Film patrons used to hit up the local drive-in theater on a whim.
While Sunset Drive-In Theatre Inc. in Aurora appears frozen in time – with its gravel roads and towering trees surrounding a parking area with weather-worn positioning poles – its owner Larry Marks has witnessed widespread changes: film formats, a steep drop in the number of drive-ins nationwide and audience behaviors.
“Used to, back in the 1940s, ‘50s, ‘60s, it was just like, load the kids up, go to the drive-in. It was just a spur of the moment thing,” says Marks, who’s worked in the industry for 50 years. “Now, it’s a planned event. They will start checking to see what’s showing the first of the week and then they start planning the weekend.”
The times have changed, but as much as possible, Marks and crew want to keep an old-fashioned vibe going strong at Sunset Drive-In.
It’s only $7 per person for a double feature each weekend night, and concessions – such as the $5.25 Sunset chiliburger combo, popcorn under $5 and a couple bucks for shaved ice – won’t break the bank, either.
“It’s a good, cheap night,” Marks says, noting patrons are allowed to bring their own food.
Children can run and play freely – a playground sits near the front of the 40-foot by 80-foot aluminum screen – and families can barbecue while watching from their vehicles, lawn chairs or blankets. Moviegoers tune their radios to 88.9 FM to listen from anywhere on the 5-acre property.
“Perhaps they want to smoke or they just want to be able to talk or get on the telephone. They have the freedom to do that,” he says, noting alcohol isn’t permitted.
Throwback theaterSunset Drive-In survives in an industry where operators have shrunk by the thousands since its heyday.
John Vincent, president of the United Drive-In Theatre Owners Association, estimates around 330 outdoor venues are in operation, compared to some 4,300 at the industry’s peak in 1957. He says reality set in when most owners realized they could only run a seasonal schedule, maybe three to six months each year.
“I think there were too many to begin with,” says Vincent, co-owner of Wellfleet Drive-In Theatre in Cape Cod. “You probably want a 50-mile to 100-mile radius between each one.”
With last year’s closure of Owen Drive-In in Seymour, Sunset Drive-In is the only outdoor theater in a 50-mile radius of Springfield, according to a nationwide listing of outdoor theaters at
DriveInTheater.com.
For Marks’ customers, it’s become a destination.
“If it’s in your backdoor, you take it for granted. It’s always been there, you know it’s going to be there, you can go to it whenever you want to,” he says. “We have more of our customers come from out of town than in town by far.”
He points to a family in Georgia that emails him before heading out on vacation to check on show times.
“If they’re going to Branson, then they plan to stop in at the drive-in,” Marks says.
Starting in the early 1990s – when the original “Jurassic Park” hit the silver screen – Vincent says drive-in theater owners started to see a comeback.
“It was rediscovered as a nice family value, and the studios started becoming more forthcoming,” he says. “It’s a chance to bond with your family.
“It’s an experience.”
Vincent says the largest threat facing drive-in theaters these days is the mass conversion to digital projectors. He says around 20 theaters haven’t reopened this season, primarily because the industry has stopped producing movies on film.
Two years ago, Sunset Drive-In made the change, and paid $63,000 to do it. To his chagrin, the investment only came with a 90-day warranty.
“That was expensive, and to me, unnecessary,” he says. “They just quit making film. It was either do or die.”
Weather woesDespite rainy weather for the debut of “Jurassic World,” perhaps fittingly, the blockbuster hit was a boon for Sunset Drive-In.
On opening weekend in June, the theater was filled to capacity with around 300 vehicles.
“‘Jurassic World,’ we knew was going to be big,” Marks says, noting a two-weekend cap on features. “We did turn away Friday and Saturday. We didn’t get them all in, even though it was raining.”
But actor Chris Pratt mingled with dinosaurs is the exception.
Weather is Sunset Drive-In’s biggest foe and can make or break a weekend. With customers who plan ahead of time, sudden spurts of rain can harm the theater’s bottom line.
“The moon does make a difference,” Marks says, declining to disclose revenue but noting sales are up 5-10 percent this year, mostly from “Jurassic World” tickets.
“Rain has affected us a lot this year,” Marks says, though on June 19, clouds from Tropical Storm Bill clear just in time for the “Jurassic World” and “San Andreas” double feature. “In the early part of the season, April and May, if it rains on Sunday afternoon, I won’t stay Sunday night. In the middle of the season, I don’t have much of a choice.”
On a typical good-weather night with no hard-hitting blockbusters, Marks says an average of 150 cars will pull in to the theater.
It just depends on the film.
“If we don’t have a decent movie, they don’t come,” Marks says.[[In-content Ad]]
