Over the years, we have witnessed many drive-in theatres which have closed, or been put up for sale by their owners. Hundreds and thousands of drive-ins have been closing around the United States over the past several decades, with the property they sit on being redeveloped for higher uses. The most recent upswing in drive-in related sales and closures is being facilitated by a different and more alarming reason. As if seasonal drive-in theatres didnt already have enough going against them, technological changes in the way new movies are shown on our screens is requiring all theatres to replace their 35mm projectors with expensive digital projection equipment, at a cost of roughly $75,000 per screen. Drive-ins which cannot afford the transition costs are being forced to go dark. We are very fortunate in that our drive-in is located in region with a population base large enough to support that size of an investment, which for us was an outlay of $300,000 for all four of our screens in 2012. Drive-ins located in rural, less densely populated areas are having a much more difficult time. These mainly seasonal, small town, family operated, mom-and-pop drive-in operators simply do not generate the amount of revenue necessary to afford the transition to digital projection. They dont run their drive-ins to get rich, and struggle from year-to-year just to remain open. In many situations, the drive-in operation is a secondary income to their main, full-time jobs during the daytime. They run these drive-ins out of their love for the outdoor movie experience, and a desire to provide their communities with affordable family-oriented entertainment. In the entire United States, the number of operational drive-ins at the end of 2014 fell to around 330 locations, down from around 350 sites only one year earlier. Several more rural drive-in locations are expected to close over the few next years, as the supply of 35mm prints from the movie studios is gradually being strangled off from them in favor of a digital technology which they cant afford to purchase on their own. We are stepping up to help one of these drive-ins buy a new digital projector, so that they can continue to provide the outdoor movie experience for their community. Further details will be made available in the next few weeks. Our goal is to raise enough funds to assist one small town, mom-and-pop drive-in to remain open, while at the same time raising national awareness about the difficulty which many rural, small town drive-ins are facing to survive. Thank you.
Posted on: Tue, 20 Jan 2015 18:42:57 +0000
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