Drive-in theaters fueled Hollywood's box office last year. They could be here to stay

During a pandemic that upended lives, broke routines, and mothballed most forms of in-person activities, a funny thing happened in the entertainment business: The drive-in theater saved the cinema. But while it might have been dismissed as another anomaly in a year full of unusual economic blips, the renewed interest in drive-in theaters looks like it's here to stay.

"The old-fashioned and often marginalized drive-in theater must now be recognized as one of the saviors of the [cinema] industry," he said. Prior to last year, those highly seasonal outdoor outfits contributed a mere sliver of the movie exhibition business. "The world has become attuned to drive-ins in a way it hasn't in decades," said Ross Melnick, an associate professor in the University of California -- Santa Barbara's Department of Film and Media Studies.

The drive-ins that remained were popular, well-maintained and successfully adapted to the digital transition, he said. He added that one or two drive-ins were expected to open in 2020, which would make for a very good year in a business that's seen its numbers shrink to about 305 in 2019 from 499 in 1999, according to the United Drive-In Theatre Owners Association.

"It's an idea I've had in my head for 25 years," Gordon Whitener, owner of Loudon Entertainment LLC, said in an interview with CNN Business."While [the Covid-19 pandemic] didn't drive it, it certainly motivated me to get on with it." The plans are to create an outdoor entertainment venue, featuring a drive-in theater, concert stage, food trucks, and short-term rentals, according to Sapulpa Times' coverage of city planning commission proceedings.

The activity in 2020 has been a tough act to follow for many drive-ins, said filmmaker April Wright, who directed the documentary,"Going Attractions: The Definitive Story of the American Drive-in Movie." Wright said she's hopeful that the added attention on drive-ins will help people value unique and communal aspects of society.

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