Making Sense of a Year of Culture: Stats

I recently published my culture diary for 2025, and I thought I would actually take a minute to review what I consumed (or at least how I consumed it).

Movies (theater): 35

Shout-out to Regal Unlimited for the bulk of these, but also a strong showing from my local arthouse, Ragtag Cinema. Thanks to Courtney, I’ll be going even more in 2026 with a new Ragtag membership. Also: biggest of shout-outs to the IMAX at the Indiana State Museum, which is undeniably one of the best movie-going experiences I’ve ever had.

Movies (streaming-new/first time): 40

Not quite an average of one unseen film a week, but not too far off. Honestly, if decision fatigue and the resulting paralysis weren’t such a thing for me, I probably wouldn’t have resorted to throwing my hands up and rewatching something I’d seen before. But alas, here we are.

Movies (rewatch): 64

No cable, no matter: I’m still a fan of rewatches, even if I have to seek them out a little more intentionally. Actually, some of these were the most fun I had in movie-watching all year because Courtney had asked for a list of directors/films she should see, and I had a blast introducing her to some of my favorites and talking about them afterwards.

Movies (physical media): 13

Meager showing, considering the number of Criterion Collection discs I now have that have never been for a spin. Did have one shining moment when work on the house left us with no internet, and I RELISHED the opportunity to save the day with a physical disc. 2026 culture goal: Watch more physical media.

True/False Film Fest: 12

These are not included in my 35 trips to the cinema above. I separate these out, simply because I hold the experience to be so special. My favorite weekend of the year in Columbia, by far. Twelve is just about the most I can physically see, given the scheduling constraints and unwillingness to leave screenings early. This was a great year; didn’t really have any screening I didn’t enjoy.

TV Shows: 40

Wasn’t entirely sure how I wanted to count this, but I settled on the following: Forty represents the number of shows of which I watched a least an episode. Some old, some new, some abandoned, but for the most part, I finished what I started and enjoyed the majority of it.

Books: 25

The total number of books consumed (because I still feel icky crediting audiobooks as something I’ve “read”) is pretty sad. But what’s really sad is how many of them were audiobooks. Like, did I use my eyes at all this year? Didn’t feel like it when I reviewed the list, but I will say, in my defense, I made quite a few drives back and forth to Tennessee and each of those is seven hours, one way.

Most used streaming services (in descending order):

• HBO Max
• Netflix
• Paramount+
• ESPN
• Peacock
• Hulu
• AppleTV+
• Criterion Channel
• Disney+
• AMC+
• Mubi