I've only had limited experiences at a drive-in movie theater while growing up. The public interest had shrunk to nearly 0 in the late 90s. I remember pulling onto this dusty old road in East San Diego, several cars in front of me driving 10 mph in this weird melancholy unison. It felt dystopian. A 400 car lot only filled with about 30 cars. One stand to grab concessions. Oddly quiet. I can’t even remember what movie we went to. That’s how unmemorable it was.

That’s a completely different experience from the heyday of drive-ins in the 50s and 60s. At one point it was one of the most sought-after social events. Over 5,000 drive-ins spanned the US in every nook and cranny of the country at its peak.

We even had a comeback story on our hands during COVID when they started to pop up again, but it was short-lived. It got us thinking… What happened to drive-in movie theaters? Why did they die off?
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The fat lady sings
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We can thank the auto parts salesman Richard Hollingshead’s rather large mother for the drive-in. I’m dead serious.

Before Hollingshead came up with the idea, showing movies outdoors wasn’t groundbreaking. Silent films in the 20s were being shown on screens at beaches, venues, and other places with clear sky views.

But step back and think of the times for a second. Imagine yourself in the 20s and 30s. The Second Industrial Revolution was ending… you and your family had much easier access to buying a car. It was a new and shiny novel concept. You were obsessed. That moment happened to millions of people. We were becoming a car loving society in a snap.

A lightbulb went off for Hollingshead. Because he was an auto parts salesman, he had an inside view of the car buying trend that was happening in America. It wasn’t until after he workshopped his own drive-in theater for his mother (she found that indoor movie theater seats were too narrow and it ruined the movie-going experience for her) that the business idea popped into his head.

Hollingshead pulled his car into his front yard, slapped a 1928 projector onto the hood, and stretched out two bedsheets, hoisting them up on the two largest trees he had. He stood back and watched his mother thoroughly enjoy the experience.

He kept experimenting after that moment. He created a genius ramp system that would allow cars to park at different heights so everyone could see the screen. He eventually patented it in May of 1933 and then opened his very own drive-in theater in Camden, New Jersey, charging 25 cents a car to see the British comedy Wives Beware.

America, meet the "drive-in"
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Suburbia was at the forefront of American society in the 50s. People had more cash, more kids, more space, more everything. Times were good from an economic perspective and drive-in theaters benefited big time.

It was like the stars were aligning. If you had a family, it was tough to wrangle them for a night out. They turned to drive-ins because it was an affordable and easy way to entertain. Drive-ins became the go-to place for millions of Americans to spend time with each other.

It wasn’t just families that made it so popular. It’s what the drive-in channeled. It was communal, a place for everyone to get together and build new relationships. Independence, freedom, mobility. An emerging teen culture was making it uber popular. Teenagers were able to go on dates in a public setting, with their parents and still have the privacy they desired. It was more than movie watching, it was a social hub.

One of the most important drivers of its popularity was that it catered to a wider audience. We’re talking about folks who weren’t allowed or able to attend operas, indoor movie theaters, restaurants, etc. The disabled, people with economic disadvantages, even minorities… it bridged this divide that created a ticking time bomb of cultural infusion.

As its popularity grew, so did the offerings. Drive-ins started to extend outside of movies. It catered to all different types of audiences by offering playgrounds, pony rides, dance floors, and more.
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The bigger they are, the harder they fall
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Just as quickly as the popularity of the drive-ins rose, it came crashing down. Hard. A lot of it can be blamed on why they were so popular in the first place: suburbs.

D. Vogel, who owns Bengies Drive-in in Baltimore, Maryland (which opened in 1956 and is still open today) pointed to the fact that the land purchased for a lot of these drive-ins were in the outskirts of town. Towns grew, and it made the land more valuable. Drive-in plots were huge and commercial developers opted for more profitable ventures by buying up the land.

It was a perfect storm. Those teens who loved drive-ins? They grew up.

The need to leave home to watch movies? It was killed by the invention of the VCR and home video rentals.

And malls. Freaking malls. They were exploding. It gave people so many different entertainment options. It was shiny and new and became the go-to place for people to socialize.

Families were forced to downsize their cars. The oil crisis in the early 70s had a massive impact on the type of vehicles that flooded the market. We went from boat-sized sedans to small, compact vehicles. That made it uncomfortable to watch movies and killed the drive-in experience.

Drive-ins, however, didn’t go down without a fight. They started showing more adult-style films to make up for the lost revenue… clinging to what they had. But it completely backfired and tarnished the family-friendly image that they were built on. They began shutting their doors. In the early 70s there were about 2,500 drive-ins, but by the late 80s, there were only about 450 across the entire US.

Parlour's perspective
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After digging in further, I never realized how big of a business drive-ins were. Not from a “making money” perspective but how much it mattered to the box office.

In 1960 there were about 5,000 drive-ins operating in America, in comparison to 13,200 conventional theaters. That means that drive-ins at one point contributed 23 percent of annual box office revenue. That’s a huge number and shows how drive-ins assimilated with American culture in such a heavy way.

Drive-ins give us a perspective on what “Americana” really means. From our love affair with cars, creating inclusivity by accident, birthing social norms, and bringing the community together... it’s a great example of how cultural moments like this shape who we are.

While the drive-in will probably never regain its popularity from the 50s, we’re seeing a little life. A little resurgence. The COVID-19 pandemic sparked a renewed love for outdoor venues and they’re attracting a new generation of moviegoers who are discovering the appeal of watching movies under the stars… drawn to the nostalgic and retro feeling we all clamor for.