We aren’t alone in our tastes.

Personally, I’ve always loved box office numbers. Was never sure why, but for any movie I wanted to keep track of one of my favorite things was dissecting the predictions, the launch weekends, the legs, all of it. After walking out of Project Hail Mary for the second time this week, it hit me: A movie you like also doing well at the box office isn’t a disconnected event, in fact it’s the opposite. It’s confirmation that you aren’t alone in your tastes, and there are other people out there in the world who think like you do, like what you like, and are willing to spend god knows how much these days to show their support in theaters. It almost helps you feel like we’re a connected cultural community again, at least for a few fleeting hours, and that certain pieces of art can still bring us together even in the worst of times.