Cinema screens was the most popular screen format in the early 20th century. It was cheaper to have wider halls than taller, more seats, maybe lesser construct

Cinema screens was the most popular screen format in the early 20th century. It was cheaper to have wider halls than taller, more seats, maybe lesser construction costs so 11:8 ( standard academy) or 1.43:1(IMAX) or 2.2:1 (70mm) all became popular. The wider screens also gave more immersive experiences and film makers took advantage of that in their movies with panoramic landscape shots and other techniques. Most non professional films(post covid even a lot of professional ones) are watched today on a smart phone screen which is usually something like 9:16. So, unless you are making a movie to be released in theatres I would say film makers should default to use 9:16 not other way around. A good film maker should target the medium they are working with, there is nothing inherently special about either one. There were great directors/actors who could do amazing work without sound or only b/w etc (sometimes failed to adapt to to the transition), all mediums have some limitations we have to work with what we have.