THE golden age of drive-in movies appears to be making a Hollywood-style comeback as a result of the Covid-19 neccesity for social distancing and a longing for big-screen entertainment.

Following numerous calls on social media to bring back the original car-based form of collective entertainment, the move has started to attract a whole new audience in the process.

Last month, the New York Times documented a resurgence of drive-in theatre activity in states across the US. Furthermore, images have emerged of people flocking to drive-ins as far away as Germany and South Korea.

A drive-in theatre concept is simple, consisting of a large outdoor movie screen, a projection booth, a concession stand and a large parking area for vehicles. Within this enclosed area, customers can view movies from the privacy, comfort and safety of their cars.

The screen can be as simple as a wall that is painted white, or it can be a steel truss structure with a complex finish.

Originally, the movie's sound was provided by speakers on the screen and later by individual speakers hung from the window of each car, attached by wire.

These systems were superseded by the more economical and easier to maintain method of broadcasting the soundtrack at a low output power on AM or FM radio to be picked up by a car radio.

This also allows the soundtrack to be picked up in stereo by the audience on an in-car system which is typically of higher quality and fidelity than the simple speakers used in the old systems.

While the films they’re showing aren’t necessarily new, that hasn’t hurt business; in pandemic times, the old rules for box office success don’t apply.

Indeed, this isn’t even the first time that audiences have turned to drive-in cinemas for their built-in respect for social distancing during a public health crisis.

They originally appeared in the US in 1933, more than two decades before the first polio vaccine. In the 1950s, when outbreaks of polio became severe, some drive-ins boasted that their venues were the perfect place to be 'flu and polio protected,' plus there’d be no babysitter problem.

Some marketing messages of the time spoke to parents fearful of exposing their children to disease epidemics. In 1958, there were 4,063 drive-in cinemas in the US alone.

Now that restaurants have been forced to close because of the coronavirus pandemic, they too have begun jumping into the drive-in revival, putting up massive inflatable screens in their car parks.

Some have arranged date-night esque events, pairing old films with fancy meals.

For traditional drive-ins, there may be signs of a well-timed renaissance in the works. Some larger chains are making the most of new technology to enhance a night out that’s also 'in.'

One businessman is even using the opportunity to go for a record. Spencer Folmar, CEO of Veritas Theatres, has proposed a $1 million destination complete with camp and RV grounds, restaurants and shops in his native Florida that would all be centred around a Guinness Book of World Records–verified world’s largest drive-in, if it gets the green light from local authorities.

Cinena experts in the Gulf region are believed to be watching the growth with interest, knowing there's an army of big screen devotees currently stuck at home.

Could offering movie magic from the comfort of air-conditioned cars, providing all Covid-19 safety precautions are adhered to, offer a silver lining to the cinema shutdown?