ST. LOUIS (KMOX) - Drive-in movie theaters near St. Louis are ramping up for a reopening weekend. Some theaters will be back showing movies for the first time since nonessential businesses were closed due to stay-at-home orders in both Missouri and Illinois.
Skyview Drive-In in Belleville, Ill. is hoping to finally come through on its plan to reopen this Friday. Multiple past plans were foiled by decisions to keep businesses closed. It was expected to open last week, but the theater says Gov. J.B. Pritzker's office would not allow them to reopen. They'll be showing "The Goonies," "Beetlejuice," "Grease" and "Ferris Buehler's Day Off."
The Starlite Drive-In in Union Township, Mo., reopend on May 1, and will be back open this weekend. They'll be showing "Trolls: World Tour," "Doolittle," "Grease" and "Ferris Bueller's Day Off."
Some of it's operating changes due to the coronavirus pandemic include online-only ticketing and food orders, and bathrooms limited to one person at a time with 6 feet of social distancing in line.
Movie theatres in the St. Louis area have been closed since the stay-at-home orders were put in place in Missouri and Illinois, including Marcus Theatres, AMC Theatres, Moolah Theatre and The Fox Theatre.
Several of the more than 300 drive-in theaters around the country have remained open amidst the coronavirus pandemic and it's been reported that they're thriving as people look for any excuse to get out.