If the only thing drawing people to the theater is artificial scarcity then the theater is adding zero value.
The theater experience used to be a massive step up over the home experience. Today, that's not there in a lot of places.
There are some theaters that have put in effort and do make it worthwhile to see something on the big screen. But it took years for theaters (as an industry) to start making that investment and adding value.
Theaters that do add value will always draw people. They can show new films, or they can show old films, and still pack the house. Hell, good theaters can still sell out (at a premium) when showing TV shows. That is a thing.
Something that is free on TV, yet people will still pay to see it on a quality big screen, with a large audience.
While it's not a theater directly, tickets for Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone at the symphony hall are currently selling out at $150+ here in SF. They had to add additional showings.
That is an old film, that anyone can easily rent or purchase to watch at home, but the symphony is packing seats for an exhibition because the score is being performed live. THAT is a value add.
I'm not saying that theaters need to have live music, but the ones that want to survive long term need to offer real value beyond "exclusivity" to continue to draw crowds.