Movie houses around the country are dark, closed by temporary prohibitions put in place to help stem the spread of the COVID-19 virus. A night out at the cinema is, for the time being, not possible.

Or is it?

Washington's drive-in movie theaters can offer patrons an opportunity to get out of the house to see a movie and remain "socially distanced" in their cars. The drive-ins are exempt from strict guidelines against public gathering issued by Gov. Jay Inslee to try to slow the advance of the virus.

Port Orchard's Rodeo Drive-In, a three-screen complex off Highway 3 west of Gorst, opened March 13 for Friday-Saturday-Sunday screenings. It originally planned a March 6 opening — in advance of Inslee's order closing walk-in movie houses — but had to delay for a week. Jack Ondracek, patriarch of the family that operates the Rodeo, reported that they'll expand beginning March 20, adding Monday and Tuesday.

"We've closed our playgrounds; that's the one thing we're really changed so far," Ondracek said. "For all we know, they might clamp down even more at some point. And everything can change very quickly. Right now, though, we're glad to give some people an outlet, something else to do instead of going stir crazy.

"We're a mom-and-pop operation, so we can be flexible."

Ondracek said the theater's concessions stand will be open, adding that pagers are available for patrons who don't wish to wait inside the building for their food.

"People can be just as isolated as they need to be to feel comfortable," he said. "We are encouraging people to stay in or around their cars as much as possible."

This early in the season, he said the staying-in-the-cars thing wouldn't be much of an issue anyway.

"It's still cold out there," he said.

A bonus for Kitsap moviegoers is that two of the few remaining drive-ins in the state are within an easy drive: The Wheel-In Motor Movie, on Highway 20 south of Port Townsend, and the Skyline Drive-In in Shelton.

Rick Wiley, who also operates the currently shuttered Uptown Theatre in Port Townsend, said the Wheel-In Motor Movie had been scheduled for an April 10 opening. Wiley said he was considering moving that up to April 3, however. Port Townsend's other walk-in cinema, the three-screen Rose Theatre, also is closed.

The Skyline's Web site lists March 27 as opening day for the season.

According to driveinmovie.com, there are only two other drive-in theaters still operating in Washington: The Blue Fox in Oak Harbor and the Auto Vue in Colville.

Ondracek said the closure of walk-in theaters might make it more difficult for the Rodeo to book first-run films in the coming weeks, as studios hold back their new releases until the potential for big box office returns.

"We didn't know what movies we'd be showing this weekend until (Tuesday)," he said. "Right now, we're unsure what tomorrow's going to bring, but we'll go with it as best we can.