Back in those halcyon days of childhood, mom n' dad packed us all in the station wagon and took us to the drive-in every few months. I'm sure many of you have similar memories of those long aisles of cars, the squawk box on the window, pajamas and blankets and a wonderful family film on a summer night. Over the years (and ever so slowly), the drive-ins disappeared – typically replaced by shopping centers and housing developments. Yet here and there, a few steadfast hold-outs remained. Here in the West, one such hold-out is experiencing a renaissance of sorts, with a surprisingly bold business model and their first successful foray into the digital realm – perhaps the very first drive-in theater anywhere to convert one of their screens to digital cinema projection.
No Stranger to the Biz
With headquarters in San Rafael, CA, West Wind Drive-Ins operates eight theaters in California, Nevada and Arizona. They're the largest drive-in chain in the nation, and by extension, certainly the largest in the world. Even before their digital installation, business grew by over 40 percent during the last three years – and because West Wind previously owned the Century theater chain, the company was no stranger to the exhibition biz.
Seeing a clear need for family entertainment, West Wind started refurbishing their drive-ins about four years ago. The upgrade included new pavement, new Technalight systems on their 35mm projectors to magnify the light and a complete replacement of those annoying squawk boxes – using a simple short-range FM system that plays the film's sound through your car's FM radio.
At one location in Concord, CA, they even resurrected a drive-in that had been closed for years, having been deemed unprofitable by the previous management. Public reaction to the reopening was overwhelmingly favorable, and this particular drive-in, in fact, was the one chosen for digital projection.
It's Magic
To learn more about the very first digital drive-in, I spoke with Tony Maniscalco, vice president of marketing for Syufy Enterprises and West Wind Drive-ins. "When we decided to re-open the Concord drive-in, I'm not kidding, people showed up in tears, they were so happy that we were re-opening," said Maniscalco. "The night the gates opened, the line of cars went around the block, and the police even stopped by to figure out what was going on. It was mayhem."
I asked Tony if there was a certain trigger that led them to replace a 35mm projector and venture into digital. "Even with only two screens, Concord is one of our busiest locations," explained Maniscalco, "so we decided to install our first digital projector there for two reasons. First, it's the closest location to our headquarters, and second, we show lots of kid's movies there. Now, that's an easy task at a walk-in theater with six or nine screens, but more challenging at a two-screen drive-in. But with a digital projector and an animated film for the kids, it's just magic. It makes all the difference in the world."
Quite a Throw
By comparison to most walk-in theaters, the projection stats at the Concord "digital" drive-in are impressive. At your average walk-in, the distance between rows is 43 inches, screen width (for a typical 300 seat multiplex) is around 36 feet, and the "throw" distance from projector to screen is approximately 60 feet. At the Concord drive-in, the distance between rows is measured in car lengths, screen width is a huge 75 feet, and the throw is a remarkable 465 feet. This throw required the biggest digital cinema projector that Barco makes, the liquid-cooled DP2K-32B, with an output of 33,000 lumens.
From Maniscalco's standpoint, the installation was routine. "We had to upgrade the porthole glass, provide better air conditioning in the projection booth and send our techs to the training classes," noted Maniscalco. "But overall, one clear advantage is that it's a time-saver. Without having to splice film together and put the film on platters, it's easy to ingest films into the server and get the movie going."
Public reaction to the conversion was overwhelming from the start. "It's funny," he noted, "we got emails the very night we started showing digital movies. The first film was Megamind, and we promoted it just a little bit, without being overt. That night, we got e-mails from people on their rides home, saying, ‘Wow, we just watched Megamind, and the picture was amazing, we couldn't believe it.' Based on that, we knew that the uninitiated really did appreciate what we were doing. Actually, the projector is creating a little issue for us. Since we've done a pretty good job of marketing, people are wondering what movies are going to be shown digitally."
Family Values
Regardless of the 35mm vs. digital issue, the secret to West Wind's success runs deeper, and it's all about value. For one low general admission price, just under $7 per person, you get a double feature. (Imagine that!) Kids from five to 11 are a dollar, toddlers under four are free, you don't have to pay for a babysitter, and you can talk on your cell phone or "text" without being escorted out. Granted, as an outdoor business, drive-ins are subject to the elements, but a family can enjoy an evening's entertainment for under $20 – and see an amazing image on screen. "Value is what's bringing people back, and it's wonderful to see the families with the kids in pajamas on a Saturday night," said Maniscalco.
Could the first digital drive-in be the start of a trend? West Wind is carefully checking the numbers, but they already know it's positive. "Not just us, but other chains have paid a lot of attention to their drive-ins and really turned them around," explained Maniscalco. "Our box office figures go in every day, and we're very confident. To have growth like that is amazing, and the down economy has also helped, because people are looking for value."
Clearly, drive-ins are alive and well. They were certainly dormant for years, because little attention was paid to them. But with a little enterprise in a family-friendly atmosphere and new digital projection technology, this has the makings of a delightful old (yet very new) way to spend an evening.
Perhaps the trend will be continue and come to a digital drive-in theater near you.
