The last few weeks have been tremendous for the cinema. This weekend, Greta Gerwig became the first woman to break $1 billion (£786m) in ticket sales as a solo director with Barbie. Meanwhile, Oppenheimer has also drawn huge audiences, grossing over $500 million (£393m) so far.  

But just as everyone flocks to their local theatre to celebrate the cinematic event of the year (thank you, Barbenheimer) a new piece of internet discourse has started making the rounds. 

This weekend, when I logged on to Twitter (do we have to call it X now?), my timeline was flooded with opinions on solo cinema trips. As I soon learned, a recent piece from the Independent titled Doing Things Alone Isn’t Self-Love was going viral. 

The piece itself wasn’t an outright dismal of going to the cinema alone, though you would be forgiven for assuming it was given its (perhaps questionable) headline. Inspired by a TikTok video in which a younger woman filmed an older woman leaving a screening of Barbie on her own and calling her a “queen” for daring to do so, the piece explores (what the writer claims is) Gen Z’s fascination with “romanticising the little things”. 

The problem with the article is twofold: firstly, the headline used for social sharing (“Going solo to the cinema isn’t ‘an act of self-love’ no matter what the internet says”) makes it seem as though the article is dunking on solo cinema trips. (It’s worth noting that the writer concludes only that we shouldn’t be romanticising them, stating, “It’s OK if the mundane doesn’t excite us.”) But while the article doesn’t outwardly state that solo cinema trips are always bad, many have noted that it could make some people think twice before booking a ticket for one.

Cue the online discourse. Many were horrified that the article seemed to suggest that going to the cinema alone might be something to be ashamed of.

“When I first moved to the UK, I would go to the cinema by myself two, three times a week,” wrote film critic Rafa Sales Ross in a now-viral thread. “It was the only activity I felt comfortable doing alone since it was a familiar space regardless of where it was in the world. How vile to shame people into believing it isn’t socially acceptable.”

She added: “Many who might enjoy a solo cinema trip but are self-aware about it might stumble upon such a headline and feel disheartened. Why frame it as such? It is asking for controversy and empty engagement while failing to offer any meaningful reflection on the topic.”

Paul Ridd, head of acquisitions at Picturehouse, also chimed in: “Going to the cinema alone is fucking awesome and should be celebrated widely as the practice of the legendary. What a dismal drag to shame people for it.”

“Why shouldn’t people romanticise doing things alone in a society build for couples?” asks editor and writer Hannah Strong. After all, as she went on to write, with the cost of living crisis, we should all be able to find joy in small things – and if that means “romanticising” them, so be it.

No one should ever feel guilty or awkward or weird about going to the cinema alone – whether they’re there to romanticise the experience or not. For one thing, as Strong notes, life doesn’t have as many opportunities for joy these days. Everyday things, like food, drinks and – yes – cinema tickets are becoming less and less affordable as the cost of living continues to rise. So, who are we to tell people what they can and can’t enjoy – and, moreover, how that enjoyment should manifest itself.

And going to the cinema alone is a joyful experience. After all, it’s the perfect way to escape into a new world for a few hours – in fact, when you’re sitting alone, that sense of escapism can be even more complete.

Perhaps, some people enjoy the solo trip cinema trip because they are alone. For people with busy, hectic lives, sitting in the darkness of the cinema without kids or friends or colleagues or partners can offer a brief, welcome respite. 

It’s also worth noting that there are a lot of people who also go to the cinema alone simply to see the film on the big screen – not to hang out with friends or to embark on some kind of romantic solo journey.

Ultimately, who are any of us to judge how people choose to go to the cinema. Going with friends? That’s fine. Going alone with a dose of main character energy, ready to romanticise your solo cinema trip? Also fine. Or, maybe you’re going alone and… it’s simply a mundane, everyday event with no romanticism attached. Guess what – that’s fine, too. Maybe, if people are happy and enjoying the cinema, that’s something to be celebrated.

The one thing we can all probably agree on, however, is to not film strangers while they do it. Maybe we should stop watching what other people are doing at the cinema, and start focusing on the screen – after all, isn’t that the real point?

Image: Getty