09/10/2025
Truer words have never been spoken!
We’ve seen a lot of folks ask why we don’t just stay open into the cooler fall months. And honestly, we’d love to. Everyone loves the idea of cozy fall drive-in nights, and we do too! But the reality is, once school starts and things like Friday night football and fall events kick off, attendance drops drastically. As much as people say they’d come out, most just don’t. And without enough cars at the drive-in, we can’t afford to keep it running.
We also know many people think they’re the first to suggest things like, “Why don’t you just open for a couple weekends for Halloween movies?” Trust us, we’ve tried. It’s not that simple. There’s a lot more that goes into opening up than just picking a movie and opening up for a night or two. Licensing, staffing, prep, food inventory, utilities, it all adds up fast, and it only works if the turnout is there. Most years, it just isn’t.
Another common question this season has been about movie selection. The truth is, we don’t get to choose what we play. As a smaller, local drive-in, we’re only given access to what the studios allow at certain times, and many of those movies come with strict requirements, like multi-week runs, delayed release windows, and HUGE $$$ signs just to get the movies in general. We show what we’re given when we’re allowed to show it. And yes, we wish we had more control over it, too.
We know people want more variety, more new releases, and more of 'their' favorites. We want that too. But unfortunately, it’s just not something we fully control. If we could hand-pick movies based on what we think would pack the place, we absolutely would.
So while it’s something we truly wish we could do, we have to be realistic with what we are limited to & what’s sustainable. This season, turnout was one of the lowest we’ve had in a long time, and even with a few great nights, it just wasn’t enough to carry us into fall.
We hope this helps explain why we had to wrap things up this past weekend and why we can’t stretch into October like many hope we will. We appreciate every single one of you who supported us this season, and we’re already looking ahead to next year, hoping for a strong comeback.
Thanks again for sticking with us and to those who have consistently supported us every year. 💛
And just to put it out there, we promise we’ve thought of just about every idea or suggestion you might be thinking of. If it seems like an easy fix or a great solution, chances are we’ve either already tried it (and you might’ve missed it when we did!) or it’s simply not as realistic or doable as it may seem from the outside looking in. We say that with love and a whole lot of behind-the-scenes experience.
