After streaming's worst week, Hollywood bows at the altar of cinema

The ascendant business of steaming video, which has for years been seen as the biggest threat to the traditional entertainment industry, just had quite possibly its worst week ever. Netflix's stock got crushed. CNN+ got killed.

What a time for Hollywood to bow at the altar of movie theaters, right?

This week, the major film studios — Disney, Warner Bros., Universal, Paramount and Sony — along with smaller distributors have gathered in Las Vegas to kiss the ring of the world's movie theater operators, from the biggest multinational chains to the smallest mom-and-pops.

At this year's CinemaCon at Caesars Palace, celebrities, directors and studio chiefs will once again take the stage to tout upcoming summer movies, unveil new trailers and behind-the-scenes footage and, above all, talk up the majesty of the cinema experience.

Even during the direst of times, the Colosseum during CinemaCon is a pulpit from which studio bosses and exhibitors proclaim, often defiantly, that they're not going anywhere and that nothing can replace the collective joy of watching a big screen in a dark theater.

This year, the stakes are as high as they've