At one time the drive-in movie theater was a real treat since it allowed a person to enjoy a movie from the comfort of their own car and as many movies show it was just the thing to do on date night since it was without a doubt one of the more popular pastimes. There used to be thousands of drive-in theaters as Kevin Burwick of MovieWeb mentions, but throughout the years they began to dwindle in number as home movies became the big thing, and then digital took over. Going to the movies changed in a big way from one decade to another as the technology changed and the people started changing along with it. Now that streaming is such a big thing a lot of analysts are predicting that the traditional theater, including the drive-in, might eventually go the way of the dinosaur, but some are still hanging on and doing what they can to entertain those that are still willing to support them. From a personal standpoint the drive-in was always a lot of fun but it did have its drawbacks, one of which was weather since an outdoor screen can only take so much punishment, even though most drive-ins will stay open so long as things don’t take a turn for the worst. After all those screens aren’t cheap.
Plus there’s only so much time during the evening that a drive-in can operate since in the daylight hours the white screen doesn’t really do well when it comes to showing a movie in all its glory. People want to be able to watch the movie without wondering what’s happening since the colors are faded due to the fact that there’s too much light. On cloudy days it might work, but that involves a lot of last-second planning that a good number of people just can’t do at a moment’s notice. In other words, drive-ins are a nighttime pastime and as a result there are only so many movie that they can show before closing hours. There are plenty of benefits to a drive-in, such as the fact that some of them have a dedicated radio station that can allow moviegoers to listen to the movie as well as watch it since there’s no way on earth that anyone’s going to approve speakers loud enough to reach every car, as it would irritate those living nearby to no end and likely disrupt other businesses as well. Some drive-ins also feature speakers that can be placed in the car that link up to the system as well, though in some cases they’re a little less reliable.
With the future of traditional theaters currently unknown since they’ve been closed for a little bit now and aren’t showing any signs of opening fully in the weeks to come, drive-ins are becoming the last option for many moviegoers that want to watch their favorite upcoming movies. But there’s just one problem. A lot of movies have already been moved back months if not a full year when it comes to their release date since studios want and absolutely need to make their money back for these high-priced movies they’ve been pushing, and don’t want to accept anything less obviously. One would think with so many studios losing money at this point that they would take what they could get, as there are still a good number of drive-ins left and, should the studios release the movies as they intended, there’s always the hope that in a handful of months the movies will go to digital where they’ll continue to sell. I’m not much of a business person, but holding onto something that could be making money at this point, even if it’s less than desired, makes a little more sense than to just let it sit and continue to cost money. But hey, I’m a writer, not a business mogul, so it’s none of my business right?
Right now drive-ins could be the one thing that helps to save the movie business since otherwise it might be that they’ll have to go to streaming if the theaters continue their downward slide. The hope of course is that the theaters will reopen and we’ll all get the chance to rush the ticket office and breathe a very relieved sigh when we park our butts in the theater seats to sit down and watch whatever hasn’t been delayed until next year. Seriously, it’s kind of hard to believe that the studios can’t bring back the movies instead of keeping them on hold for that long. The drive-in could be a perfect way to at least get a few showings of each new movie out, rather than let them continue to sit, making absolutely no money, when they could be making a little bit, rather than nothing. Point taken?
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