A Moment for Drive-In Movie Theaters

Alan Taylor
March 30, 2020
18 Photos
In Focus

With movie theaters around the world closed or empty because of the ongoing pandemic, drive-in theaters appear to be having a momentary comeback. People looking for a big-screen movie experience can drive up, show their tickets without opening a window, and enjoy the show as an isolated family unit. Some drive-in owners are opening early in the season, hoping to provide people with something entertaining to do outside their homes—together with others, yet safely apart. Below, recent images of moviegoers in Germany, South Korea, and the U.S.

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The Bills family get comfortable in the back of their truck, with temperatures in the low 30s, before the movie "Onward" starts at the Basin Drive In in Mount Pleasant, Utah, on March 27, 2020. The Basin Drive In opened early this year, despite cold temperatures, because of the closure of indoor movie theaters due to the COVID-19 pandemic. #

George Frey / Getty

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Moviegoers buy tickets at the Basin Drive In on March 27, 2020, in Mount Pleasant, Utah. #

George Frey / Getty

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Kids sit in chairs in front of their car as they watch the movie "Onward" at the Basin Drive In on March 27, 2020. #

George Frey / Getty

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On a moonlit night, moviegoers enjoy a show at the Basin Drive In on March 27, 2020. #

George Frey / Getty

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The Keller family get comfortable in their truck before the movie starts, at the Basin Drive In, on March 27, 2020. #

George Frey / Getty

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In Essen, Germany, an employee scans the smart ticket of a visitor presenting it on her cellphone at a drive-in theater on March 29, 2020. #

Ina Fassbender / AFP / Getty

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Two women in a car watch a movie at a drive-in in Essen, Germany, on March 29, 2020. #

Ina Fassbender / AFP / Getty

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An aerial photo taken in Seoul, South Korea, on March 21, 2020, shows a view of a drive-in theater. #

Ed Jones / AFP / Getty

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A family prepare to watch a movie from their car at a drive-in theater in the Seongdong district of Seoul, South Korea, on March 23, 2020. #

Chung Sung-Jun / Getty

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People gather to watch a movie on an outdoor screen at a drive-in cinema in Seoul on March 21, 2020. #

Ed Jones / AFP / Getty

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A couple prepare to watch a movie from their car at a drive-in theater that has been temporarily made for residents to enjoy movies while keeping social distance, following the coronavirus outbreak, in Seoul on March 27, 2020. #

Kim Hong-Ji / Reuters

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Viewers in a parked car watch the film "Onward" at the Paramount Drive In Theatres in Paramount, California, on March 19, 2020. #

Chris Pizzello / AP

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People watch from their cars at a drive-in cinema in Essen, Germany, on March 27, 2020. #

Leon Kuegeler / Reuters

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People line up to pay for movie tickets at a drive-in theater in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, on March 28, 2020. #

Marco Bello / Reuters

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People inside their cars watch a movie at a drive-in theater in Fort Lauderdale on March 28, 2020. #

Marco Bello / Reuters

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Moviegoers relax in the back of a pickup truck at a drive-in theater in Fort Lauderdale on March 28, 2020. #

Marco Bello / Reuters

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A child plays in front of a movie screen at a Fort Lauderdale drive-in theater on March 28, 2020. #

Marco Bello / Reuters

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People enjoy a movie at a Fort Lauderdale drive-in theater on March 28, 2020. #

Marco Bello / Reuters

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