Will virtual reality make movies obsolete?

I don’t think so.

You can watch movies in VR on a massive 2D screen and that could replace traditional TVs, but you’ll still be watching 2D films. Traditional movies offer a unique perspective. You’re looking at other people going through their lives or a story. You’re a sort of voyeur and you get to understand or experience someone else’s psychology. You’re exercising your mirror neurons and feel empathy (or not) with the characters.

Of course, in VR, you can experience something similar. If you watch something like “Allumette” in VR, you’re still a spectator watching a story unfold. And because of the feeling of presence, it feels like you’re at the theater (the one with live actors, not the movie theater) in a way.

But it gives you a different experience, not one that is replacing traditional movies. It’s also a more intense experience, not something you want to have all the time.

Traditional movies are more relaxed. You feel less involved. Something you want to have sometimes. And traditional storytelling is something people will carry on enjoying in the future.

As others say, it will transform traditional movies. It will influence and morph them. But both VR and traditional movies will be existing alongside each other in the future.