When director Steven Soderbergh announced that he was releasing his new murder mystery, “Bubble,” in 20 theaters — and releasing it to pay cable channels and DVD at the same time, the nation’s theater owners reacted as if they had just received a death sentence.

They may well have. They already are hanging on largely because they rake in the ticket sales for the months between a movie’s theatrical release and its appearance on pay per view and DVD. Soderbergh’s move is just the first step of an inevitable development, and it could actually force theater owners to do what they have so long been neglecting: Re-invent themselves as places where people can get what they cannot at home.

Just as small, independent films have forced Hollywood to make more thoughtful, relevant films, so have inventive independent theater owners been finding new ways to put the entertainment back into the movie-going experience. Larger theater chains could take a leaf from the “beer, pizza and a picture” places, such as the one in the McMenamins Kennedy School in Portland, where sofas and small cafe tables in what used to be the former elementary school’s auditorium create enough space between movie goers to allow for the occasional quiet comment between friends — without provoking mean looks and shushing.

Perhaps the best example of a movie house that has totally changed the way it markets itself (and movies) is the Parkway Theater in San Francisco, which bills itself as “California’s First Speakeasy Theater.” Screening movies is still its main business, but it’s done in a way that markets the movie to a specific audience — and creates a party in the process. Thursday, for example, the Parkway aired a 1980s cheesy horror movie, “Cannibal Holocaust.” As the crowd lined up for tickets, an emcee brandishing a toy chainsaw got them laughing. They could buy a “cannibal pizza,” featuring bacon, steak and hamburger. Total price for movie, pizza and soda was under $20. The ambiance, socializing and laughter among the packed house were free.

Soderbergh’s distribution plan isn’t what has threatened theaters. Nor has new technology. Somewhere, they stopped being a fun place to visit. Going into a small multiplex with a screen not much bigger than a big-screen TV and having to sit through commercials isn’t going to get people out of the house. Putting the entertainment and fun back into the movie-going experience will.

Theresa Novak is the opinion page editor at the Corvallis Gazette-Times. Listen to this column by going to the “Podcasts” link at gazettetimes.com.