in the rooms.

“Chicas productions, which ran at the box office, today are bought by platforms. So, Many people prefer to see them at home because the little good subtitled proposal is polarized by the big platforms that buy that product at a price not high and has it within its catalog, ”says Ortiz.

One of the exceptions of this last time was “Homo Argentum.” A part of his phenomenon is because the adult public was not finding films to see, then they chose to go to the rooms to learn about the new proposal of Mariano Cohn and Gastón Duprat with Guillermo Francella. Besides, It adapts for both those with preference to folded films and those of their original language. “Homo Argentum” gave rise to a new political crack, but, without a doubt, He joined the classic and new film audience.

Beyond this case, without the niche spectator, The films that cut more tickets are terror (“The spell 4”, “final destination: blood ties”), Science fiction (“Superman”, “The Fantastic 4”), action (“F1”) and children (“Minecraft”, “Lilo & Stitch”). These same are what just They choose to see folded.

“The person who naturally chooses Spanish, is clear that he takes it more as entertainment. Today we are a spectator who offers us and not a spectator like a while ago, who was more demanding, who wanted to listen to the actor’s voice, ”says Ortiz. The public is no longer pretentious. Not only are you looking to entertain, but also find comfort. And that is not possible with Reading, since it is perceived as an obstacle to enjoyment. “We are in the postmodern era of ‘here and now’. Seeing a movie, immediate enjoyment is sought without ‘losing’ a single second to use attention in a cognitive function such as readingFor example. It seems that ‘think’, ‘use the head’ outside the ‘already’ that the current world imposes us, ” Analyzes sociologist Julieta Alonso.

Demographic issue

According to Adrián Ortiz, programmer of more than 200 cinemas in the country, 90% of subtitling consumption corresponds to Federal Capital, The remaining is divided between Córdoba and Rosario, while in the interior of the country it is almost null: “almost entirely it happens in the city of Buenos Aires because there is a very large population volume and because because The cinemas are located in areas where the public still responds or requests the subtitling. ”

The Patio Bullrich, Unicenter or Recoleta Shopping cinema, subtitled original films still have a great presence. It is precisely areas with greater purchasing power. However, the pocket is not the only factor: “In our Belgrano complex, unlike the rest, the public generally comes more to subtitled functions than to bent. Perhaps in the area there are not so many teenagers and young people, possibly because it is a neighborhood where a rather adult audience lives, ”he details Feldman, CEO of multiplex cinemas.

In addition to film chains, the city of Buenos Aires has independent rooms such as Gaumont, Cinema Cacodelphia or Lorca that project mostly subtitled films. Something that does not happen in the rest of the country. This does not mean that they do not seek to boost the consumption of this format. For example, in February of this year, The Cinemacenter chain launched a 50% discount promotion at the entrances of its subtitled functions on Thursdays and Sunday. It has complexes inside as in Bahía Blanca, Catamarca, Corrientes, Mar del Plata, Tucumán, La Rioja, among other national points.

Gaumont

Independent rooms such as Gaumont, Art Cacodelphia or Lorca project mostly subtitled films.

“In Multiplex Pilar we have the ‘Platinum’ room, there we exhibit a little more artistic material perhaps, while exhibiting the highest grossing films, for example. In general, we talk about People 30 years and older who are looking for this type of content, in original language with subtitles, since that public is driven by listening to the voices of the original actors, and not a dubbing ”Add Feldman. In short, Each place is a world.

Not everything is lost, there are still those who choose to read

The subtitling is not a whim. The original language is so much Part of the plot of a story as a fundamental piece of interpretation. However, it is also a reality that this is no longer a determining factor for the contemporary spectator.

“Cultural change has accustomed the public that nothing more tells him a story and not for example that he stops in what the performance is like, This no longer became the most important point for most, ”says Ortiz. However, not all are the majority. There are still those who choose to read. And the same was reflected in social networks. Users not only expressed their disagreement with the decrease in subtitled functions, but also based on For this same reason they stopped attending the rooms.

_Cine Gaumont

Today 90% of the functions of a film are bent, while only 10% are subtitled.

“There is a need for that audience that says ‘I want to continue going to the cinema and I want the subtitling’ and I think We have to pay attention to the extent to give that offer, ”adds Ortiz.

Almost as if it were a new cultural battle, reading, or lack of commitment to it, It gave rise to a fragmentation in the national public. But the film industry needs to stay afloat. It depends on the viewer. And the large part considers that comfort in any leisure activity is essential. Then, it responds democratically to demand. The folded films take over the rooms. But who said the cinema should be comfortable? Does, like any art, do not have to challenge the viewer?

“At some point we will take the time to do everything more easy, Understanding that the earth is not going to turn if I see a subtitled movie. Like everything in the social world, there are cycles, today we have to travel this stage of ‘now or nothing’, ”the sociologist Alonso bases.

People don’t want to see, they want to have seen. However, everything is in the hands of the audience. Is it profitable for a chain to have empty rooms? But shouldn’t they have options to meet the needs of each spectatoreven for those who do prefer to read? The questions accumulate, as are the functions folded in national rooms.

The niche spectator awaits the return of traditional values. However, the new era of consumption is a reality and the seventh art one of the many affected areas.