Floating Cinemas Are Becoming a Thing, Solid Competition for Drive-In Theaters

Drive-in movie theaters were the first to experience a boom in interest earlier this year. For the first time in decades, people who had probably never been to one such theater were keen on the idea of taking their personal car and the family to catch a movie. At the onset of the health crisis, more optimist operators even dared to hope that drive-in theaters would partially replace traditional cinemas.

Since there is no visible end in sight for the health crisis, let's put a pin in that. For the time being, there's a new movie-going experience gaining ground: call it the boat-in theater or the floating cinema.

On July 18, on the occasion of the opening of the Paris Plages event, a special one-off boat-in theater was put together on the Seine, with electric boats in lieu of personal vehicles and cinema seats. The phenomenon is coming to Americans, too: Beyond Cinema, an Australian production company, has announced one week of this type of immersive cinema for September in Orlando, Florida.

Floating Boat Cinema will take place in Orlando between September 9 and 13, with 12 to 24 mini boats, each carrying up to 8 passengers. Tickets can already be pre-booked, on the condition that you "buy" the entire boat, so as to ensure social distancing recommendations are respected. Popcorn is included in the fare, and other treats will be available at the on-site concession stand.

Beyond Cinema is yet to announce the exact location and the movies that will run, but it says it will serve "a mix of golden oldies and new releases." If the Florida event is a success, more cities will follow (Los Angeles, San Francisco, Houston, Chicago, Miami, New York, Philadelphia, and more).

Previous events from the company included special screenings with theme parties for The Great Gatsby, Mad Hatters Tea Party and Titanic. Maybe hold off on the Titanic just this once?