The coronavirus pandemic has led to the closures of movie theaters across the U.S. and the delay of coveted 2020 blockbusters like Disney and Marvel Studios’ “Black Widow” and MGM’s James Bond film “No Time to Die.”

But that does not mean going to the movies is out of the question.

Drive-in theaters throughout the U.S. have not only remained open, but have seen spikes in revenue as consumers desperately look for ways to escape their houses while abiding by the rules of social distancing.

Andrew Thomas, for example, owner of the Showboat Drive-In Theater in Hockley, Texas, saw a 40 percent increase in sales revenue two weeks ago, and a 95 percent increase this past week, just by showing the same two movies: Disney and Pixar’s “Onward,” and the Universal Pictures horror film “The Invisible Man.”

“Everyone is looking for a way to feel normal and this is a way of being safe,” Thomas said. “I spend all day answering emails from people who never heard of us before, because they are trying to find something to do.”

Darrell Landers, founder and CTO of Ultimate Outdoors Entertainment, an outdoor movie-screen rentals company, told CNBC that his company has lost a substantial amount of revenue since the coronavirus led to mass public closings. Landers’ company survives off of bringing large groups of people together to watch movies outdoors.

But UOE has since refocused on its mobile drive-in theater business, which has been intact for 12 years, utilizing its LED screens to allow movies to be watched at all times of the day.

“Showing movies during the day outside is a new concept, and we are using the LED screens to test-drive movies at other times than just at night,” Landers said. “So the drive-in is sort of a rebirth and a way for us to replace some of the income that we lost.”

According to Thomas, the Showboat Drive-In Theater owner in Texas, even with the inevitable return of movie theaters across the nation, consumers will not immediately feel safe returning to auditoriums in such big masses, which makes drive-ins a much more viable option.

With movie theaters possibly staying shuttered for a majority of the summer, Thomas is asking big studios to consider releasing their coveted summer blockbusters with drive-in theaters.

“People will come because they want that sense of normalcy,” he said.

Words to Learn 相关词汇

【 不可能的】 bùkěnéng de out of the question not possible, having no chance

【正常状态】zhèngcháng zhuàngtài normalcy the state of being normal natural conditions

新冠肺炎疫情已经导致美国各地的影院关门，2020年最受期待的一些大片推迟上映，比如迪士尼/漫威的《黑寡妇》和米高梅的《007：无暇赴死》。

但这并不意味着去电影院看电影是不可能的事。

美国各地的汽车影院不但继续营业，而且收入还大幅增长，因为消费者迫切地在寻找既能出门又不违反社交隔离规定的方法。

举例而言，美国德克萨斯州霍克利的演艺船汽车影院两周前营业额增长了40%，过去一周又增长了95%。该影院的老板安德鲁▪托马斯只放映两部电影：迪士尼/皮克斯的《觅法奇程》和环球影业的恐怖电影《隐形人》。

“每个人都在寻找生活如常的感觉，这样做能给自己带来安全感。”托马斯说：“我成天都在回复电子邮件，联系我的人之前都没听说过我们这家影院，他们试着找点事情做。”

主营户外电影屏幕租赁业务的终极户外娱乐公司的创始人和首席技术官达雷尔▪兰德斯告诉CNBC说，自从新冠病毒导致大批公共场所关闭后，他的公司已经损失了一大笔收入。公司的收入主要来自人们组团在户外看电影的活动。

但是终极户外娱乐公司如今将重点放在汽车影院业务上，这块业务已经保持了12年，该公司的LED显示屏让人们全天都可以看电影。

“白天在户外放映电影是一个新概念，我们现在用LED显示屏测试在夜晚以外的时间放映电影，”兰德斯说。 “因此可以说汽车影院让我们重生了，借此也可以填补一部分收入损失。”

德州演艺船汽车影院老板托马斯表示，即使全国影院最终必将重新开放，消费者也不敢立刻成群地回到电影院，这使汽车影院成为一个更加可行的选择。

今年夏天的大部分时间电影院可能会一直开不了门，托马斯请大制片厂考虑在汽车影院上映他们备受期待的暑期大片。

他说：“人们会来看，因为他们想要那种生活如常的感觉。”

(chinadaily.com.cn)