An old-fashioned idea that a newly-released film would play in 'theaters' - places where people once congregated to experience laughter, joy, tears and fear together.
The movie's production budget had been huge, its theatrical release now only theatricoretical. It would be seen in the privacy and safety of people's homes, earning pennies on the dollar.
Sort of like a new player, a theater newbie is a theater kid who is new, they often don't know a lot about theater, and think that they are better than everyone else. They often are convinced that they will get the lead roll, but are often in the Ensemble or not in the show at all. They also tend to TOUCH PROPS THAT AREN'T THIER'S
Have You Heard Of Josh?
Yeah, he's such a theater newbie, he hasn't stopped saying that he will get the lead!