80 y old- Last Legs?

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The Ten Commandments.  The Bridge Over The River Kwai.  I Want to Live.  Ben Hur.  Some Like It Hot.  Spartacus.

Know that they have in common?  I saw them at a drive-in movie, with my parents.  Of course, that drive-in, like most of the drive-ins around the US is long gone.   (So is the Indian reservation that was about 1/2 mile away on Sunrise Highway.)  I took my older children to drive-ins- but that drive-in closed when the local sheriff killed its owner.  Not the typical way these relics have disappeared.

The drive-in theater opened in New Jersey (Pennsauken) 80 years ago- June 1933.  They reached their heyday when the movies listed above were playing- with about 4000 of them across the USA.  (That meant that 1/3 of the movie theaters were drive-ins.)  Now, they are literally decimated- only 357 survive.  (There are 9 in Virginia!  And, one of them grosses a whopping $ 460K a year…)

Most of the drive-ins disappeared because the value of the land makes using it to show movies at night (which means they make money on weekends and some summer weekday nights) not a very profitable proposition.  Which is why most of the locations are in rural areas, where the price of land has not exploded.

But, now there is a new threat.   The end of 35 mm film.  That’s right, movies are now digital.  And, this could be the real death knell for the drive-in movie theater.  Because it is going to cost each of the 357 theaters about $ 140K to update.    (Outside projectors need to generate more light to reach their screens than do conventional indoor theaters.)   And, that surround sound?   Not going to happen at the drive-in, either.

Goochland Drive-In
Just like the Goochland Drive-In , the photo that depicted it has disappeared. This is the best I can do nowadays.

Let’s assume they can hold 300 cars- and sell out each weekend.  That means they need to raise their prices $ 2- just to buy the digital projectors.  (You should know that these theaters make their money from concessions- the candy, pop, and ice cream that we buy.  (And, since it is a drive in, it’s a lot harder for the owners to stop us from bringing our own food to the venue.)  And, if it rains?  No sale.

Take your kids before it’s too late.

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28 thoughts on “80 y old- Last Legs?”

  1. I have only been to one drive-in one time and I was in my twenties. I found it rather boring, but I grew up watching those movies you mentioned in theaters on Saturday afternoons. I remember that the 10 Commandments came around every year and it was so long they had an intermission both for food breaks and stretch breaks. And the theater was a real theater with a stage and everything.
    Ann Mullen recently posted..Senior Care: 3 Tips to Improving “Your Staying Healthy Score”

    1. I enjoyed the fact that I could walk around at the theater. And, get a better choice of junk food (ice cream, cotton candy, etc.) than I could at the regular movies. Now, I go to movie theaters that serve sandwiches, coffee, etc., so I don’t miss the food. But, if I were going with little kids- having a playground and places for them to move around is a tremendous plus, Ann.

  2. I could only go to a drive-in cinema when visiting The States. I did it when I was 10 and I can still remember the movie vividly; it was A Shot In The Dark. I completely loved it.

    1. Me, too, Amy… Of course, living in a city makes finding those outdoor delights a little tougher (since the price of the land is so dear)…
      Maybe I’ll have to travel to your neck of the woods to find a bunch..

  3. Oh my gosh, that would be such a shame. I went to the drive in with my mom all the time. I loved drive-in movies because my brother and I could fall asleep in the back seat. We always got to eat junk. And it was one of those things that was fun that we got to do with our mom.

    I saw E.T. at the drive thru. It was awesome. My brother fell in love with Reese Pieces that night. The drive ins near me are all closed now. I wish they were still open because I think my little ones would love it.

    Really hope that some of them are able to make the leap to the new equipment, but with a price like that it will probably be quite a stretch. Thanks for sharing Roy.
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  4. We have a drive in about 40 minutes from us and I haven’t been to it yet. There was just an article in our local paper about this particular drive in and how they considered closing its doors because of the cost of going digital. I believe they are staying open and now I feel more of an urgency to go.

  5. I remember going to the drive in when I was a kid. I’d get to be in my PJs in the car with blankets. I saw E.T., Grease, and a few more. It was a huge treat. One of my artist friends has a “drive in” style movie in his back yard through the summers on Friday nights. I plan on doing that next summer on Saturday nights for the neighbors…at least once a month. It’s a fun thing, one of the many fun things our younger generation is going to miss out on.
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    1. Yes, Lisa, that must have been cute and fun.
      Our “town” has “outdoor” movies every Saturday night (not in the rain)… And, the next “town” over has then once a month. Even the US government has done some on the mall…
      But, that’s not quite the same experience.

  6. This is a story that made the news on this side of the pond Roy.
    They never took off over here, so always seen as classic ‘American’ – I agree that if people haven’t gone, they should, because although the odd one or two will go digital, they will be effectively museum pieces rather than the real thing – shame, but that’s progress, eh?
    Cheers,
    Gordon
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