The continuously showing movie was a vestige of early 20th century nickelodeons where you might see a some newsreel and then a series of relatively short movies

The continuously showing movie was a vestige of early 20th century nickelodeons where you might see a some newsreel and then a series of relatively short movies. It was effectively a constraint imposed by the format rather than an aesthetic choice. I think live virtual worlds, mmrpgs, etc are the closest analogue we have now to drop-in-anytime communal entertainment