L.A. Times ponders the future of the Drive-in theater

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Published on Thursday, 24 January 2013 14:24

Written by Randy Garbin

We continue to wonder if we'll even have a single drive-in left in a couple of years, after Hollywood ceases to release movies on actual film. 

Digital projection has drive-in movie theaters reeling

Studios are moving to stop distributing 35-millimeter film prints. Converting to digital is an expense many theaters in the fading drive-in industry can't afford.

By Laura J. Nelson, Los Angeles Times

As the night grew darker, a cold wind whipped across the asphalt expanse of the vintage Rubidoux Drive-In Theatre in Riverside. A howling gust banged open the door to the snack bar, where hot dogs glistened on metal spits and the black-and-white linoleum floor gleamed.

Quentin Tarantino's "Django Unchained" flickered to life on the colossal screen — for an audience of eight cars.

This time of year is always slow at drive-in theaters, which have been struggling with declining attendance for decades. But it's not just cold weather that has made this a winter of discontent. The digital revolution is here, and that could mean lights out for many of the nation's 368 surviving drive-ins.

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