Line #74 Main/DriveInTheater


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10	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Drive-In_Theater.jpg]]
11	[[caption-width-right:350:An iconic image from the drive-in's heyday. The movie is ''Film/TheTenCommandments1956''.]]
12
13	->''"If you're going to leave before seeing the next movie, ''you're stupid!''"''
14	-->-- '''D. Edward Vogel''' (owner of UsefulNotes/{{Baltimore}}'s ''[[http://bengies.com Bengie's Drive-In,]]'' over PA system between films)
15
16	The drive-in theater has been a fixture of American culture since TheThirties. Every spring and summer night (and all year round in warmer climates), millions of viewers pay the admission fee for themselves and their friends (at least the ones who aren't hiding in the trunk), get some snacks at the concession stand, and watch two (or more) movies projected on an outdoor screen from the privacy and comfort of their cars. Although drive-ins are most popular in the United States, they exist around the world. The drive-in is an enduring symbol of Americana whose continued existence defies some heavy odds.
17
18	!History
19
20	!!The Beginning
21
22	The drive-in theater was created in 1933 by chemical company magnate Richard M. Hollingshead Jr., who opened the first one in Pennsauken Township, UsefulNotes/NewJersey. It was popular enough that [[FollowTheLeader similar theaters began to open around the country]]. The drive-in became known as a place where a family could enjoy watching movies from the privacy of their car.
23
24	!!The Rise
25
26	Drive-ins really took off after UsefulNotes/WorldWarII; by their peak in the late [[TheFifties 1950s]] and early [[TheSixties 1960s]], there were more than 4,000 drive-ins all across America. While they continued to show mainstream Hollywood fare for families, they also became popular with teenagers, who would come to see the latest {{B Movie}}s (which usually dealt with ScienceFiction monsters, juvenile {{delinquents}}, and [[TheNewRockAndRoll early rock & roll]]). Of course, teens also took advantage of the privacy factor, which made drive-ins notorious as "[[MakeOutPoint passion pits]]" (equivalent to "Creator/{{Netflix}} and chill" in TheNewTens). In the popular imagination, drive-ins are still associated with these tropes derived from the 1950s. However, this heyday couldn't last...
27
28	!!The Fall
29
30	Drive-ins gradually declined for a number of reasons. The real estate they sat on became too valuable to "waste" on a business that could operate for only a few hours a day, a few months of the year, and even then was subject to bad weather. The 1970s energy crisis drove up the cost of gas, making outings to drive-ins more expensive, while the subsequent adoption of daylight saving time meant that movies started later in the summer months. Meanwhile, audiences began turning to cable TV and [[HomeVideoTropes home video]] for their movie fix, or hitting up the then-new concept of the multiplex theater. Some drive-ins responded by changing their emphasis from family fare to the [[DarkerAndEdgier increasingly violent and sexually explicit]] exploitation and [[HorrorTropes horror]] films that were, ironically, the successors to the 1950s {{B Movie}}s.
31
32	A few drive-ins even showed outright pornography. This was often the only choice some of these theatres had to be able to survive, as it was often difficult to get regular "first run" movies from the major studios, often requiring them to wait 4-5 months after a film's initial release. However, this practice of showing soft-core and even hard-core porn where it is publicly visible angered people who lived in the residences near the theatre property, who might not want to have an X-Rated film showing where they - or their kids - could see explicit sex acts being performed (on a 50-foot high screen no less!) A number of drive-in operators were put on trial over the content of the films they showed, and some communities tried to ban showing porn flicks at drive-ins. Until one owner fought back. In the case of ''[[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erznoznik_v._City_of_Jacksonville Erznoznik v. City of Jacksonville,]]'' the United States Supreme Court struck down an ordinance that tried to ban such films at drive-ins, finding the ban violates the first Amendment as excessively broad.
33
34	Another common tactic was for drive-ins to add multiple screens. Some rented their land during the day to other businesses, such as flea markets -- or managed such businesses themselves. Especially in urban areas, the vast expanses of land necessary for a drive-in became too expensive to maintain, and the land was sold for redevelopment because it just wasn't financially feasible to keep it open. Therefore, many drive-ins were forced to close between TheSeventies and the TurnOfTheMillennium. In many cases, the land was even turned over to build a shiny new multiplex theater. It seemed that the drive-in was headed for extinction -- or was it?
35
36	!!The Resurgence
37
38	Beginning in TheNineties, and continuing thru the TurnOfTheMillennium and still going strong in TheNewTens, drive-ins have enjoyed a {{revival}}; a few new theaters have even opened in the last few years. Some of this is due to Baby Boomer nostalgia, although many current drive-in visitors are too young to remember the medium's heyday. Also, a "guerrilla drive-in" movement has developed to show films in parks, parking lots and other open urban spaces. Although it's unlikely that drive-ins will ever again be as numerous as they were during TheFifties, it seems that they're here to stay -- at least for the foreseeable future.
39
40	At the beginning of TheNewTwenties, drive-ins saw a return to popularity for an unexpected reason: as the UsefulNotes/COVID19Pandemic made its way around the world, people realized that drive-ins were a good way to see movies in public while still maintaining physical distancing. As Rick Cohen, owner of the Transit Drive-In Theatre in Lockport, [[UsefulNotes/NewYorkState New York]], told ''[[https://variety.com/2020/film/features/drive-in-movie-theaters-coronavirus-safety-measures-1234612749/ Variety]]'': “Drive-ins aren’t having a resurgence. Drive-ins have been doing well. It’s a resurgence of the media remembering that drive-ins still exist.” Also, during the 2020 Presidential campaign, Democratic candidate UsefulNotes/JoeBiden, his running mate UsefulNotes/KamalaHarris, and Biden's former boss UsefulNotes/BarackObama began appearing at drive-ins to have safe political rallies, with the audience staying in their cars and honking their horns instead of applauding.
41
42	!Business model
43
44	During {{intermission}}s, drive-ins traditionally show [[AdvertisingTropes advertisements]] for the snack bar, as well as {{public service announcement}}s, ads for local merchants, [[NoTalkingOrPhonesWarning safety messages]] and reminders of when the next movie is going to start ("10 minutes to showtime!"). These peppy, often animated ads have a following of their own; many are available on DVD compilations and in the Internet Archive's [[http://www.archive.org/details/DriveInMovieAds Moving Image Archive.]]
45
46	Many drive-ins have playgrounds for child patrons to use before the show. Some also have miniature golf courses. The substantial pre-paved space also allows the drive-in lot itself to temporarily double as the local flea market during the day, providing additional revenue.
47
48	They've also changed as technology improved. Originally, Drive-ins had physical speakers, attached by wire to a post, which you removed from the post, rolled down your window, placed the speaker inside, then rolled up the window. This often caused people to forget they had the speaker attached, causing them to drive off, usually ripping the speaker off the post and possibly breaking the window.[[note]]Most drive-ins ran a spot before, after, and between the features reminding you that your car was currently attached to a metal pole by a wire and telling you that if you did accidentally rip the speaker loose to bring it by the concession stand, usually in a humorous way trying very hard to imply "Hey, these things happen, we're not gonna be mad." Really, of course, the drive-in just wanted the speaker back ... reattaching it to the post is a lot cheaper than buying a new one.[[/note]] (Some very small ones just had a single, large speaker.) Today, drive ins have low-power broadcast transmitters, that send the audio to your car radio. Some drive-ins even have digital sound (usually the DTS format, since they are the only company that does installations for digital sound in drive-ins). This also means, if the car has good stereo, that the sound can be as good as that in a high-quality walk-in theater. Some drive-ins run AM as well as FM signals for the few people who don't have FM radio. More recently, some locations have begun using apps to stream audio over wi-fi to viewers' smartphones.
49
50	MovieTheaterEpisode is a related trope.
51	----
52	!!Examples
53
54	[[foldercontrol]]
55
56	[[folder:Advertising]]
57	* The commercial for ''[[VideoGame/SoulSeries Soul Calibur]]'' that was part of the Platform/SegaDreamcast's "It's Thinking" ad campaign depicted video game characters at a drive-in, watching trailers for upcoming games. There was also a fan-made commercial for the cancelled Dreamcast port of ''VideoGame/HalfLife'' that was merely this same commercial but with ''Half-Life'' gameplay and box art sloppily pasted in. View the original ad [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_tuKt9pxJzQ here,]] and the ''Half-Life'' version [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UDjFRH6hzA8 here]].
58	[[/folder]]
59
60	[[folder:Anime & Manga]]
61	* In Chapter 156 of ''Manga/The100GirlfriendsWhoReallyReallyReallyReallyReallyLoveYou'', Rentarou manages to find a drive in theater in Japan for his date with Naddy, a reverse OccidentalOtaku who loves American culture.
62	* In ''Anime/CowboyBebopKnockinOnHeavensDoor'', Jet and his cop friend, Bob, discuss about the antagonist (Vincent) in a futuristic version of a drive in. Only in this case, the patrons are in their personal mini space ships.
63	[[/folder]]
64
65	[[folder:Comedy]]
66	* Creator/GeorgeCarlin, as DJ Weird Willy West, does a plug for the Make-out Drive-In Theater ("No lines, no waiting, there's no movie either, kids!") and the feature running there, ''Sex Bed Teen Bikini Virgin Surf Beach Ball Bash''.
67	* A Creator/CheechAndChong skit, "Pedro and Man at the Drive-In", has the titular characters sneak a couple of their friends into a drive in theater. Hilarious antics ensue when Man accidentally breaks the key in the trunk's lock and has to go find a crowbar to get them out. And totally forgets.
68	[[/folder]]
69
70	[[folder:Comic Books]]
71	* An issue of ''ComicStrip/HsuAndChan'' had the characters head off to a drive-in and getting caught up in a money making scheme of an old movie anniversary.
72	* The cover of a 1969 ''WesternAnimation/BugsBunny'' comic shows him watching recently introduced ''Franchise/LooneyTunes'' characters Bunny and Claude at a drive-in -- not from a car, but from a burrow.
73	* ''[[Film/NightOfTheLivingDead1968 Night of the Living Dead: Hunger]]'' has zombies attacking unsuspecting moviegoers at a rundown drive-in theater.
74	* ''ComicBook/TalesOfTheStarlightDriveIn'', an award-winning graphic novel written by Michael Sangiacomo, is an anthology of stories set at a single drive-in over 53 years.
75	* ''ComicBook/TheTransformersMarvel'': In the first issue, the Autobots go to a drive-in theater during their first night on Earth, thinking that cars and trucks are sentient and that the drive-in is a church of some sort. It takes them a while to realize it's the little fleshy things ''inside'' the cars that are the ones watching the movie.
76	[[/folder]]
77
78	[[folder:Comic Strips]]
79	* Variation: In [[https://www.gocomics.com/phoebe-and-her-unicorn/2022/05/20 this]] ''ComicStrip/PhoebeAndHerUnicorn'' strip, Marigold mentions seeing movies at a "trot-in theater".
80	[[/folder]]
81
82	[[folder:Fan Works]]
83	* ''Fanfic/TheMidnightverse'' story ''Last Date'' has [[WesternAnimation/ChipNDaleRescueRangers Dale and Foxglove]] seeing ''Franchise/PiratesOfTheCaribbean 3'' at a drive-in -- years before [[Film/PiratesOfTheCaribbeanAtWorldsEnd that film]] was actually released.
84	[[/folder]]
85
86	[[folder:Films -- Animation]]
87	* ''WesternAnimation/AquaTeenHungerForceColonMovieFilmForTheaters'' has a parody of snack bar advertisements in which friendly, anthropomorphic snack food mascots are replaced by the metal band Mastodon.
88	* ''WesternAnimation/Cars1'': The characters are watching parodies of other Creator/{{Pixar}} films at the end of the movie; since they're all vehicles of some sort, of course it's a drive-in theatre.
89	* ''WesternAnimation/CaspersHauntedChristmas'' begins with the Ghostly Trio wreaking havoc at a drive-in.
90	* ''WesternAnimation/JetsonsTheMovie'' had Judy and Apollo Blue on a date in a [[FlyingCar jet-car]] drive-in theater.
91	[[/folder]]
92
93	[[folder:Films -- Live-Action]]
94	* One of the scenes in ''Film/AirBuddies'' has the puppies go to a drive-in theatre and interrupt the showing of ''WesternAnimation/OneHundredAndOneDalmatians''. A biker gang is there watching the movie, and when the puppies pass by them... they ''literally'' PetTheDog.
95	* ''Film/AntManAndTheWasp'' ends with Scott, Hope, and Cassie apparently at a drive-in, until a wide shot reveals they're shrunk down and sitting in one of Hank's VideoGame/MicroMachines watching ''Film/{{Them}}'' on Scott's phone.
96	* In ''Film/BackToTheFuturePartIII'', Doc Brown has Marty run the [=DeLorean=] Time Machine through the grounds of a drive-in to get it up to 88 MPH in order to go back in time, because in the 1880s that area was just sagebrush and empty grassland; when Marty rematerializes he won't end up crashing into a tree or a mountain.
97	* ''Film/BloodRage'' begins at a drive-in, where the killer (then a young boy) claims his first victim by hacking up a random patron up with an axe that was lying around... for some reason.
98	* In ''Film/DCCab'', kidnapped Albert gets a message to the other cabbies about where he's being held prisoner: a farmhouse where he can hear airplanes and see a windmill and Creator/BruceLee. After some false leads, they find him near a drive-in theater that's playing Bruce Lee movies, its big screen being visible from Albert's position.
99	* In the 1986 Ozploitation ''Film/DeadEndDriveIn'', the government decides to handle its delinquent youth problem by locking them in a drive-in theatre where they're [[BreadAndCircuses pacified]] with a steady diet of junk food, rock and pop music, and movies.
100	* The 1976 comedy film ''[[https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0074433/ Drive-In]]'', about teens having a wild night at a drive-in in UsefulNotes/{{Texas}}.
101	* There's another DTV slasher film simply called ''Drive-In'', and it's surprisingly decent.
102	* There's an especially bad slasher film called ''Film/DriveInMassacre''.
103	* ''Film/{{Explorers}}'' has a memorable scene where the home-built spaceship flies slowly across the screen of a drive-in movie theater in the middle of a campy 1950's sci-fi schlockfest. A patron in one of the cars complains that the special effects look fake, thinking it's part of the movie, and claims to be able to see the string. Then the ship turns and zooms right over his head, and he spills his popcorn in shock.
104	* The 1978 film ''[[https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0076055/ French Quarter]]'' ends by BreakingTheFourthWall and telling viewers, "Hang up your speakers and drive home safely!"
105	* In the Film/{{Mihmiverse}}, ''Film/TheGiantSpider'' has a scene at the Phantom Lake Drive-In, with Creator/ChristopherRMihm doing a CreatorCameo as its owner.
106	* ''Film/{{Grease}}'' had a couple of scenes at one, including the musical number "Sandy".
107	* In ''Film/{{Heat}}'', Neil [=McCauley=] arranges to meet with Roger Van Zant's drop man in an abandoned drive-in. However, an assassin is hiding in the drop man's pickup truck. Chris Shiherlis covers Neil from the roof of the projection building. The two of them take down the assassin (which Neil has difficulty hitting because he's driving over the humps used to angle the cars to the screen). The pickup truck driver tries to flee, but just as he is about to exit, Michael Cheritto shoots him with a shotgun.
108	* ''Film/IAmCuba'' has a scene in which a drive-in showing pro-Batista propaganda is bombed by anti-Batista radicals.
109	* The first present-day sequence in ''Film/JurassicWorldDominion'' sees Rexy the Tyrannosaurus being pursued into one and causing mayhem.
110	* Creator/StanleyKubrick's FilmOfTheBook of ''Literature/{{Lolita}}'' has Humbert sitting between Lolita and Mrs. Haze at a drive-in showing the Hammer Film ''Film/TheCurseOfFrankenstein''. At a [[ShockingMoments shocking moment]] hands grab other hands, with awkward consequences.
111	* ''Film/MidnightCowboy'' opens with a shot of the Big Tex Drive-In. It's daytime, so the the place is empty save for a boy riding a plastic horse in the playground area underneath the screen.
112	* In ''Film/TheMonsterSquad'', Sean and his dad sit on their roof with a radio and binoculars so they can watch movies showing at a nearby drive-in without having to pay for tickets.
113	* The killer gets chased to a drive-in by angry bikers in ''Film/NewYearsEvil''. He escapes by knifing one of them and hijacking a car.
114	* In ''Film/NightOfTheLepus'', a police officer interrupts the movie at a drive-in to announce: "There is a herd of [[KillerRabbit giant killer bunnies]] coming this way, and we need your help!" Amazingly, the audience actually takes him seriously.
115	* ''Northville Cemetery Massacre'' includes a scene where a bunch of motorcycles pull up to a drive-in theater (specifically, the now-demolished Jolly Roger Drive-In in the UsefulNotes/{{Detroit}} suburb of Taylor).
116	* In ''Film/OnceUponATimeInHollywood'', Cliff Booth lives in a trailer behind the Van Nuys Drive-In Theater.
117	* In ''Film/OneCrazySummer'', Hoops and Cookie go to a drive-in that apparently serves popcorn in bags large enough to fill up a fourth of a car (which [[BigEater Cookie]] easily finishes long before the movie ends). Later several characters smuggle in a projector and use it to advertise Cassandra's music in the corner of the screen during a movie.
118	* In the 1966 movie ''Film/OurManFlint'', Galaxy's IslandBase has a 'Reward Room' where its minions can have sex with [[SexSlave Pleasure Units]]. One of the fantasy make-out areas is designed to look like a drive-in theater.
119	* In ''Film/PeeWeesBigAdventure'', Dotty insists early in the movie that Pee-wee take her to the drive-in on a date. It's not until the end that he actually does it, and also [[spoiler: runs into almost every other character he's met so far, all present in different vehicles and eating different classic movie snacks]].
120	* In ''Film/RedDawn1984'', the DirtyCommunists turn this icon of American culture into a prison/reeducation camp.
121	* ''Film/SpiesLikeUs'': A Star Wars-style anti-missile system is hidden underneath an old run-down drive-in theater.
122	* ''Film/TheSugarlandExpress'': The OutlawCouple watch a ''WesternAnimation/WileECoyoteAndTheRoadRunner'' cartoon on the drive-in screen across from their motel room.
123	* ''Film/{{Targets}}'' ends with a sniper taking potshots at patrons at a drive-in theater. He is eventually faced down by Creator/BorisKarloff's character.
124	* The original ''Film/ThatDarnCat'' features a ChaseScene at a drive-in.
125	* In ''Film/ThunderboltAndLightfoot'', some of the participants in a just completed vault robbery hide in the (huge) trunk of a 1950s Chevy, which goes over to the nearby drive-in as a vehicle with a couple of regular customers. Unfortunately, the clothes of the men hiding are exposed hanging out of the trunk, which causes the manager to call the police.
126	* In the "Julie" segment of the MadeForTV AnthologyFilm ''Film/TrilogyOfTerror'', a student who has [[TeacherStudentRomance an unhealthy obsession with his teacher]] takes her on a date to a drive-in, knocks her out with [[SlippingAMickey a spiked drink]], then takes [[{{Blackmail}} compromising photos]] of her while she's unconscious.
127	* A tornado attacks one during ''Film/{{Twister}}'', complete with ShoutOut to ''Film/TheShining'', matching the "Here's Johnny!" scene to the tornado crashing into said theater.
128	* ''Film/WhiteHeat'' has a scene where Cody Jarrett and his gang elude the police by driving into one of these.
129	[[/folder]]
130
131	[[folder:Literature]]
132	* Creator/BillBryson was thrilled to discover a drive-in theater still operating in 1990s New Hampshire and brought his family out to experience it. Not only was the endeavour a disaster, but Bryson reasoned that this had actually always been the case.
133	* ''Literature/TheCiderHouseRules'' contains a fictional example of a drive-in theater being used as a MakeOutPoint.
134	* Creator/IanFleming's ''Literature/DiamondsAreForever'' has a scene in UsefulNotes/LasVegas where Literature/JamesBond is in a cab being pursued by a pair of gunmen, and the driver attempts (unsuccessfully) to shake them by going to a drive-in where a movie is playing.
135	* According to WordOfGod, going to drive-in theaters is how Harry Dresden (hero of ''Literature/TheDresdenFiles'' novels) manages to make tons of pop culture references despite being a WalkingTechbane.
136	* Creator/JoeLansdale's "The Drive-In" takes place [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin in one of these theaters]].
137	* A character is ForcedToWatch the deaths of his friends at a decayed drive-in during the ''[[Franchise/ANightmareOnElmStreet Freddy Krueger's Seven Sweetest Dreams]]'' story "Asleep at the Wheel".
138	* The second ''Literature/SnarkoutBoys'' novel by Creator/DanielPinkwater deals with the secret history of the drive-in as a major plot point. The book claims that the original "drive-in" was a stage show in UsefulNotes/{{Romania}} in the 1800s, which the peasants hated so much that they burned it down and drove the purveyor out of the country. The climax of the book is at the world's largest drive-in theater, founded by a descendant of the original inventor. [[BrickJoke A Romanian pyromaniac shows up and sets the entire lot on fire.]]
139	[[/folder]]
140
141	[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
142	* One of these appeared in an episode of ''Series/TheAdventuresOfPeteAndPete'' where older Pete and [[spoiler:Ellen]] go on a date.
143	* Series/{{Angel}} takes Connor to a drive-in in an attempt at father-son bonding.
144	* ''Series/TheBradyBunch'' had two episodes where Greg took his date to a drive-in with hilarious results. In one, he was forced to take Bobby along with him after losing a bet. In the other, Bobby and Peter accidentally leave their pet frogs in the car.
145	* In one episode of ''Series/CallOfTheWildman'', a RascallyRaccoon has taken up residence in the local drive-in's snack bar and is helping itself to popcorn and chips. Turtleman chases it into the projection booth and catches it, then he and Neal watch the movie being shown that night from the Turtlemobile.
146	* One of the last episodes of ''Series/{{Cheers}}'', "[[Recap/CheersS11E18 The Last Picture Show]]", has Woody, Norm, Cliff, and Frasier going to a local drive-in to watch its closing-down event, a marathon of ''Franchise/{{Godzilla}}'' movies. They conclude that drive-ins are overrated -- tinny speakers, people blocking your view -- and that they're really nostalgic for their youth. They go home early.
147	* The bad guys on ''Series/{{Chuck}}'' had their base in an old drive-in.
148	* One of the last episodes of ''Series/ColdCase'' began with a guy getting sniped in a drive-in.
149	* ''Series/TheFactsOfLife'' had an episode that took place at the closing night of a drive-in.
150	* An episode of ''Series/FamilyMatters'' took place at a drive-in and focused on the dates of Laura, Steve, and Waldo. The latter of which didn't even come in a car, rather Maxine and he just walk in with folding chairs and coolers.
151	* In ''Series/GreenAcres'', Oliver and Lisa go to a drive-in, while in the pick-up truck next to them, a couple are busy [[MakeOutKids making out with extreme passion]]. Oliver tries to pull the speaker off of the post, but it's too short, it flies back, smashing the driver's side window of that same vehicle. The couple is so busy with heavy necking that ''they never even notice''.
152	* The ''Series/HartToHart'' episode "'Tis the Season to Be Murdered" begins with Jonathan and Jennifer talking with a PrivateDetective whom Jonathan has hired to investigate a security leak at the toy company he owns. The private eye insists on meeting at a drive-in during the day because he thinks it's a secure location. [[ProperlyParanoid He gets murdered anyway]].
153	* In "Last Whiff of Summer", the two-part fourth-season premiere of ''Series/TheMiddle'', the Hecks go to a drive-in.
154	* The ''Series/MissionImpossible'' episode "The Psychic" begins with Briggs receiving his assignment at a drive-in.
155	* In the ''Series/MyMotherTheCar'' episode "And Leave the Drive-In to Us", Dave and his family brave a cold day in order to take Mother to a drive-in, where a movie co-starring Mother's favorite actor [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sonny_Tufts Sonny Tufts]] is playing. When the picture is finally over, there are two cars left in the lot, and the other car is driven by Sonny Tufts himself.
156	* ''Series/{{Psych}}'': The climax of [[Recap/PsychS03E16AnEveningWithMrYang the third season finale]] takes place at a drive-in theater, the group having been directed there by SerialKiller Mr. Yang's riddles. Shawn's mother Madeleine, having been kidnapped by Yang earlier, is found in her rental car strapped to a bomb. Yang's identity is uncovered and [[spoiler:she]] is arrested following a conversation with Shawn in [[spoiler:her]] car.
157	* In ''Series/{{Riverdale}}'', Jughead protests the upcoming closing of the town's drive-in as it's an important piece of the town's history. The end of the episode reveals it's actually because he's homeless after a falling-out with his father and has been squatting there.
158	* The VHS releases for ''Series/ShiningTimeStation'' had an additional FramingDevice[[note]]The series itself was a FramingDevice designed to introduce ''WesternAnimation/ThomasAndFriends'' to American audiences[[/note]]. The episodes were being played at the Shining Time Drive-in, and before the main feature began, there'd be, amongst other things, a KitschyLocalCommercial for Schemer's Arcade. After the episodes, there'd be a short film from "Schemer Presents", a series of instructional videos made and presented by Schemer, which the voiceover notes, "We had nothing to do with it".
159	* In an early episode of ''Series/That70sShow'' Eric, Donna, Kelso and Jackie go to the local drive-in to watch ''Film/TheOmen1976'' -- well, actually to make out.
160	[[/folder]]
161
162	[[folder:Music]]
163	* PostPunk band Music/AtTheDriveIn, who take their name from a lyric in Music/{{Poison}}'s "Talk Dirty To Me."
164	* "Drive-In" by Music/TheBeachBoys.
165	* "Drive-In Saturday" by Music/DavidBowie.
166	* A verse from Music/NatKingCole's "Those Lazy-Hazy-Crazy Days Of Summer":
167	-->''Don't hafta tell a girl and fella about a drive-in\
168	Or some romantic moon it seems\
169	Right from the moment that those lovers start arrivin'\
170	You'll see more kissin' (WolfWhistle) in the cars than on the screen''
171	* "There's an [[Music/ElvisPresley Elvis]] movie on the [[DepartmentOfRedundancyDepartment marquee sign]]" is the opening line to Hal Ketchum's "Small Town Saturday Night".
172	* In "Everything's Changed" by Music/{{Lonestar}}, the narrator laments all of the things that have changed in his hometown — but the one thing that stays the same is how much he still loves her. One of the things that's changed is "That old drive-in is a new UsefulNotes/{{Walmart}}".
173	* "Moonlight Drive-In" by Turner Nichols recalls a former lover and how they would make out at the drive-in.
174	* From Music/RoxyMusic's "Virginia Plain":
175	-->''Last picture shows down the drive-in\
176	You're so sheer, you're so chic\
177	Teenage rebel of the week''
178	* In "Night Moves", Music/BobSeger remembers a time when he and his girlfriend were "Tryin' to make some front page drive-in news".
179	* In 1958, Gary Shelton (later known as TeenIdol Troy Shondell) released a single called "Kissin' at the Drive-In".
180	* The first verse of the Sylvers' hit "Boogie Fever":
181	-->''I took my baby to the drive-in show\
182	She turned the speaker down\
183	and then she turned on the radio\
184	I watched a silent movie, diggin' funky sound''
185	* In an example of WhatCouldHaveBeen, Music/TalkingHeads considered promoting their album ''Music/TrueStories'' (and/or the Music/DavidByrne [[Film/TrueStories film]] it was more or less based on) by doing a tour of drive-in theaters.
186	* The Velvet Monkeys' song "Drive-In".
187	[[/folder]]
188
189	[[folder:Music Video]]
190	* Music/BryanAdams' "Summer of '69" video features him painting the screen at a drive-in theater during the second verse. He falls asleep on the job and is still up there when the movie starts.
191	* The video for Jon Music/BonJovi's "Blaze of Glory" from the ''Film/YoungGunsII'' soundtrack has him performing the song at a decrepit drive-in atop a cliff in the American southwest. Scenes from the movie play on the screen (until the screen catches fire, reflecting a [[{{Pun}} blaze]] in the film scenes being shown).
192	* The video for Music/LanaDelRey's cover of "Doin' Time" takes place in a drive-in showing a movie about a GiantWoman, played by Del Rey. When a woman in the drive in is cheated on, the giantess steps out of the screen to exact revenge.
193	* The Hooters' "And We Danced" has the band performing at a drive-in theater.
194	* When Music/RascalFlatts covered "Life Is A Highway" for ''WesternAnimation/Cars1'', the music video took place at a drive-in with the movie playing on the screen and real-life counterparts to the main characters in the lot.
195	* Music/BobSeger's "Night Moves", which also features Matt [=LeBlanc=] as one of the moviegoers. The song was recorded in 1976, but the video was filmed in 1994 to help promote his GreatestHits CD.
196	** Music/BlakeShelton did something similar when he covered the title track for the ''Film/{{Footloose}}'' remake.
197	[[/folder]]
198
199	[[folder:Pinball]]
200	* Bally's ''Pinball/CreatureFromTheBlackLagoon'' takes place in one of these. The player and his date are settling down for a viewing of the titular movie, but must deal with obstructing cars, the snack bar, [[ThePeepingTom peeping toms]], and other moviegoing nuisances.
201	* The end of ball animation in ''Pinball/TheMunsters'' shows the Dragula pulling into one of these and inadvertently causing chaos when every other car attempts to flee in response.
202	[[/folder]]
203
204	[[folder:Professional Wrestling]]
205	* WWE's GreaserDelinquents TagTeam Wrestling/DeuceNDomino's theme song "I'm All About Cool" referenced "in the backseat on Saturday night" and fighting "outside the picture show."
206	[[/folder]]
207
208	[[folder:Tabletop Games]]
209	* In ''TabletopGame/{{Crimestrikers}}'', the episode seed "10 Minutes to Showtime" takes place at a drive-in where the heroes must find a hidden bomb that's set to go off when intermission ends. Evacuating the drive-in isn't an option because the villain has trapped everyone inside with SomeKindOfForceField.
210	[[/folder]]
211
212	[[folder:Theater]]
213	* The theatrical show ''Film/{{Grease}}'' was based on had a song "Alone at a Drive-In" that directly reference a ''lot'' of the subtropes, including the (usually extremely cheesy) intermission advertisements and the fact that a lot of teenagers weren't really there to watch the movie, If You Know What I Mean. The song didn't make it to the film version, though you can hear a snippet of the music ''sans'' lyrics.
214	[[/folder]]
215
216	[[folder:Theme Parks]]
217	* At [[Ride/DisneyThemeParks Disney's Hollywood Studios]], there's a restaurant called ''Sci-Fi Drive-In'', which features car-themed tables that face a Drive-In screen that plays trailers of old science fiction films.
218	* The setting of the main show of the former ''Ride/TwisterRideItOut'' attraction was a Drive-In Theater which is destroyed by a tornado in a recreation of [[Film/{{Twister}} the movie scene]].
219	[[/folder]]
220
221	[[folder:Video Games]]
222	* The third location VideoGame/AlanWake visits in ''American Nightmare'' is an old drive-in theater out in the UsefulNotes/{{Arizona}} desert. [[spoiler:He uses the film projector there to finally destroy Mr. Scratch.]]
223	* One of the fields in ''[[VideoGame/BackyardSports Backyard Baseball]]'' is Starlite Orchards Drive-In.
224	* The multiplayer map "Drive-In" from ''VideoGame/CallOfDutyBlackOps'' is set in an [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin abandoned drive-in]]. Besides having an arcade with ''VideoGame/CallOfDutyWorldAtWar'' games, the old movie screen has a chunk torn out of it to make an effective sniping post.
225	* One of the stages in the first ''VideoGame/DestroyAllHumans'' has a drive-in theater. It even plays a full-length movie during one mission.
226	* ''VideoGame/{{Fallout}}'':
227	** ''VideoGame/{{Fallout 3}}'' has a drive-in theater. [[{{Tearjerker}} One of the cars has two skeletons embracing on the hood.]]
228	** There are a few more Drive-Ins dotted about the Mojave Wasteland in ''VideoGame/FalloutNewVegas''.
229	** One of the settlements the player can establish in ''VideoGame/Fallout4'' is a drive-in.
230	* In ''VideoGame/ItCameFromTheDesert1992'', one of the places that can be attacked by the giant ants is the local drive-in.
231	* In the first level of ''VideoGame/MysticWarriors'', the protagonists have to fight their way through a drive in lot, whee the screen is showing the opening sequence from ''VideoGame/SunsetRiders''.
232	* One of the fighting levels in ''VideoGame/RivalSchools'' is a drive-in lot.
233	* ''VideoGame/SaintsRow'':
234	** An abandoned drive-in is present in the ''Stilwater'' of ''VideoGame/SaintsRow2'', just north of Stilwater University, and used as part of one of the [[ProfessionalKiller Hitman]] Activities. Complete with boarded up building, old speakers on poles, rusted up cars, and [[{{Hobos}} homeless bums]]!
235	** An intact drive-in also appears in [[VideoGame/SaintsRowIV virtual Steelport]] during a mission near the beginning and end of the fourth game. Unfortunately, once these missions in 50s Steelport are over the player can't return there and none of the objectives or side content use it for anything, its just there for effect.
236	** The DLC "How The Saints Save Christmas" however, revisits the town and actually makes the drive-in into a mission objective. Namely, to play Christmas movies to "restore the Holiday spirit".
237	** The ''VideoGame/SaintsRowGatOutOfHell'' expansion also has the remains of a drive-in theater in Hell's entertainment district.
238	* One of the 3x3-tile commercial buildings in ''VideoGame/SimCity 2000'' is a drive-in theater, and one of the low-value commercial buildings in ''VideoGame/SimCity 3000'' is a flea market that looks like a run-down drive-in theater.
239	** The spinoff game ''[=SimCopter=]'' features the ''[=SimCity 2000=]'' counterpart with a bunch of short, tiny, pixelated movies playing (referencing other EA-published games), and as a bonus the player could even insert their own custom clips provided with the right tools.
240	* One of the levels in ''VideoGame/TwistedMetalBlack'' is a drive-in theatre. A well placed missile can destroy the screen.
241	* ''VideoGame/{{Vigilante 8}}: 2nd Offense'' had a level set in a desert which featured one of these; driving through the screen would get you a power-up and (depending on the character) is necessary to complete the level.
242	[[/folder]]
243
244	[[folder:Western Animation]]
245	* The ''WesternAnimation/TwoStupidDogs'' episode "At the Drive-In". Watching the movie, Little Dog comments on how bad the movie is and wonders why people would go there. Cue the [[AutoErotica bouncing and rocking cars]]. When they first tried to get in, Little Dog tried to buy ''one'' ticket but the woman at the booth noticed they were in two. Little Dog said Big Dog was his dog and she told him pets weren't welcome. Little Dog then drove away, hid Big Dog inside the trunk, returned and bought a ticket. Big Dog entered for free. Little Dog also wanted to enter for free so they exited and Big Dog drove back in, buying a ticket. [[ComicallyMissingThePoint Little Dog was happy he entered for free]].
246	* Finn and Marceline crash one of these in at end of the the ''WesternAnimation/AdventureTime'' episode "Go With Me".
247	* One episode of ''WesternAnimation/AmericanDad'' has Roger gaining some old 80's movies and a pack of cars mistakenly sent to the Smith house. Steve, in another attempt to get a girl, has Roger play the movies on the side of the neighboring house while Steve, his friends, and the current girl of his attention and her friends watch from the cars as a makeshift drive-in.
248	* The ''WesternAnimation/{{Animaniacs}}'' episode "Drive Insane" features the Warners crashing Dr. Scratchansniff's date at a drive-in theater. There's a joke featuring them bouncing around in the car that will go over the heads of kids [[ParentalBonus but will mean plenty to adults]].
249	* ''WesternAnimation/BeavisAndButthead'':
250	** In "At the Movies", the two go to a drive-in, but since they naturally don't have a car, they wander around. They flush an M-80 down a restroom toilet, steal the snack bar's candy in the ensuing commotion, and are confronted by a security guard who shoots himself in the foot before he can apprehend them.
251	** Subverted in the 2011 {{revival}} episode "Tech Support": the boys go to the site of an shuttered drive-in ("Abandoned drive-ins kick ass!"), only to find an office building in its place.
252	* The ''WesternAnimation/ChipNDaleRescueRangers'' episode "Good Times, Bat Times" begins at a drive-in theater.
253	* The syndicated opening and closing credits of ''WesternAnimation/TheFlintstones'' feature the "modern stone age family" visiting a drive-in theater.
254	* WesternAnimation/TheHairBearBunch sneak off to a drive-in movie in "The Bear Who Came to Dinner" (about Square Bear faking an injury). Botch secretly tags along and calls Peevly to squeal on them.
255	* Synergy, the supercomputer of Jerrica "WesternAnimation/{{Jem}}" Benton and her family, was found at the Starlight Drive-In.
256	* The credits of ''WesternAnimation/JohnnyBravo'' were "projected" onto a drive-in screen.
257	* ''WesternAnimation/LooneyTunesCartoons'': Played with in "Hog Wash"; Porky takes his dirty car, with a sleeping Daffy inside, to the car wash. When Porky gets locked out of his car, Daffy awakens and thinks that Porky took him to the drive-in theater. He mistakes Porky getting attacked by the car wash's appliances for trailers for upcoming movies.
258	* ''Literature/TheMagicSchoolBus'' episode "Spins a Web" shows the students seen into a Movie Within a Show on a drive-in screen in which they soon find themselves. As with most shows to feature a drive-in that isn't a period piece, a BMovie is being shown.
259	* The Jersey Drive-In is the battleground for the penultimate episode of ''WesternAnimation/MegasXLR'' in "Universal Remote". It's mentioned that Coop destroyed all the other drive-ins in Jersey. They also sneak Goat in the trunk of Megas because sneaking people into the drive-through is a "time-honored tradition".
260	* The ''WesternAnimation/MyLifeAsATeenageRobot'' episode "Future Scope" features a drive-in movie theater, one of many RetroUniverse aspects of the series.
261	* Part of the ''WesternAnimation/PacMan'' episode "Pacula" took place at a drive-in theater.
262	* ''WesternAnimation/PhineasAndFerb''
263	** In "[[Recap/PhineasAndFerbCandaceGetsBusted Candace Gets Busted]]", Doofenshmirtz used to watch drive-in movies from one of his windows (despite being unable to hear the stories) until a new condo was built between the drive-in theater and the headquarters of Doofenshmirtz Evil Incorporated. He could have solved the trouble by moving his chair and the lamp to another window but he instead tried to move the building away.
264	** Many years before the show, Doofenshmirtz dated Linda Flynn, taking her to a drive-in. He smuggled her in in the trunk of his car to save on the ticket price.
265	* Was the focus of an episode of ''WesternAnimation/TheReplacements'' when Riley starts working there but finds the manager too strict and has him replaced with a film director [[spoiler:who promptly gets the place closed down due to horrible management]].
266	* At the beginning of the ''WesternAnimation/RockosModernLife'' episode "Popcorn Pandemonium", Rocko and Heffer treat Mr. Bighead's big-screen TV like a drive-in, as there isn't a drive-in theater in O-Town. After Heffer and Mr. Bighead inadvertently destroy the TV with a channel-changing war (the former wants to watch a sci-fi movie, while the latter is trying to watch a football game), Rocko and Heffer go to the Googa Plex cinema, getting the main plot underway. At the end of the episode, a disaster with Filburt's glasses and the [[OutOfControlPopcorn popcorn storage room]] results in the theater being destroyed, making its remains look like a drive-in.
267	* The one-hour ''WesternAnimation/Rugrats1991'' special "Runaway Reptar", begins with the babies at a multi-screen drive-in theater to see a Reptar movie.
268	* A drive-in also appears in ''WesternAnimation/ScoobyDooAndTheReluctantWerewolf''.
269	* ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'':
270	** In an episode, Marge and Homer double-date with Grandpa and his girlfriend, Zelda, to a drive-in to see ''Dude, Where's My Virginity?''. Grandpa and Zelda start making out in the front seat.
271	** Another episode has actor Troy [=McClure=] trying to resurrect his fading career by marrying Marge's sister Selma; he proposes to her at a drive-in where they're watching one of his old movies, ''Franchise/TheMuppets Go Medieval''.
272	** In another episode, Apu reveals that he sometimes gets up on the roof of the Kwik-E-Mart so he can watch movies at the drive in across the street for free.
273	** In yet another, Homer recalls having fun at the local drive-in as a lad. Flashback to the car shaking and squeaking rhythmically. Cut to interior to see...Homer surrounded by his favorite treats, reaching back and forth to grab food and shove it in his mouth -- that's what causes the shaking.
274	** The episode, "Little Big Girl", has Bart and Darcy starting off their relationship with TheBigDamnKiss at a drive-in theater while the film's gory plot twist unfolds in the background, the story's teenage protagonist is [[PsychoPsychologist violently chainsawed by his psychologist]].
275	** In another, several Springfield Elementary students sneak into one [[spoiler: after a sunset curfew is placed on all children in Springfield,]] and see a 1950s horror film entitled ''The Bloodening'', where [[spoiler: a group of children are able to read the minds of adults.]] During the film, [[spoiler: the police catch them and force them to clean a giant animatronic billboard set up earlier in the episode, giving them a motivation for revenge, which results in the creation of a radio program titled ''We Know All Your Secrets'', where they reveal secrets of Springfield's adults in a style similar to the film.]]
276	** At the epilogue of another one, Homer and Marge entered one with the kids inside the trunk. To Homer's dismay, Marge did pay for their tickets.
277	** In one episode the reason Cletus is so happy to get his driver's license back is because it means he can drive his own vehicle there so he no longer has to sit in the dirt at the drive-in.
278	* In the ''WesternAnimation/RubySpearsSuperman'' episode "Bonechill", the titular supernatural villain makes the monsters from a BMovie shown at a drive-in come to life.
279	* In ''WesternAnimation/TransformersPrime'', Knockout has admitted [[KlingonsLoveShakespeare he's watched human horror films at drive-ins.]]
280	[[/folder]]
281	----
282	->''Thank you for reading the Drive-In Theater page! Website/TVTropes.org appreciates your patronage. Please remember to replace the speaker on the post when you leave the theater, and have a pleasant evening.''

Context Main / DriveInTheater