The Skyborn Cruise-In in Fairborn, Melody Cruise-In in Springfield, and the Wilmington Drive-In, all owned by Chakeres, will be closed for the season.
But the drive-in movie business is not dead in the Dayton area. Actually, the owners of the Dixie Drive-In say they are thriving.
So are drive-ins coming or going?
Here are three things you need to know.
What happened to Chakeres Theatres?
Three out of the four drive-in theaters that Chakeres owns around the area will not be open this summer.
The main reason for their closure mostly is tied to the large expense of switching to digital, which can range in price from $100,000 to $150,000.
Chakeres spent more than $120,000 during the past year to digitize the Melody 49 Drive-In Brookville, according to general manager Mark Booth, which is why it is the only one that's open.
There are plenty of factors that played into the hardship of transitioning to digital.
“Especially with drive-ins, because it’s not only the cost of the projector and sound, but also heating and cooling for the buildings,” that hold the equipment, Booth said.
Benefits of digital
While the purchase of the digitally compatible equipment can be quite the financial burden, plenty of benefits come with it.
More options for films become available once you do the switch because fewer movies are available in the old-school film format.
Along with more availability comes a sharper picture and clearer audio.
Dixie Drive-In boom
“Three or four years ago, the film industry announced that they were going to be heading to all digital, and that they were going to be eliminating all film,” said Greg Dove, president of Levin Service Company, which owns the Dixie Drive-In outdoor theater.
“At the first notice of this, we began discussing how we were going to move forward, and we began our research in switching over to digital.”
Dixie switched to digital two years ago and its attendance is up along with a 30 percent growth in its revenue.
“It was quite an investment for us,” said Lisa Edwards, marketing director of Dixie Drive-In, “especially when you consider that a lot of these drive-ins used to be mom-and-pop, local things.”
Dixie Drive-In is located at 6201 N. Dixie Drive and has been in operation since 1957.
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