![]() ![]() ![]() However long it lasts, the drive-in is for now, in certain parts of the country, one of the only remaining refuges of public entertainment - of getting out the house to do something while still staying inside your car. “We’d love the drive-ins to shine but this is probably not the moment,” said Vincent, who owns Wellfleet Cinemas on Cape Cod. As infections rise in other parts of the country, Vincent suspects the drive-in’s window is already closing. In states like California and New York, restrictions on movement and gathering are being ramped up that mandate closures. John Vincent, president of the United Drive-in Theater Owner Association, estimates about 5-10% were open as of last weekend, and some of those are closing due to the pandemic. It’s a seasonal business to begin with, with many drive-ins not planning to open until April. They’ve somehow clung to life as relics of past Americana only to find themselves, for a brief moment anyway, uniquely suited to today But through decades of disruption and change in American life, they have managed to survive. They constitute a small, oft-forgotten flicker in today’s movie ecosystem that hardly competes with the megawatt glare of the megaplex and the nation’s 5,500 indoor theaters. There are just over 300 drive-ins left in the country. “Obviously this isn’t the way you’d want it to occur, but I’m excited for the idea that there may be a new generation of people that will get to experience going to a drive-in theater and - I was going to say catch the bug,” said Thomas, laughing. Usually open weekends, Thomas has kept screenings going through the week. Last weekend, they saw a 40% increase, says the theater’s owner, Andrew Thomas. The Showboat Drive-In Theater in Hockley, Texas, about a 30-minute drive outside Houston, normally sees ticket sales go down about 40% on a weekend when they don’t have any new movies. This weekend, some drive-ins aren’t the only show in town. With nearly all of the nation’s movie theaters shuttered due to the coronavirus pandemic, some drive-in owners think they’re in a unique position to give moviegoers a chance to do something out of the house while keeping distance from others. ![]() The drive-in theater, long a dwindling nostalgia act in a multiplex world, is experiencing a momentary return to prominence. ![]()
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