With major movie theater chains shuttered nationwide, studios aren't reporting their box office numbers anymore but there is a pulse out there and it belongs to the drive-in movie theaters that still remain open amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
According to "Deadline", there are 14 movie theater locations still open as of this past weekend and 13 of them are drive-in movie locations. The theaters that are staying strong amid the pandemic are the Van Buren Drive-in in Riverside, CA; the Mission Tiki in Monclair, CA; the Galaxy Drive-in in Ennis, TX; the Glendale 9 in Glendale, AZ; the Sacramento 6 Drive-In; the Starlite Drive-in in Cadet, MO; the South Bay Drive-In San Diego; the Auto Drive-in the Greenville, NC area; Hi-Way 21 in Beaufort, SC; the Jesup in Georgia; the Ocala in Florida; King Drive in Huntsville, AL; the Lake Worth in Palm Springs, FL and the Epic Theaters of West Volusia, Florida.
There have been reports that drive-ins started to thrive once again when major theater chains started to go dark on March 15. While they're not pulling in crazy amounts of money, the uptick was noticeable enough to make an impression. It was clear that anyone that was lucky enough to have a drive-in location near their home, it became time to make this relic of the past new again to have something close to the theatrical experience.
Three films were still being tracked at the box office over the weekend and they included THE INVISIBLE MAN at seven drive-ins with a gross of $36.6K, THE HUNT with $36K at eight drive-ins & ONWARD at eight drive-ins with a gross of $22.7K. All of these film pulled in these grosses despite the fact that they were released early on VOD with ONWARD making its Disney+ debut on Friday last week.
So far none of these drive-ins have been ordered to close this week and they may be the locations tha will feature TROLLS WORLD TOUR prominently this coming weekend. When the latest 007 entry NO TIME TO DIE became the first major release to vacate its release date in April, Universal Pictures moved TROLLS WORLD TOUR up to this weekend to take advantage of the Easter box office potential. The studio had no idea that movie theaters would be closing nationwide whe they made this decision so they were forced to accommodate. The studio, which will still play the film on any available screens, will also be releasing the film on VOD Friday for $19.99 and a 48-hour rental period. It's expected that on-demand will be its biggest cash grab, especially with families quarantined at home looking for another viewing option for their kids who have already watched FROZEN II and ONWARD too many times.
It might seem depressing to report grosses that are so low but it's also interesting to see these smaller theaters doing what they can to remain open and give the box office some kind of a pulse, even if it's a slight one. As of now, the summer movie box office kicks off with Pixar's SOUL on June 19 and even more prominently with Christopher Nolan's TENET on July 17, unlesss Warner Bros. decides to move it. The hope is that most major movie theater chains will be open by then but business for those films will also be driving to the local drive-in theaters that remain open and they'll be deserving of that business for trying to keep this train running when it has clearly been derailed by forces outside of its control.
Do YOU have any local drive-in movie theaters near you?