You’ll never get the chance to see that movie you were dying to see in theaters.

With COVID-19 keeping everyone inside, movie theaters are among many of the businesses that are getting hit hard. Stay-at-home orders and social-distancing guidelines are keeping everyone inside. Few people are leaving their houses and theaters are closed, which means no one is going to the venues to watch blockbusters.

Movies are now spending little time in theaters before going straight to a digital format, and some are even skipping the theaters altogether. For some, this may be exciting. For others, this is a big letdown.

Now that movies are going straight to digital, many people are losing the opportunity to view the movies at all.

Streaming sites such as Disney Plus are preventing people without subscriptions from watching movies that they would have been able to see in theaters.

Artemis Fowl is one of the first movies to skip theatrical release entirely and go straight to Disney Plus. Anyone who wanted to see the movie but does not have a Disney Plus subscription would have had the opportunity to see it in theaters. Now, they won’t be able to view it at all.

Similarly, for those with Charter, movies are going quickly to Charter On Demand. The prices are higher than a typical On Demand movie in an attempt to more closely match the cost of movie tickets. However, for those who don’t have Charter, the increased price doesn’t matter. They are left out on the experience entirely.

Putting movies straight to a streaming service isn’t fair to everyone. It leaves those without a subscription behind. Normally, everyone can see the movie if they want to in theaters. Now, they’re just out of luck.

There should be a neutral streaming platform where anyone can rent these movies to watch. Streaming platforms such as Disney Plus should not get the opportunity to monopolize blockbuster movies.

With a neutral streaming platform, it doesn’t mean the movies will be free. It just means that renting the movie is an available option. A one-time movie rental is not nearly the cost of what a yearly subscription to Disney Plus might be.

The film industry would still make money and viewers would be content as their usual option to watch new movie releases would be restored.

Watching movies is a right that everyone had when the movie theaters were open, and the coronavirus had yet to arrive. Streaming sites are now using this time to get more people to buy their subscription.

They are preying on bored people in a vulnerable time to make an extra buck.

Films going to digital directly is something that has become nearly inevitable. However, this is not the appropriate time for streaming subscriptions such as Charter On Demand to twist the arms of viewers in while the economy is already crumbling.

Putting movies straight on streaming sites isn’t fair. Viewers deserve the right to stream movies without needing to purchase a hefty subscription fee. If movies were slated to be available for everyone to see in theaters, they should remain available now.