MOVIES: Old-school drive-ins get modern boost from digital projection

Like hulking dinosaurs once thought headed toward cinematic extinction, drive-in movie theaters are evolving by embracing new technology.

As theaters across the United States adapt, transitioning their projectors from film to digital, they’re still tapping into the fact that we love our cars. And movies are bigger than ever, with battles between robots, monsters and action heroes bringing big bucks to the box office.

In the Inland area, the Van Buren and Rubidoux theaters in Riverside and Smith’s Ranch in Twentynine Palms have all made the switch to digital. The Skyline Drive-In in Barstow has yet to convert.

“It’s definitely an improvement,” said Corona resident Nicholas Haklitch Jimenez, 24, who has been going to the Van Buren Drive-In for years.

The first movie he saw at the theater under the new digital projection was “300: Rise of an Empire.”

“Digital is better for the ways movies are made now,” he said. “It just translates better.”

Drive-ins have a storied history in American nostalgia. The first opened in 1933 in New Jersey.

By 1958, 25 years after cars pulled up to that first screen, there were more than 4,000 drive-ins operating throughout the United States, according to the United Drive-In Theatre Owners Association. The new way to watch movies grew in popularity alongside American car culture and teenagers looking for a place to smooch.

However, at the dawn of the 1980s, television and indoor multiplexes lured audiences away from drive-ins in droves.

Today, the association estimates there are 348 drive-ins still in operation with a total of 591 screens.

DIGITAL TO THE RESCUE

The landscape of the movie industry changed in the early 2000s as studios began filming more movies in the digital format. Theaters, at the time, were expected to upgrade or perish. Indoor theaters quickly transitioned, but it’s been a longer road for drive-ins.

“The majority of drive-in screens have converted. It’s well over 50 percent – I think we’re up to 80,” said D. Edward Vogel, a member of the United Drive-In Theatre Owners Association.

Before the conversion, drive-in theaters would receive heavy canisters and a projectionist would have to spend time cutting and slicing reels of film to prepare for each showing. Now, it’s as simple as downloading a file from a hard drive.

“My God, those film cans were heavy,” said Vogel, who owns Maryland’s last drive-in, Bengies in Baltimore. “I used to throw my back right out.”

Both Van Buren and Rubidoux unveiled the new digital projection systems in May 2013. The DeAnza Land & Leisure Corp., which owns a number of drive-ins including both Riverside locations, reportedly spent $2 million to upgrade.

Mark Clemons, owner of Smith’s Ranch Drive-In, said his theater upgraded to digital in November at a cost of $95,000 for the equipment, plus installation.

The Van Buren and Rubidoux theaters raised tickets by $1 in November 2013. Fred Williams, manager of the Van Buren Drive-In, said the business is up considerably, even on the usual slow days.

“Right now, the schools aren’t even out yet and our weekdays are even doing well,” Williams said.

While the Skyline Drive-In in Barstow has yet to convert to digital, a posting on its Facebook page said the theater “has every intention of staying open indefinitely and are working on the digital conversion. Let’s just say it is a work in progress.”

AUDIENCE FEEDBACK
The results of moving to digital are instant for some. Williams, who has worked at Van Buren since 1969, was wowed when he first laid eyes on the new projection.

“It’s really nice, the picture just pops off the screen now,” he said.

Previously, Williams would field complaints from patrons about murky projections of movies with inky hues such as the Christopher Nolan Batman trilogy, where the superhero stalks in shadows. Since the transition, he’s had nothing but happy customers.

Williams said the Van Buren theater has also saved a lot of time and manpower with the change.

“Now, no one has to physically do anything to it,” he said. “They just put it in and start it.”

Vogel said he doesn’t see film studios forcing all theaters to convert – yet.

“Last season there was a scheduled event, where a studio said with the release of its latest movie there would be no more film,” he said. “The person who made the film went right to them and said ‘Oh, no you don’t. I’m not going to be the end of film!’”

However, like with many electronic gadgets, Clemons said the new system is already obsolete. He said there is already talk in the industry of moving to yet another new system. That system would involve the transferring movies to theaters remotely via satellite transmission.

“Eventually we’re all going to have a satellite delivery,” Vogel said. “It just makes sense.”

While the new technology seems like a shot in the arm, Williams said not to expect the number of drive-in theaters to rise.

“I don’t think anyone is going to rush out and build a new one,” he said. “But, at least it’s helping the ones that are here and still here.”

Clemons plans to keep Smith’s Ranch up and running as long as possible.

“This is a family operation and it’s more than money that makes it worth it for us,” he said. “Just keeping it open is a great thing.”

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