When the pandemic hit in 2020, everything was shut down, that included the movies.

Movie theaters are still feeling the pain but there was one industry offshoot that experienced a revival in the past few years, drive-in theaters.

A parked car at a drive-in movie theater.
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Families starving for something to do in the spring and summer of 2020 flocked to drive-in theaters.

Some drive-in theaters handled the influx of new and returning customers the past few years better than others too.

Drive-In Neon Sign
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Like the Midway Drive-In in Sterling, Illinois. If you recall, movie studios were holding back new releases during the summer of 2020, meaning in order to entertain the masses drive-in theaters had to resort to playing classics.

The Midway Drive-In created double features that make sense. Whether it be old-school superhero flicks, 80s classics like Back to the Future, or a couple of John Hughes' greatest films, there was always a theme.

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So while it seems we're slowly moving away from pandemic status, drive-in theaters that have done it right the past few years continue to impress by putting together excellent double feature weekends.

This weekend at the Midway in Sterling, it's a picture-perfect double feature showing instant classic Spider-Man: No Way Home directly after Marvel Studios' big new release, Dr. Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.

Fingers crossed, this new Dr. Strange flick really kicks the latest phase of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) into high gear.

Doctor Strange 2 kicks off this weekend at the Midway at 8 with showings on Friday and Saturday night.

Back for 2022, the concession stand has reopened, but one of the new features instituted a few years ago, the ability to buy tickets online remains. It's a real nice addition to the ticket buying process.

To me, the reopening of the drive-in is one of my favorite times of the year. I hope to see you at a nearby drive-in at some point this summer.

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