Sam Mendes fears for the future of cinemas

Sir Sam Mendes fears that the "great era" of the cinema is dying.

The 'Empire of Light' director is disappointed that films are now going straight to streaming services rather than to the big screen and he worries that soon the cinema experience will not be available to people.

Speaking to the BBC, Sam said: "The 20th century, the great era of movies, the great entertainment form – which was going out to the movies – that is dying."

The acclaimed filmmaker believes that some of his most successful movies would have been released on streaming services if they had been made now.

Mendes, 57, said: "I look back at my films and I think 'American Beauty', 'Revolutionary Road', 'Away We Go', these would all go to streaming now and that makes me sad.

"I think those middle-budget movies don't get made for cinemas anymore."

Sam continued: "You look at the multiplexes and people go 'there's six screens' and then you go to these six screens and it says 'screen one Avatar, screen two Avatar, screen three Avatar.'

"That's not a six-screen cinema; that's six screens showing the same movie. That is a different understanding of why those buildings were created in the first place.

"What it means is filmmakers have to make things that need to be seen on the big screen."

Sam recently explained how he always feels a sense of "reassurance" whenever he visits a cinema.

The 'Skyfall' director said: "The cinema is the place you go when you're lost, or when you feel the need for reassurance or some sense of home.

"Those places were created, not just to watch movies, but to let you explore a side of your physique and your entire emotional landscape that would otherwise be ignored."