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The Rise and Decline of Drive-In Cinemas in the United States
Abstract
This paper contrasts the drive-in cinema experience to that of traditional, indoor cinemas. We examine the factors that led to the dramatic growth of drive-ins in the post-WWII period and how drive-in owners encouraged addictive consumption by patrons. We also examine means by which drive-ins encourage considerate conduct by patrons. Reasons for the decline of drive-ins are examined as are a modern alternative to drive-ins, namely Guerilla drive-ins and MobMovs.
... Until the mid-1940s there were fewer than 100 drive-in theatres in the United States. The number of drive-ins rapidly increased in the post-war years: by 1949 there were 983 drive-ins and by 1952 there were 4,151 drive-ins (Fox & Black, 2011). Initial growth of drive-ins was hampered by the Great Recession and, then, by World War II. ...
... In the 1950s the number of drive-ins peaked at around 4,500 theatres in the United States (one-third of all cinemas) that accounted for one-quarter of all box-office revenues (Fox & Black, 2011). Today, only 300 or so drive-in theatres remain in the United States (National Association of Theatre Owners, 2020). ...
... Despite the small (and declining) number of remaining drive-ins they have still garnered research attention over recent decades. Several studies have contrasted the experience of attending drive-in cinemas to that of traditional, indoor cinemas (Fox, 2015;Fox & Black, 2011). These studies attribute the decline of driveins since the 1950s to various factors, including: changing cost structures; demographic changes (such as the land being used by drive-ins becoming increasingly desirable for subdivisions and shopping development); changing viewing preferences (with indoor multiplexes, television and other viewing and entertainment choices becoming widespread); and changes in Americans' relationship with automobiles. ...
Audience rules of conduct constitute an underexplored area of research for drive-in theatres. This research comprises two studies of drive-in theatres that remained open in 2019 and 2020, respectively. For drive-ins open during summer 2019 (i.e., before the COVID-19 pandemic) audience rules of conduct are often tied to enhancing the viewing experience and safety of moviegoers. These rules also improve the financial performance of drive-in theatres. For drive-in theatres open during summer 2020 there have been radical changes in how they operate in order to provide a safer experience for audience members in light of the COVID-19 pandemic.
... Historically, drive-ins tended to locate on the outskirts of smaller towns or within easy driving distance of towns that would provide a sufficient customer base (Shiffer, 1990;Wolfe, 2007). However, due to its attractiveness for other uses -such as strip malls and subdivisions -the land that could be used for drive-ins has become increasingly expensive (Austin, 1985;Fox and Black, 2011;Segrave, 2006). ...
... Drive-ins tend not to locate within close proximity to one another. A 2009 survey found that the average distance between drive-ins on the mainland United States was 45.7 miles (Fox and Black, 2011). Table 1 shows the distribution of drive-ins by state for the summer of 2014 and shows that most states have relatively few drive-ins. ...
... While drive-ins typically face little competition with one another, their closest form of competition is from indoor cinemas. A recent study found that there was an average of thirteen indoor theatres within thirty miles of any given drive-in (Fox and Black, 2011). In 2014 the average ticket price for all cinemas was $8.17 (National Association of Theater Owners, 2015b). ...
At their peak in the 1950s, there were around 4,500 drive-in movie theaters accounting for 25% of box office revenues. Today, fewer than 350 drive-ins remain in the United States. This research examines the economic, social and technological forces that have contributed to the decline of this once popular form of entertainment. The decline of drive-ins can be attributed to changing cost structures within the industry, demographic patterns, changes in viewing preferences, and to changes in Americans relationship to their automobiles.
... From 1947 to 1951, the number of drive-ins increased from 155 to 4,151 (Fox and Black, 2011). During this same period thousands of indoor theatres closed (Horton, 1954). ...
... While scholarly research on drive-ins during this period is scant, Sopko (2008) notes that drive-ins often had to wait six weeks or more after indoor theatres to get "new" (i.e., first-run) films until the 1990s. More recently, researchers have observed that operating drive-ins was becoming less attractive due to underlying changes in the structure of the industry (Fox and Black, 2011;Fox, 2015). ...
At their peak, in the 1950s, nearly 4,500 drive-in theatres existed in the United States. Rivaled by around 5,500 indoor cinemas today, only 319 drive-ins remain. I contrast how the nature of the audience itself has altered the use of space in drive-in theatres from family viewing environments in the early years to “passion pits” in the 1950s and 1960s, and back to family viewing in more recent decades. Technological changes in projection and sound equipment have also altered the experience of attending drive-in cinemas. In recent years, the costs of transitioning to digital projection have forced many drive-in cinemas out of the industry.
... Inicialmente para atrair as famílias dentro do conforto dos seus veículos, o auge da expansão dos cinemas drive-in aconteceu com o público jovem, nas décadas de 1950 e 1960, quando chegou a representar 1/3 dos cinemas existentes nos Estados Unidos (FOX; BLACK, 2010;FOX, 2018). Esse crescimento após a Segunda Guerra Mundial foi possível por vários fatores: a necessidade de ressocialização das pessoas, os veículos baratos, os combustíveis sem racionalização e a comida liberada para Devido à disponibilidade de áreas extensas para implantar o empreendimento, os países que mais tiveram cinemas drive-in foram os Estados Unidos, Canadá e Austrália. ...
Com base na situação de pandemia do novo Coronavírus, o trabalho teve como objetivo analisar a implantação do cinema Drive-in em Jurerê Internacional (Florianópolis/SC) e os seus impactos no setor turístico. Para tanto, buscou-se categorias conceituais em Santos (2005, 2006 e 2013), estudos sobre o cinema, a economia do lazer e as suas imbricações com o desenvolvimento urbano. Inicialmente efetuou-se o resgate histórico do Drive-in, desde a sua gênese na década de 1930 nos Estados Unidos, em meio à crise econômica, chegando ao Brasil na década de 1970, durante o “Milagre Econômico”, e, mais recentemente, à capital catarinense por causa do colapso epidemiológico de 2020, como alternativa ao setor de eventos. Foi realizada uma pesquisa bibliográfica e documental em jornais, dados vinculados ao setor turístico e medidas políticas nas esferas nacional, estaduais e locais. O bairro Jurerê Internacional é uma das localidades na Ilha que mais concentra a população de alta renda, além de estabelecimentos com conexões a outras metrópoles. Conclui-se que na atual conjuntura econômica do setor, o balneário é um dos pioneiros a buscar alternativas como o Drive Park, com o intuito de continuar a atrair o público de eventos do entretenimento noturno.
... (Vintage Drive-In, 2016) Drive-in owners are apparently aware that they are trying to appeal to customers who likely have the choice of going to the movie at an indoor cinema. In this regard it is worth noting that an earlier study found that, on average, there were thirteen indoor theatres within a 30-mile radius of any given drive-in (Fox and Black, 2011). ...
The exhibition of pairs of movies (double features) is no longer common at indoor theatres, but remains so at drive-in theatres. Given that most drive-ins have either one or two screens, they need to be more focused in their exhibition choices than indoor theatres and multiplexes that have many screens. To understand the film-programming choices of drive-ins, I collected data on the films exhibited at drive-ins during the summer of 2015. Most double features were new releases or, at least, films released within the last 30 days. When drive-ins exhibited double features they typically placed the new release first – presumably as it would be the movie patrons would be most interested in seeing. Drive-ins with two screens typically only offered a new release along with a less recent release on one screen as part of a double feature, and two less recent releases on the other screen. Drive-ins also tend to pair movies with similar ratings together. If a movie with a higher rating is paired with a movie of a lower rating, the more “adult” movie appears second. This is likely an attempt to make the first offering more family friendly.
In the aftermath of a challenging pandemic that impacted entertainment and social order, there has been a paradigm shift in the way theatre artists respond to emerging realities. This study examines the novel trend of drive-in theatre in Nigeria as an artistic response, exploring how drive-in theater could serve as a catalyst for cultural pedagogy by fostering the preservation and dissemination of Nigerian culture, facilitating social cohesion, and fostering artistic innovation. With references to the reception of two drive-in performances staged at two locations: metropolitan Abuja, North Central Nigeria, and the semi-urban University of Nigeria, Nsukka campus, South East Nigeria, the paper illustrates how culturally responsive Nigerian theatre directors adapted their creative platforms to extend the discussion on cultural values and cosmic harmony in a contemporary age where cultural values are conflicted. Highlighting the socio-cultural impact of the selected performances, the study adopts Baz Kershaw’s ecological theory to reveal the pedagogical implications of the innovative approach in an ecologically vulnerable world. Emphasizing how such interventionist strategy tackles fading cultural values and ecological disharmony, the study argues that drive-in theatre could advance aesthetic and environmental purposes while bolstering important cultural values.
De Grazia's study Of Time, Work, and Leisure requires reinterpretation based on a more thorough understanding of the Aristotelian conception of leisure on which it is based. The prevailing approach to Aristotle is that his conception of leisure focuses on withdrawal into philosophical contemplation. This is inaccurate for several reasons. Reviewing the interconnections among the concept of civility and Aristotle's emphasis in his practical philosophy on participation in the communal affairs of the city‐state, leisure is seen to be the arena in which the virtues of civil character are sought, demonstrated, and refined. This gives leisure a far more central place in the lives of people in themselves and in their communities. De Grazia's appeal to this conception in criticizing modern leisure thus becomes a more powerful indictment than has generally been recognized.
This paper identifies the characteristics of consumers of movies, watched on videotapes, in their homes. Models of the frequency of movie video buying and renting by individuals are estimated using data from the Spanish Cultural Consumption Habits Survey (Encuesta sobre Hábitos de Consumo Cultural). This survey featured information about videotapes rented and bought in Spain throughout 1998. Applying a multinomial probit modelling framework, this study analyzes whether there are two different video markets (renting and buying) and any discernible socio-economic characteristics for their respective consumers. The influence of film genres, on the renting of movie videotapes is also considered.
Cinema attendances in the United Kingdom and the United States have been subject to severe declines in the post-war period. Fairly strong evidence (Belson, 1958) exists that the arrival and development of television contributed powerfully to the initial decline. As televisions now populate almost every home we would expect this influence to have worked itself out. The 1980's have seen the arrival of videos as a new threat to cinema takings. Analysts of the industry have been suggesting (Docherty et. al., 1986), (Variety, 1985) that the threat is more apparent than real with demographic factors and/or poor films being the cause of more recent audience declines. These claims derive from casual inspection of ticket receipts (Variety, 1985) or one-off surveys of consumer attitudes (Docherty et. al., 1986). To date there has been no concrete evidence offered for or against the impact of video. Such evidence is hard to gather because of data limitations. This is particularly the case for the U.S. where there is the added complication of diffusion of pay TV. The U.K. is free from this complication as pay TV is still extremely rare and monthly price and attendance figures are available until their publication ceased in May 1985. In this note we use a demand equation to discuss what ticket sales would have been in the period (January 1983 onwards) when video access began to gather impetus. Comparison of the equation results with actual ticket sales suggests a marked reduction which may tentatively be attributed to the VCR.
The drive-in is a uniquely American invention. With its need for a great deal of land, a culture dominated by the automobile, and an affluent population, the United States is one of the few countries able to support a large, thriving ozoner industry. It is because of these specific needs that almost no other country adopted the drive-in, even though most things American are widely imitated in other lands. At best, most countries have had only a token drive-in or two, ranging up to a handful, at any one time. (Segrave 104).
This paper empirically analyzes the impact of several factors on a 'conventionality index (CI)' in the specific context of the cinema exhibition sector. To our knowledge, it is the first time that a standard CI has been constructed for this purpose. Econometric analysis of the determinants of variation in this index provides decision-makers with an empirical focus for analyzing distributional aspects of the movie exhibition market, with particular emphasis on product differentiation. Specifically, (i) do cinemas based in a city area have a different or 'specialized' focus in contrast to cinemas in small towns? or (ii) do multiplexes have a different or more specialized focus in comparison with cinemas? To this end, cross-sectional econometric models are estimated to help analyze these effects in three Italian regions for a sample of cinemas covering the 2006 season. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.