At the drive-in: the best films you can see from your car

The summer stretches out before us like a featureless desert, devoid of music festivals, sporting events, weekend breaks, pagan rituals and other seasonal fixtures. There’s not even much on at the cinema yet. But film fans at least have a novel alternative this year: drive-in movies are making a spectacular, socially distanced comeback. And if it rains, you just turn on the wipers.

The ritual has moved on from its 1950s golden age, but not a lot. It is pretty much the same at most locations: a pre-booked parking slot; a programme of family movies, 1980s classics and recent hits; sound comes either through a dedicated radio frequency or a loaned portable speaker; food and drink can often be ordered online and delivered to your car (any cuisine you like so long as it’s American). Prices are typically £25 to £50 per car, often with discounts for NHS workers. And some venues are offering drive-in comedy, music and even “silent car discos”, too.

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Before this year, there were only a handful of drive-in cinemas in the UK, among them Brent Cross’s Drive-In Club and West Sussex’s Cinestock (to 21 Aug), which boasts the country’s only indoor drive-in screen. Many others are now muscling in. Secret Cinema has set up at Goodwood Motor Circuit (to 31 Aug), offering movies plus a 30-minute pre-show of singing, dancing and prizes (including “best-dressed car”). Also hitting the road is the Luna Drive In Cinema (to 18 Aug), which has screenings in London, Manchester, Leeds, Oxford, Warwick and Knebworth, and more venues promised. The 50s-themed @TheDriveIn (to 4 Oct) tours Birmingham this week, then Manchester, Leeds, Newcastle upon Tyne, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Liverpool, Cardiff, Bristol, London, Southampton and Brighton. The Star & Mouse Picture Show (to 13 Sep) moves on from Suffolk’s Helmingham Hall this weekend to rural venues from Reading to Keighley.

Edging it towards the culinary front is the Drive & Dine Theatre (to 2 Aug), which brings standup comedy as well as movies to scenic spots in southern England including Luton, Marlow and Tunbridge Wells (all this weekend), plus a food menu by chef Tom Kerridge.

On a more local level, there are other options: In London, Rooftop Cinema has set up at Alexandra Palace (to 31 Jul), Acton has the Sunset Cinema (to 31 Jul) and Edmonton’s Troubadour Meridian Water has The Drive In (to 11 Aug). The Village Screen’s Drive Thru Cinema (21 Jul to 2 Aug) is in Sheffield and Manchester, and Newark’s Nightflix has movies this month. Somewhat predictably, if there’s one film that’s showing at pretty much every drive-in in the country, it’s Grease. You could do a nationwide road trip just catching screenings of it. There are worse ways to spend your summer nights.