By Christian Toto

Summer is packing up for its long winter’s nap. The kids are back in school, the leaves are turning gold, and Denver Broncos fans remain hopeful for a Super Bowl. The slice of summer that’s still left is one that dates back 85 years but refuses to go out of style: the drive-in theater.

April Wright, director of Going Attractions: The Definitive Story of the American Drive-in Movie, said many people remember drive-in theaters as the place where teens stop smooching just long enough to see beach comedies, motorcycle yarns, and horror movies.

Today’s drive-in demographic is different.

“It’s not the teen scene,” Wright says. “It’s very family oriented now,” with inexpensive food, bargain ticket prices, and blockbuster films.

Colorado families should consider themselves lucky. Some states have either a single drive-in theater or none at all; Colorado has eight. And with dusk arriving sooner now than in mid-summer, drive-in movies start sooner, and end sooner. In some ways, late summer is the best time to watch a movie at the drive-in. Here are a few EnCompass favorites. 

The nostalgia factor in Commerce City

At 88 Drive-In in Commerce City, customers pay $8 each (children under 12 are free) to see three of the latest movies back to back to back, in a family-friendly atmosphere (even Fido is welcome, assuming he stays on a leash) and a boost should your car battery not live to see the third film’s end credits.

Susan Kochevar has owned Commerce City’s 88 Drive-In Theatre for the past 24 years. She said the “nostalgia factor” is a key business driver, and not just with Baby Boomers recalling John Wayne and Doris Day on the big outdoor screen.

“They’re sitting out in the car with their friends and family, making memories,” she said. “That’s one of the biggest differences between my theater and indoor theaters.”

The 88 Drive-In Theatre switched to digital projection five years ago, deepening its communal bond; Kochevar’s theater can now show prom and wedding proposals on the big screen, shot by their customers.

Fort Collins' crowd-pleasing burgers

Josh Cisar said his family took over Fort Collins’ Holiday Twin Drive-In, then known as the Starlight Drive-In, back in 1974. It’s been a family affair ever since. The theater avoided the fate many other drive-ins endured over time by keeping up with technology and customer demand. That meant embracing online ticketing and a successful Kickstarter.org campaign last year.

“There’s always a need for the drive-in to innovate and be something different,” Cisar said.

The Holiday Twin Drive-In hosts the Fall Back Fest on Nov. 2, where area breweries help end another outdoor movie season in style.

“A lot of the breweries see the drive-in as a key piece of the community,” he said.

While some drive-in theaters struggle, Cisar sees signs of optimism. “There’s a definite trend here … a steady rise in business over last five years,” Cisar said, citing his theater’s hand-made burgers as one of several reasons for the steady flow of patrons.

In Montrose, ‘society needs family time’ 

Pamela Friend says she’s been repeatedly told The Star Drive-In in Montrose is the oldest drive-in owned and operated by the original family, dating back to its opening in 1950. The business hit the usual bumps over the years, including a down time during the 1980s when a buyer circled the property.

“I talked my parents out of it,” Friend said. 

The 1990s proved kinder to the business’ bottom line. That’s when the tug of nostalgia bloomed. And they haven’t stopped yet, Friend said, who officially took over the family business along with her brother and sister in 1995 when their parents passed away.

That’s been a blessing and a drain on Friend, the theater’s sole projectionist.

“I’m never been able to go on a summer vacation,” she said. 

Then a customer will approach her and say, “Oh, I don’t know what we’d do without you.”
“Our society needs some family time,” Friend said. “If they’re getting it here, I’ll keep giving it to them.”

Christian Toto is a member of both the Denver Film Critics Society and the Broadcast Film Critics Association. Hear his film reviews on Mike Rosen at the Movies, KOA NewsRadio 850 AM/94.1 FM. His online reviews appear at HollywoodInToto.com