The Drive-In Answer Man
Opening a Drive-In
QUESTION: We
intend to start out rather small (between 200 and 300 spaces), and grow from there.
Your thoughts?
ANSWER: I'm not sure a drive-in can make it with numbers that low, unless you have
several more screens with these capacities (or you have extremely low overhead). You
don't want to be underbuilt and have to turn customers away, because you won't make enough
money to cover your fixed expenses. If you have the land (space), grade it for as
many cars as you possibly can. Also, install as many screens as you can. A
single screen will be tied-up with one movie for too long a period of time, and your
customers will dry-up after a week or two (unless you only play sub-run, but then, it's
hard to get people to come out for those).
QUESTION: How do we find out what size
screen we need? And how much should we expect to pay for it?
ANSWER: I can tell you the standard for an indoor theatre screen's width,
is 40% of the depth of the auditorium. However, this figure's too large when applied
to drive-ins.
For a drive-in in this day and age (when movies are being made and printed darker and
darker), keep the screen as small as practical, and never exceed 100 ft wide, tops; you
won't be able to light it. If you have 12 ramps or less, you can probably get by
with a 75-80 ft (wide) screen.
For acceptable screen lighting levels (with today's factors in mind), however, I'd never design a drive-in with a screen wider than 60' (and a correspondingly smaller parking area--BUT, with several such screens on the facility). If you have an overflow crowd on a big picture, you can always run it on a second screen and drop your worst picture.
Screen towers can run the gamut from $15,000-$100,000 each. There are several companies that fabricate and install them. They run advertisements in BOXOFFICE magazine.
QUESTION: What do I build my
concession stand and ticket offices out of? What are the costs?
ANSWER: Buildings can be of cinder block construction. A local contractor can help
you estimate this.
QUESTION: What is the estimated return per car from the concession stand?
I heard from one operator who said he generated an average of $1.50 per car in
concession sales. I was under the belief that a fair amount of the total revenue
came from the concession stand.
ANSWER: Count on, and budget for, ALL EXPENSES to come out of the concession profit. The "secret" to drive-in success is to run it like a fine restaurant. Pretend you are in the restaurant business; a restaurant that just happens to run movies. If you operate from the assumption that the film companies will get all of the boxoffice (and they'll get most of it, a lot of the time), you will be in the right mindset. In actual practice, therefore, the part you do get to keep, will be fluff.
I have seen concession per capitas (in drive-ins) as high as $2.75-$3. $1.50 sounds low. The key to high per caps, is to admit
children free at the boxoffice. The film companies will try to give you a hard time
about this, and may not let you have certain pictures (like Disney), without charging
SOMETHING for kids.
QUESTION: I have also been told that we will have to pay 35% of the gate in
film rental fees.
ANSWER: Depends on the picture(s). It can be as high as 90% or more.
Again, put your eggs in the concession basket. That's your money (profit).
Film rental is usually on a graduated scale. Many times, you must guarantee the film
company a certain amount of money (and often, a certain length of time) for a print. This
money is made on the percentage, which usually decreases each week. If you do not
make your guarantee on boxoffice receipts, you have to pay-up anyway.
QUESTION: I have not been able to find out how much we should pay our
projectionist and whether or not we will have to have a union projectionist.
ANSWER: This is a touchy subject, especially since I'm caught in-between
professionally. If you want to negotiate a contract, it's up to you.
I will tell you this: (and bear in mind I am a union member), it's a dying craft and has become a non-professional job. The local union likely cannot send you a person any better qualified than someone you can find yourself off the street. They're probably one in the same, as much as I dislike saying it.
QUESTION: On the subject of opening a Drive-In... I hate to say this, but I think I've been getting my hopes up for nothing. I apparently don't have the right connections or know the right people. Unless you are in the right place at the right time, you almost have to be a million-dollar winner in the State Lottery! This is unfortunate. I feel I could really made it work. I have some great ideas.
ANSWER: Don't get discouraged. I understand your frustration and, rest assured, lack of connections or contacts will not prevent you from opening or locating a drive-in.
There is presently an intense flurry of interest from people all over the country, who want to do the same thing you do. They also have no money. The law of averages dictates that some of these folks will succeed. Many others are only pipe dreaming and will soon move on to their next vision. The limiting factors for anyone are determination and motivation.
You may wish to pursue locating a limited financial partner to subsidize your brainchild. I know of one successful drive-in in Oklahoma that got started this way. The drive-in-loving pauper simply ran a "business opportunity" classified and located an investor in town.
QUESTION: Last year, the drive-in near me closed, so I decided to look into the possibility of leasing it. I called the attorney handling the property. He told me it needed a sewage system installed; new projection and sound equipment; and the screen tower needed to be repaired and painted. On top of all that, he told me they were asking $60,000 a year rent! I would also be responsible for getting it all up and running. Do you think I did the right thing in letting it go? Or should I have pursued it a little more?
ANSWER: Nope, you did the wise thing. They don't want it to be a drive-in. I'll also bet that attorney knows as much about projection equipment as I do about taking the bar exam! He knows from nothing and neither is he qualified to specify that the theatre needs new booth equipment. Whatever equipment is now there (or was recently there) is likely very useable. After all, they were running on SOME form of equipment last year, weren't they? Used booth equipment is always workable, if you have to. Septic tank replacement is workable. Even screen tower patching is no problem, but... $5,000 a month?! FORGET THAT! You can BUY certain drive-in properties for a heck of a lot less! Last one I looked at was $40,000, lock stock and barrel!!!
My suggestion is look small, look rural, look... Missouri (or some Southern locale). Drive-Ins just do not work well anymore in large cities because of the high property values, as you have discovered. You also need a season longer than three months to make an appreciable profit!
If I had it to do, you can bet I'd be down Missouri, Oklahoma or Texas way and find the perfect site! Maybe one day, I will. Good luck.
QUESTION: I plan on opening a drive-in (overseas). I'm looking for a partner who knows the business and has access to equipment, or could advise on the operation of the theatre. Would you be interested?
ANSWER: Thanks, but no, thanks. I'm sure you're reliable, but I will never again enter into a partnership agreement. Partnerships work for some people, however, so I don't condemn the concept.
QUESTION: We are looking to purchase all equipment for Drive-In theatre. How much should we expect to pay for new units?
ANSWER: Projection and sound equipment: $15-20,000 per screen.
Concession equipment: Add $50,000.
Screen towers: $100,000-125,000 each, new.
Buildings, real estate and contracting costs depend on local market.
QUESTION: How interested would you be in helping with the construction of a brand new, state-of-the-art drive-in? I am currently in the business plan development stage. I think the drive-in is going to go through a revival, and I am interested in leading the way.
ANSWER: If you want projection and sound design services, please contact me when you hire your architect. I will make sure there are no surprises when it comes time to run movies in your new drive-in. Good luck!