The Family Drive-In Theatre is an outdoor cinema located at 5890 Valley Pike (U.S. 11) one mile south of Stephens City, Virginia. The family-owned business opened in 1956 and is one of the state's few remaining drive-in theaters.
The Family Drive-In Theatre is an outdoor cinema located at 5890 Valley Pike (U.S. 11) one mile south of Stephens City, Virginia. The family-owned business opened in 1956 and is one of the state's few remaining drive-in theaters.
The Family Drive-In was built by William F. Dalke Jr. and opened on June 14, 1956. It was one of eight drive-in theaters within a 20 miles (32 km) radius at the time of its construction. [1] [2] The number of drive-in theaters in the United States peaked at around 4,000 in 1958 while in 2013, an estimated 360 still remained. [3] Dalke Jr. had previously owned indoor theaters until opening Family Drive-In. He was able to keep the theater open with the assistance of his four sons, including Tim Dalke, who took over managing Family Drive-In when he returned from fighting in the Vietnam War. [2]
Since 2009, manager James Kopp, a self-professed "drive-in nut" and former Library of Congress employee, has leased Family Drive-In from Tim Dalke. Kopp sits on the board of the United Drive-in Theatre Owners Association. He works with a booking agent to get bargains on popular films. Second-run films were previously shown on both screens because they were cheaper to rent, but Family Drive-In now shows first-run movies in order to compete with standard theaters. Additional changes made by Kopp included hiring additional staff, expanding the theater's presence on social media, extending the operating season, and allowing customers to pay with credit cards. [3] [4] According to Kopp, he doesn't make a salary while the payroll for his staff is approximately $72,000 annually. He also states the theater's gross revenue was $459,000 for the 2012 season. [3]
Since film companies no longer offer many titles on 35 mm film, independent theaters like Family Drive-In face expensive upgrades to continue playing new digital films. Customers and the surrounding community donated $21,000 to help the theater, allowing Kopp to make a down payment to purchase new equipment. The two new Christie projectors cost around $120,000. The brightness and clarity from the new projectors allow customers to see details in films that weren't previously visible. Following the conversion, Family Drive-In was featured in a story by NBC Nightly News dealing with drive-ins having to choose between old and new ways of showing films. On Labor Day weekend in 2013, the theater began playing digitally projected movies in a special dusk until dawn event. The event was organized to thank patrons for their donations in purchasing the new equipment. [5]
Family Drive-In also hosts special events like Civil War film nights, an annual Halloween Costume Party and Trunk-or-Treat, and a car show featuring classic vehicles and 1950s themed movies. [6] [7] [8] The theater is one of nine drive-ins left in Virginia. The closest competitor is Hull’s Drive-In Theatre in Lexington. [3] Family Drive-In frequently sells-out and has to turn away many people. Customers sometimes arrive hours before showtime in order to find a good parking spot. [3]
Family Drive-In is open seven days a week from June to August, on the weekends in the spring and fall, and closed during the winter months. The 7.5 acres (3.0 ha) theater includes two screens playing first-run films, though older movies are sometimes played on one of the screens. [1] [3] [4] The first screen is able to accommodate 240 cars while the smaller second screen, added in 1989, can accommodate 144. [3] [2] The double feature policy allows customers to pay one admission price and watch two-first run films. Retro music is played before the films begin and a playground is available for children. Customers are able to hear the film's audio by choosing between drive-in speakers on 4 feet (1.2 m) high poles or their car radio. [1] According to Kopp, the speakers and poles are difficult to maintain since only one manufacturer still makes spare parts for them. When asked if he would ever remove them, Kopp said "Heck no. These classic speakers are part of the drive-in theater experience." [3] A concession stand staffed by "cast members" sells various refreshments, including pizza from a local restaurant and GoPicnic, a healthier option requested by some customers. [3]
Digital cinema refers to the adoption of digital technology within the film industry to distribute or project motion pictures as opposed to the historical use of reels of motion picture film, such as 35 mm film. Whereas film reels have to be shipped to movie theaters, a digital movie can be distributed to cinemas in a number of ways: over the Internet or dedicated satellite links, or by sending hard drives or optical discs such as Blu-ray discs.
A movie theater or cinema, also known as a movie house, cinema hall, picture house, picture theater, the pictures, or simply theater, is a business that contains auditoriums for viewing films for public entertainment. Most are commercial operations catering to the general public, who attend by purchasing tickets.
IMAX is a proprietary system of high-resolution cameras, film formats, film projectors, and theaters known for having very large screens with a tall aspect ratio and steep stadium seating, with the 1.43:1 ratio format being available only in few selected locations.
A home cinema, also called a home theater or theater room, is a home entertainment audio-visual system that seeks to reproduce a movie theater experience and mood using consumer electronics-grade video and audio equipment and is set up in a room or backyard of a private home. Some studies show that films are rated better and generate more intense emotions when watched in a movie theater, but convenience is a major appeal for home cinemas. In the 1980s, home cinemas typically consisted of a movie pre-recorded on a LaserDisc or VHS tape; a LaserDisc Player or VCR; and a heavy, bulky large-screen cathode-ray tube TV set, although sometimes CRT projectors were used instead. In the 2000s, technological innovations in sound systems, video player equipment, TV screens and video projectors have changed the equipment used in home cinema set-ups and enabled home users to experience a higher-resolution screen image, improved sound quality and components that offer users more options. The development of Internet-based subscription services means that 2020s-era home theatre users do not have to commute to a video rental store as was common in the 1980s and 1990s.
A drive-in theater/theatre or drive-in cinema is a form of cinema structure consisting of a large outdoor movie screen, a projection booth, a concession stand, and a large parking area for automobiles. Within this enclosed area, customers can view movies from the privacy and comfort of their cars. Some drive-ins have small playgrounds for children and a few picnic tables or benches.
A drive-in is a facility where one can drive in with an automobile for service. At a drive-in restaurant, for example, customers park their vehicles and are usually served by staff who walk or rollerskate out to take orders and return with food, encouraging diners to remain parked while they eat. Drive-in theaters have a large screen and a car parking area for film-goers.
An intermission, also known as an interval in British and Indian English, is a recess between parts of a performance or production, such as for a theatrical play, opera, concert, or film screening. It should not be confused with an entr'acte, which, in the 18th century, was a sung, danced, spoken, or musical performance that occurs between any two acts, that is unrelated to the main performance, and that thus in the world of opera and musical theater became an orchestral performance that spans an intermission and leads, without a break, into the next act.
AMC Entertainment Holdings, Inc. is an American movie theater chain founded in Kansas City, Missouri, and now headquartered in Leawood, Kansas. It is the largest movie theater chain in the world. Founded in 1920, AMC has the largest share of the U.S. theater market ahead of Regal Cinemas and Cinemark Theatres.
Century Theatres is a movie theater chain that operates many multiplexes in the western United States, primarily in California, Colorado, Nevada, Utah, New Mexico, and Arizona. In its later years, it had expanded into the inter-mountain states, the Pacific Northwest, Texas, Alaska and parts of the Midwestern United States. Founded in 1941, the chain was headquartered in San Rafael, California until it was acquired by Cinemark Theatres from Plano, Texas in 2006. Many now-Cinemark-owned theaters continue to operate under the Century brand.
The double feature is a motion picture industry phenomenon in which theatres would exhibit two films for the price of one, supplanting an earlier format in which the presentation of one feature film would be followed by various short subject reels.
B&B Theatres Operating Company, Inc. or simply B&B Theatres is a family-owned and operated American movie theater chain based in Liberty, Missouri. Founded in 1924, B&B is the fifth-largest theater chain in the United States, operating 500+ screens at 54 locations in 14 US states. The company also maintains offices in Salisbury, Missouri and Fulton, Missouri.
A film, also known as a movie or motion picture, is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, emotions, or atmosphere through the use of moving images that are generally accompanied by sound and other sensory stimulations. The word "cinema" is a shortening of the word "cinematography" and is used to refer to either filmmaking, the film industry, the overall art form, or a movie theater.
Cumberland Drive-In Theatre is an outdoors movie theater located in Newville, Pennsylvania. It is capable of hosting 400 vehicles and has a 45 by 96 foot movie screen. As of August 2013, it has been operated by the same family for over 60 years.
The Moonlite Theatre, also known as the Moonlite Drive-In, is a historic drive-in theater located near Abingdon, Washington County, Virginia. It was built and opened in 1949, and remained one of the few drive-ins still open in Virginia until finally closing in 2013. The theater reopened briefly in 2016 but closed shortly after due to a pending lawsuit. Remaining original buildings and structures include the 65-foot-tall screen tower and office wing, the ticket booth, the concession stand/projector booth building, and the neon-illuminated attraction board at the edge of the highway. The theatre includes 454 parking/viewing spaces designed as reverse-incline ramps.
Kanopolis Drive-in Theatre, opened in 1952, is a single-screen Drive-in theater located on the northwest side of Kanopolis, Kansas. The theater, which has a 60x30 feet screen and a capacity of 165 cars, ran in continuous operation until 2006. The theatre re-opened as the Kanopolis Drive-In in May 2011.
Shankweiler's Drive-In Theatre is a single-screen drive-in movie theater located off of Route 309 in Orefield, Pennsylvania, United States. It is the oldest operational drive-in theater in the world It generally operates during weekends in the colder months, while playing films seven days per week during the summer season. Admission gives patrons access to both nightly movie showings.
The Mahoning Drive-In Theater is a drive-in theater located in Lehighton, Pennsylvania, along Route 443. Opened in 1949, the Mahoning was one of many drive-in theaters that became popular in the United States following World War II. Attendance at the Mahoning waned by 2014, but the theater has since gained a resurgence in popularity due to the management's decision to screen primarily older cult films and B movies rather than newer releases. It is the last remaining drive-in theater in the US to screen films in 35 mm every weekend.
88 Drive-In is a drive-in theater in the Irondale neighborhood of Commerce City, a suburb of Denver.
