COVID Friendly Movie Theater Experience in the Chicagoland Area
How to still enjoy movies while staying safe
The COVID-19 pandemic has forced us to sacrifice a lot of activities we had the freedom to do because of health and safety concerns. A popular activity was movie watching in theaters. Due to the pandemic, movie theaters were forced to shut down most of their establishments as even social distancing was not enough to encourage safe habits in the theaters. Because of such long screenings and CDC guidelines not allowing long periods of time with crowds bigger than 10 people, unfortunately, movie theaters had to postpone movie screenings and shut down temporarily, some even permanently due to low funds.
Although Movie theaters are all still closed or open with strict restrictions, many parks and old drive-in theaters have started to screen movies, if not even more than before. Watching movies outdoors or in the comfort of your own car has allowed us to have a safer alternative to a popular date night location. Being in your own space and still social distancing has allowed sales for drive-in theaters both in old theaters and new set ups in parks to shoot up, bringing business back to something people enjoyed the most in the early 1950s.
The map provided shows locations in Chicago and outside as well that offer outdoor screenings and drive-in theaters that usually start running and functioning fully during the summer time.