by Stephanie SoteriouBuzzFeedBuzzFeed StaffI’m an innately nosey and chronically online celebrity and pop culture journalist, with my specialist areas including deep-diving lyrics and calling out Terrible Men™.

As I’m sure you know, Timothée Chalamet sparked a whole heap of backlash earlier this month when he reflected on cinema being what he’d previously called “a dying art form.”

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Speaking to Matthew McConaughey during a CNN and Variety Town Hall event, Timothée was trying to highlight how important it is to keep “movie theaters alive,” but criticized other arts in the process. He said: “I don’t want to be working in ballet or opera. Things where it’s like: ‘Hey, keep this thing alive, even though no one cares about this anymore.'”

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And this was far from the first time that Timmy had shared this concern about the future of filmmaking, with it no secret that movie theaters have taken a hit in recent years.

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In fact, the industry is still yet to return to its pre-COVID peaks, which saw an annual domestic box office gross of $11 billion. For reference, 2025’s box office gross was $8.6 billion.

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And now, Ryan Gosling is going viral for his recent comments about the situation, with many praising the Hollywood actor for his seriously self-aware take on the situation.

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Ryan spoke out when he made a surprise appearance at a New York movie theater on the opening night of his latest film, Project Hail Mary, where he told the audience: “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.”

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Needless to say, that final line has really struck a chord with people, who have shared their reaction to what Ryan had to say on social media. Among them was author Brad R. Torgersen, who quoted Ryan’s remark and asked: “Did he really say that? Because it's arguably the most wise thing to come out of any actor's mouth in ten years.”

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And many agreed with this sentiment, with somebody else adding: “This quote is making Ryan Gosling my favorite actor.” Another user wrote: “What a refreshingly honest thing for a Hollywood guy to say.”

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Over on Reddit, it was noted: “Yes to this—studios need to prioritize more thoughtful, well-made original films, rather than churning out reboots and sequels on sequels where the budget is used up on star power and CGI and the writing is dumbed-down so that the audience can be on their phones at the same time.”

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“He’s right! I rarely go to movies anymore because of the cost but I’m excited to see this one in imax. If you make something worth seeing in the theater, people will show up,” another said of Project Hail Mary.

While somebody else pointed out: “He has the right attitude. I’ve seen so many people on film subs and in Hollywood acting like it’s our personal responsibility to keep theaters afloat and attack people personally who say they’d rather wait for streaming sometimes. If you make something worth going to, people will go to it. But we’re also not obligated to give our money to what’s often a lackluster experience for the sake of ‘keeping cinema alive’ or whatever.”

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If you’re wondering, Project Hail Mary is an adaptation of Andy Weir’s science fiction novel of the same name, which was released in 2021. The movie stars Ryan as Ryland Grace, a schoolteacher and former biologist, who wakes up aboard a spacecraft with no recollection of how he got there.

Since its release on March 20, the film has exceeded box office expectations, bringing in $140.9 million at the global box office in its opening weekend.

What do you make of Ryan’s comments? Let me know down below!

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Ryan Gosling Praised For Comments On Dying Movie Theaters