Shankweiler's Drive-In Theatre

10/22/2026

Yesterday we attended our fall meeting for Pennsylvania Cinema United, the regional chapter of our national industry organization, hosted by Regal Warrington Crossing. This was an especially exciting meeting for me (Lauren) because I was voted in as Vice President, as well as chair of our scholarship committee! I am currently on the broader Cinema United Executive Board representing independent theaters worldwide, but taking on this additional role with PA CU means I can also help Pennsylvania theaters navigate state-specific challenges. I'm still a relative newbie in this industry, so all of this has been an overwhelming honor!

(Pictured: me; Penn Ketchum from Penn Cinemas and new president of PA CU; Michael O'Leary, president and CEO of Cinema United; and Amanda Martin, SVP of External Affairs for Cinema United)

10/22/2026

Tonight, we're debuting our double feature of the original FRIGHT NIGHT followed by NEAR DARK. This is a very personal double feature for me (Matt) because both films were extremely influential and inspiring during my early days in filmmaking. Fright Night was a major creative nudge for me to create my very own feature film, and Near Dark drove aesthetic choices in countless shorts over the years. It's only fitting to kick off tonight's double feature with an independent short film by a local filmmaker. Come see Graham Burrell's GRAMPY on the big screen ahead of the features!

Our Movie Schedule on October 22:
6:00pm – Gates open
7:00pm – Grampy (Short Film) – NR
7:15pm – Fright Night (1985) – R
9:00pm – Near Dark (1987) – R

10/21/2026

Spooky season is in full swing at Shankweiler’s. This week, we have a lot going on at the theater with a different operating schedule and program each night. Read on to learn more...

Thursday, October 22: We start off with a vampire double feature that's been on our “must screen” list for years. But first, we’re kicking off the evening with a short horror film, GRAMPY, by local filmmaker Graham Burrell. After that, we lead right into the original 1985 horror-comedy adventure, FRIGHT NIGHT. After intermission, the vampires go west in a gritty 1987 neo‑western that redefined the vampire genre, NEAR DARK.

Our Schedule on October 22:
6:00pm – Gates open
7:00pm – Grampy (Short Film) – NR
7:15pm – Fright Night (1985) – R
9:00pm – Near Dark (1987) – R

Saturday, October 24: D.E. Cressman Insurance Agency Inc. presents our annual TRUNK OR TREAT at Shankweiler's, and this one is extra special! Disney has opened the vaults to allow us to show Tim Burton's THE NIGHTMARE BEFORE CHRISTMAS! Our cofeature will be another Tim Burton classic, BEETLEJUICE! The “ghost with the most” will join Jack Skellington, Sally, and the rest of the gang on our giant drive-in screen! $25 carload admission for this event!

You’re encouraged to arrive in costume, decorate your car, and show off your Halloween spirit! You may hand out commercially packaged and wrapped candies. We’ll have Delish Kookies with freshly baked sweet treats for sale ahead of the movies, Luka’s Slime Bar with spooky & sticky entertainment for all ages, and finally, some special movie characters in attendance from our friends at A Storybook Party!

Our Schedule on October 24:
4:00pm - Gates open
5:00pm - Trunk or Treat begins
7:00pm - The Nightmare Before Christmas - PG
8:30pm - Beetlejuice - PG

Friday, October 23 & Sunday, October 25: We’ve added additional screenings for our Tim Burton double feature of THE NIGHTMARE BEFORE CHRISTMAS and BEETLEJUICE!

Our Schedule on October 23 & 25:
6:00pm- Gates open
7:00pm -The Nightmare Before Christmas - PG
8:30pm - Beetlejuice - PG

Showtimes are appriximate.
The theater is open rain or shine.

10/20/2026

Spooky season continues here at Shankweiler's with a throwback vampire double-feature on Thursday, a Tim Burton double the rest of the weekend, and our fourth annual family-friendly trunk or treat! Stop by for some candy, cookies, popcorn, and slime, meet some characters from A Storybook Party, and settle in for some Halloween fun.

10/19/2026

Our Trunk or Treat is on Saturday, October 24, but we've added two additional showings of THE NIGHTMARE BEFORE CHRISTMAS and BEETLEJUICE on Friday and Sunday, giving you more chances to catch this iconic Tim Burton double feature on the giant drive-in screen!

Our Schedule on October 23 & 25:
6:00pm- Gates open
7:00pm -The Nightmare Before Christmas - PG
8:30pm - Beetlejuice - PG

Standard admission applies to these screenings.
The theater is open rain or shine.

10/18/2026

We just went to see a matinee of "You Can See Everything" at AMC Center Valley - a 3 hour documentary by Nathan Fielder and Lance Oppenheim. While it's not an ideal drive-in movie, it is DEFINITELY a movie that should be experienced in a theater around other people. Wow! There are so many twists and turns, and the audience is along for the ride together. It's going to stick with us for a long time!

Afterward, we were delighted to discover that we were not the only drive-in in attendance! Mark Nelson from the Mahoning Drive-In Theater and Chris & Marcelle Deppe from Becky's Drive-In were also there! We were all trying to fit it in before heading to work. If you've ever wondered what we do in our off-time, we all mostly just see more movies.

While you probably won't catch "You Can See Everything" at any of our drive-ins, you can still catch it at an independent theater! This week it's showing at Ambler Theater and Bryn Mawr Film Institute, and next weekend it will be opening at Artsquest/Frank Banko Alehouse Cinemas in Bethlehem, Oaks Center Cinema in Oaks, and Penn Cinema Huntingdon Valley.

Now back to work at our own theater! Tonight's movies are Verity and Primetime!

10/18/2026

Tonight, Sunday, October 18: Both VERITY and PRIMETIME will once again be presented with complete on-screen captions! If you missed last week's OC screening, you get another chance!

Our Movie Schedule:
6:00pm Gates open
7:00pm - Verity - R
9:15pm - Primetime - R

10/17/2026

Wow! We want to thank Secret Philadelphia for featuring Shankweiler's. It's always an honor to be highlighted like this. We often joke amongst ourselves that we're Philly's drive-in, but that may be true! If you're just discovering us, remember that we're open year-round with movies and special events. We hope to see you under the stars at Shankweiler's, soon!

🎬🍿 Did you know America’s oldest continuously operating drive-in theater is still open, and it’s just about an hour from Philadelphia? Open since 1934, this nostalgic movie destination is keeping the big-screen-under-the-stars tradition alive with movie screenings and classic theater snacks.

Visit the link in comments to read more!

10/16/2026

Meet Giles. He joined our team during the Night Market a few weeks ago, and is officially on board to watch over the lot throughout our spooky season. He's friendly, as long as you keep your headlights and running lights OFF during the show! 👁️👁️

10/15/2026

The new Street Fighter movie comes out this weekend - just not at our theater! (We are showing Verity and Primetime!) But we DO have these cool, officially licensed Street Fighter popcorn tins! We only have a limited number available in the snack bar, so stop by and snag one while supplies last!