Drive In Movie Theatres

[jimmym40]

What are your thoughts.

Would it work?

Does anyone know of any in Thailand?

[tigerbeer]

What are your thoughts.

Would it work?

Does anyone know of any in Thailand?

just too much an american concept? personally i would rather be in the comfort of a nice reclining chair with my legs all stretched up, with the AC on.

but i'd like to read what other people's thoughts are.

[miltonbentley]

Drive in theatres went out with the Ark and not practical in a land where far more young people use bikes rather than cara.

Back to the drawing board I'm afraid.

[colino]

Where i live every now and then the local temple show's a couple of movies similar to drive in style but most peep's buy those plastic mats and sit on the ground to watch the film not many sit in there pickups it's ok but the bloody mozzies are a pain

[chownah]

most Thais don't have cars...especially the people who might want to go to drive-ins don't have cars.

[Ulysses G.]

It's too hot!

[Bill97]

That is it and all of it. Thank you UG.

[Dustoff]

What are your thoughts.

Would it work?

Does anyone know of any in Thailand?

Ah, the old days of sweating and fondling one-another in the back seat at the ole drive-in movie, eh...?

Somehow it just doesn't seem the same on the back seat of a Honda 125cc motorbike...

And I and not even going to mention trying to stay on that slippery seat on the way home...

Seriously tho folks, I have wondered myself about the lack of drive-in movies here and if they would catch on, but I really don't think so.

We old farangs went to them when we could finally borrow Dad's car and had recently discovered girls. Thais have discovered girls before they have even reached puberty, as witnessed by the little hand-holding tykes in the movie lines at the local cinema, and for the price of a movie even in the "honeymoon seats" which beat any car seat I have ever been in, why would anyone take a date on their Honda Dream to sit at an outside movie when rain could show up and dampen even our dampest dreams...?

And, seriously again, these are the tropics. Close the windows in your car and you gotta run the engine/aircon or swelter. Open the windows and you are a mosquito's dream come true (heavy breathing produces carbon dioxide which is like shouting, "Eat me!") (Don't go there..)

I, for one, like drive-in movies but cannot imagine that it would be a reasonable source of income as much as I would like to see it happen. On our very recent journey throughout the mainland US, we saw crumbling drive-in movie signs beside notices that the newest and greatest mega-complex was coming with multiple indoor theatres..

Times change and we are forced to change with them...

[pumpuiman]

I believe you would have to look at it from a prospective income point of view. Land cost and showing one or two films a night, to a small audience (in comparison to theater seating, and all day all night showings) wont make you rich.....there's a reason they are so rare.....if they made money, they'd be everywhere.

[mild7even]

I believe you would have to look at it from a prospective income point of view. Land cost and showing one or two films a night, to a small audience (in comparison to theater seating, and all day all night showings) wont make you rich.....there's a reason they are so rare.....if they made money, they'd be everywhere.

I was lucky enough to live within 30 minutes of one of the few remaining drive in theaters in southern California recently. I went there frequently and enjoyed it a lot.

The cons have been covered here in depth. The pros:

they usually show double features--two for the price of one

prices generally are cheaper than the megaplex

if you have a car, you have more privacy; if you have a motorcycle and mats, you still have more space around you--no knocking elbows

if you have young children, they have more freedom to make noise

you can bring your own food (I imagine the Thais would enjoy this factor even more than farang)

The cons are hard to overcome though--mostly the rain and mosquitos. Might want to consider doing it seasonally. As for not being able to show movies all day... most drive ins I know of have flea markets on the weekends. I believe you could easily get away with that dual use here in CM--there are markets freakin' everywhere, why not another one?

My wife says that in the past here in Thailand they had open air movies, probably like what someone here already mentioned. She says the big problem is with the kind of clientele it attracts. Fights and worse are a common occurrence. And if any rich kids show up in their Benzes, be ready for the gunfights.

I believe the market is there, but it would be a long haul.

[qualtrough]

Somebody did briefly open a drive-in theater here. It was in the papers, I think it was about 92-93. They had some kind of system rigged up to bring cool air into the cars. It flopped.

[malcy]

What are your thoughts.

Would it work?

Does anyone know of any in Thailand?

i went to one years ago out the back of lampang , near chae som or something . a big lorry (truck) pulled up in a field it had quite a large screen on the back and then they started playing some thai vampire film complete with terrifying white bed sheets draped oner people. there were no speakers for the car drivers , the film was just played really loud . lots of beer and cigarettes , and screaming thais bless them . good fun but never seen one since.

[Ricardo]

Perhaps you could avoid the mossie/heat problems, by putting the drive-in inside a large building, and then air-conditioning it ? Perhaps we finally have found a good use - for Don Muang T1/T2 ??

But I must agree, based on having gone to a drive-in in Queensland, Oz once, this is a lovely way to view the latest films !

[ProThaiExpat]

As mild7eleven said, "one of the few remaining drive-ins in Southern California". If they won't work in that land of cars, how could it work anywhere else in the world?

With the advent of using drive in movie lots for swap meets, additional income was obtained by the drive ins but that still wasn't enough to make them viable anymore. Same thing happened to drive in restaurants although there is one operating in Los Angeles as sort of a retro-tourist experience.

But now that I think of it, driving through a fast food establishment and then parking to eat your meal in their parking lot might qualify, but there certainly isn't car side service which distinguished the old drive in restaurants.

Edited July 20, 2007 by ProThaiExpat

[qualtrough]

One of the major functions of drive-ins in their day was to serve as a place where young people could go to have sex in the privacy of their car. I know I did. Thailand has curtained motels for that function, so perhaps that is another factor explaining the failure of drive-ins to catch-on here?

[PattayaAddict]

Ill go along with Pumpuiman on this one -from an income perspective it just doesnt seems like its a good idea -1-2 movies a day times license.management,staff,copyrights,land space bla bla bla and what not i dont think its worth it even though it its an interesting idea all in all