Drive-ins helped movie theaters stay afloat during the pandemic, when their fate was in serious doubt. Now, years later, drive-in theaters are still providing a small but meaningful boost for the industry.

Drive-ins accounted for a significant portion of box office revenue in 2020, due to social distancing policies that reduced entertainment options. From late March through mid-August of 2020, drive-ins generated 85% of box office revenue in the United States, compared to 2.9% during the same time period in 2019, according to Comscore data provided to CNN.

As pandemic restrictions eased, movie-goers began to return to brick-and-mortar cinemas, and some drive-in locations shuttered for good. In 2024, roughly 283 drive-ins were operating nationwide, down from about 305 in 2019 and 31

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