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There's an old drive-in in my town that has been closed for years. The screen is still in decent shape concession stand and entrance booths could use some work. Is there still any business in these kinds of theaters?

Town of ~50,000 people competition is two other theaters (4 screen & 2 screen) both have seen better days, I've sat in soda I spilled on a seat from years prior kinda deal. Both have the same owner. Town is military driven with a major Air Force base 5 minutes away. 2 high schools totaling ~5,000 teenagers.

Nearest drive in is 45 minutes away other than that there isn't one for days. People in this town drive 30 minutes to visit the nicer cinema so they don't end up sitting in their soda from last year.

Have taken into account the downtime only being able to operate at night with majority of business being on weekends. Thought about hosting a swap meet and/or farmers market in the lot once a week, town is also big on produce being a huge exporter for it. Possibly having something to the extent of "fight nights" for UFC fights since they seem to be big right now.

As far as food seeing as people would be able to bring in whatever they please, offering take out restaurant/diner style food (think specialty burgers and such) that people cannot find around town that could be made for a price that will yield profits.


I understand there is much much MUCH more research needing to be done here but from what I have provided do you believe this may be a potential business opportunity?

**more info**
3 towns around me are ~100,000 in population each and all w/in .5 to 1 hour driving distance

YES --YES AND YES--IF THE LAND IS CHEAP--DO IT--THERE IS PLENTY OF BIZ LEST FOR A DRIVE--IN

50,000 IN POPULATION SHOULD BE ABLE TO SUPPORT 10 SCREENS

Hi, Cambridge;

I currently book two drive-ins, one a single screen, and one a twin, and they are both very successful. If you have that much population and can afford to do it, I would say go for it. And quickly so you can be open in time for the summer season.

Hello cambridge:

Like the others I would encourage you to take the leap. I would also suggest you return the DI to it's glory days as a family entertainment center complete with a playground for the kids. Today's technology should allow you to put out a brighter picture than DIs have known in the past and screen performance is of primary importance. You'll have to have the screen re-painted no matter how good it looks. At their peak there were over 5,000 DIs in this country. That dropped to about 400 back in the 70s. But there has been a resurgence in recent years with a couple being built every year. There are now about 500 in the U.S. Make your cutomer's experience something different that what they get at the walk-ins.

I own a 3-screen drive-in in a population base, similar to what you're talking about. "Old Showman" is very familiar with where we are.

We're starting our 25th year here. Would I do it again? Yes.

Just take a little time to check out the current situation. Attitudes can change while a drive-in is closed. Is the place close to the edge of town? Any development heading your way? Is there enough overflow in your entrance to keep incoming cars off the highway? Could you possibly cut the place up (or add to the property) to add a screen or two in the future? Any major nearby competition from McDonalds, Burger King, Pizza Hut or the local quickie-mart? Any new business development throwing their parking lights at your screen?

WHY DID IT CLOSE IN THE FIRST PLACE???????

That the other theatres have "seen better days" won't necessarily mean much to the studios. Time and relationships seem to be more important. Get yourself a booker (if you don't have one already) and see what resistance you might face getting the films you want.

Finally... don't quit your day job. Even if it's wildly successful, you'll need everything you make to get the place built back up... both physically and business-wise.

Good luck!