Drive In Theatres Make a Comeback in Canada
Blockbuster Movies and Cheap Family Nights Out Spell Success
Oct 17, 2009
Anyone nostalgic for drive-in theatres with their dancing hot dogs, foggy windows and movies at rock bottom prices will be glad to hear that the the old passion pit is the latest entry on the 'everything old is new again list'.
Seems that while we've been busy Tweeting and YouTubing, our local drive-ins have been quietly luring folks back for an old-school, IRL, cheap night out.
“Our numbers have been going up and up and up,” says Premier Operating president Brian Allen, who owns and operates three Ontario drive-ins and books a slew of others. On Saturday nights, he turns away hundreds of cars from the packed-full 5 Drive-in in Oakville – biggest in the country with its capacity of 1100 cars.
Drive-Ins are Affordable and Fun
Why the comeback? Simple, says Allen: “You can't beat the price and people just really love the experience.”
At the 5 Drive in - a vintage wonderland with neon signs, art deco snack bar and old-school cartoons -- adults pay $11 for a double feature, kids are $2, or free if they're under 5. Thursdays it's $15 per car.
Jennifer Martin of London, Ontario used to go to London's Mustang drive-in on dates with her husband. Now they go with their two children.
“It makes me feel like a kid again,” says Martin. “We'd go as teenagers and I probably shouldn't say this, but we'd have somebody hiding in the trunk and everything. Now we bring the kids and they just love it.“
“It's not that the drive in ever lost its popularity,” says Allen, though home video and multi-screen cinemas offered tough competition. “Mostly, they were swallowed up by urban sprawl. When you own 20 acres in Vaughn at 400 [a former Toronto drive-in, now highly-developed commercial area], a time comes when you`re no longer in drive in business, you`re in the real estate business.”
Allen Family Built Canada's Early Nickelodeons and Drive-Ins
He would know. The last drive-in magnate in Canada, Allen's great-grandfather opened one of the country's first nickelodeon theatres 1906 and for a time, ran Canada's biggest theatre chain. The first drive-ins opened in the 30s, though the Allens didn't climb aboard until the 60s. Canadian drive-in popularity peaked a decade later with over 300 drive-ins nation-wide. Today there are about 58.
Still, the tide has turned and local papers across North America are littered with stories about increased attendance and even re-openings - usually paired with other recreational activities like mini-golf or volleyball. In Canada in 2004, five new drive-ins were opened and only one closed. That same year, drive-in attendance in Canada went up by 20%, according to StatsCan.
Who's fuelling the renaissance? A motley crew, says Allen. The drive-in is still a passion pit for some and family fun for others.
“Partiers at the back and the families in the front. Lots of kids and lots of dogs.”
This diverse crowd dictates the booking strategy. Films must cross generations and have broad appeal. Think Shrek and Pirates.
“Of course we go to see the movie, but it's more than that,” says Londoner Jennifer Martin. “The kids and the lawn chairs and the night falling around you. It's just so much more fun than sitting still in a dark auditorium for 90 minutes.”
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