How to Start a Drive-In Movie Theater: Land, Screen, Sound and Films

A drive-in is a cinema with a field instead of an auditorium. The business underneath is the same as any movie theater: you book films from distributors, pay them a share of the box office, and make your margin at the snack bar. What changes is the physical side. You need land rather than a building, a projector bright enough for an outdoor screen, sound delivered to car radios, and a season that the weather decides for you.

This guide walks through how a drive-in works and what it takes to start one, in the order you will meet the decisions. Where a public source states a real number, we quote it and link it. Where no reliable public number exists, we describe what drives the cost and leave the figure for your own quotes. For the general version of this process, see how to open a cinema.

How many drive-ins are there?

The US had 321 drive-in theater sites in 2019 and 2020, against 5,477 indoor sites in 2020, according to the site counts published by the National Association of Theatre Owners (now Cinema United) [archived]. In 1995 the figure was 593 drive-in sites. The same body counted 559 drive-in screens in 2019 and 549 in 2020 [archived]. Because many drive-ins are closed on 31 December, it tallies drive-in counts in the summer rather than at year end. 2020 is the last year it published the split.

So the format is small and has been shrinking, but it has not disappeared. Our research on how many movie theaters there are has the full series. The point for a founder: there are few direct competitors, and every one of them is a regional destination. People drive a long way to a drive-in.

How does a drive-in theater work?

Cars park in rows facing one large screen, or several screens on one lot. A projector in a booth behind the rows throws the image across the field. Sound goes out over a low-power FM signal, and each car tunes its radio to the drive-in's frequency. Guests buy a ticket at an entry booth or online, park, and walk to a central concession building that usually also houses the projection booth and toilets.

Showtimes follow sunset. The first film cannot start until it is dark enough to see the picture, which means late starts in midsummer and earlier ones in spring and autumn. Many drive-ins play a double feature, so one ticket covers two films. At Shankweiler's Drive-In in Orefield, Pennsylvania, which opened in 1934 and is the oldest operating drive-in, a double feature plays every night, according to a 2025 CNBC profile [CNBC].

Step 1: Find land and check zoning

Land is the first and largest decision. You need enough acreage for the car rows, the screen structure, an entry lane long enough that a queue does not back onto the public road, the concession building and the projection booth. Shankweiler's sits on four acres [CNBC]. In 2020 a developer proposing a five-screen drive-in in Eustis, Florida, offered to buy a 72-acre city-owned site for its assessed value of $460,000, though that plan also included camping, RV grounds, restaurants and shops [NWF Daily News]. Those two numbers frame the range: a single screen fits on a small plot, a multi-screen destination needs a farm.

Before you sign anything, check with the local planning office:

• Zoning. Whether outdoor entertainment, evening operation and the hours you need are permitted on the parcel, or whether you need a special-use permit or a rezoning.
• Traffic. Access from a road that can take a few hundred cars arriving in the hour before sunset, and leaving at once after the last film.
• Light and noise. Neighbours, nearby roads and street lighting. A screen visible from a highway can be a safety concern, and light spill from a car park or petrol station next door washes out the picture.
• Food and toilets. The concession stand needs food-service approval, and the toilet count is usually set by the capacity of the lot.
• Drainage and surface. Gravel, grass or tarmac, and how the lot handles rain. Rows can be ramped so cars tilt up towards the screen.

Buying an existing or closed drive-in avoids most of the zoning risk, because the use is already established. It is also the route most new owners take. The couple who bought Shankweiler's in 2022 paid $1.05 million for an operating theater listed at $1.2 million, financed with a $1,000,000 SBA 7(a) loan that needed a down payment of around $112,000 [CNBC].

Step 2: The screen

There are two kinds of drive-in screen. A permanent screen is a steel or timber structure on concrete foundations, engineered for wind load. It needs a building permit and a structural engineer, and it is a long-lived asset. An inflatable screen is a projection surface held taut by an air-pressurised frame and a running fan. It can be put up and taken down in a night, which suits pop-up and seasonal operators. Manufacturers such as AIRSCREEN make them from around eight feet wide up to more than 130 feet (see our AIRSCREEN profile).

Screen size follows from the depth of the lot: the back row needs to see a picture large enough to watch. Use the cinema screen size calculator to test viewing angles from the front and back rows. Then check the result against your projector, because on an outdoor screen brightness, not size, is usually the limit.

Step 3: Projection

To play current studio releases you need a DCI-compliant digital cinema projector and server. Studio films arrive as an encrypted Digital Cinema Package (DCP) that only plays on certified equipment, unlocked by a key issued for your specific server. A home-theater or event projector cannot play a DCP. This is why the switch from 35mm hit drive-ins hard: in 2013 the Pocono Record reported that new digital equipment and projection-room renovation ran about $85,000 per drive-in [Pocono Record]. Prices have moved since then, so get current quotes.

Three things drive the projector budget for a drive-in:

• Lumens. Indoor cinemas aim for 14 foot-lamberts at screen centre. On a matte white screen that takes roughly 14 lumens per square foot before losses. A drive-in screen is far larger than most indoor screens, so the lumens you need climb fast. Run your screen size through the screen brightness calculator before you shortlist anything.
• Throw distance. The booth sits behind the cars, often a long way from the screen. The lens has to match that throw and the screen width.
• Booth and housing. The projector needs a dry, dust-controlled, temperature-controlled room with a port window. Summer heat and humidity are hard on electronics left in a field all season.

Our cinema projector buying guide covers laser versus lamp, 2K versus 4K, and published tender prices.

Step 4: Sound over FM radio

Most drive-ins send sound to car radios over FM. In the US, very low-power FM transmitters can run without a licence under Part 15 of the FCC's rules (47 CFR §15.239). The FCC says these devices are limited to an effective range of about 200 feet, and must accept interference from other users [FCC]. The field strength limit is 250 microvolts per metre at 3 metres; the FCC treats a transmitter above it as an unlicensed station [FCC notice].

A large lot can extend beyond 200 feet from a single transmitter. Anything stronger than Part 15 needs a licence or construction permit before it goes on air, and a low-power FM (LPFM) licence is a separate service with its own eligibility rules [FCC LPFM]. Talk to an RF engineer about transmitter placement and frequency choice, and buy equipment that carries FCC certification. Outside the US, the national radio regulator sets the equivalent limits.

Plan for the practical side too. Running a car radio for four hours with the engine off can drain a battery, so it is worth having a jump-starter at the concession stand, and a portable radio to lend to cars whose radios switch off with the engine.

Step 5: Book films

A drive-in books films exactly like an indoor cinema: from the same distributors, on the same terms. You agree dates and a film rental, usually a percentage of the box office that is highest in the opening week, and the DCP and its key arrive before the first show. How movie theaters get movies explains the chain step by step. Many independent drive-ins use a film buyer or booking agent who already has distributor relationships.

Film rental is the biggest cost. At Shankweiler's it is about a third of all operating expenses, according to its owners [CNBC]. Double features add a wrinkle: both titles are booked, and both distributors want their share.

Older titles, special events and non-studio programming may come from non-theatrical licensors instead. If you plan themed nights, a community screening or a private hire, read our guide to the public performance licence for films first. Owning a projector does not give you the right to show a film to the public.

Step 6: Concessions are the business

Ticket revenue is shared with distributors. Concession revenue is not. That makes the snack bar the part of the operation you control, and a drive-in has a long evening to sell into: guests are there for two films.

Design the concession building for the peak: the 20 minutes before the first film and the intermission between features. Every guest who gives up on a long queue is a lost sale. Options that help:

• More serving points and a short menu that can be prepared fast.
• Pre-orders sold with the ticket online, collected at a dedicated window.
• Intermission trailers and a countdown on screen that tell people how long they have.

Shankweiler's lists food and supplies for the snack bar among its major expenses, alongside loan payments, utilities and payroll [CNBC]. Price your menu against those costs, not against what feels traditional.

Step 7: Ticketing per car or per person

Drive-ins sell tickets one of two ways. Per person pricing, often with a child rate, is what Shankweiler's uses: about $9 for children and $13 for adults [CNBC]. Per car pricing is simpler at the gate and appeals to families, but a full car is worth more to you than an empty one. Some operators mix the two: a car price with a cap on passengers.

Whichever you pick, sell online. The capacity of a drive-in is a fixed number of parking spaces, and on a big release night it sells out. Selling in advance tells you who is coming, shortens the gate queue and lets you sell concessions with the ticket. Things worth deciding before you choose a system:

• A ticket type for the vehicle, and child and adult add-ons if you price per person.
• Capacity per show set to your parking spaces, with a hold-back for walk-ups.
• A barcode scanned at the entry lane from a phone, so the gate keeps moving.
• Concession pre-orders in the same checkout.
• Rules for weather: what happens to a ticket when a show is cancelled for a storm.

Filmgrail's cinema ticketing software sells ticket types and concessions on your own website and app, for a flat price with no per-ticket fees. Drive-in-specific features, such as timed entry windows or lane assignment, are available on demand.

Step 8: Plan the season

Most drive-ins in colder climates operate seasonally. Shankweiler's opens seven days a week from Memorial Day to Labor Day and Thursday to Sunday the rest of the year, because its owners needed year-round revenue to service the loan [CNBC]. Even so, it is usually only profitable in summer. July was its best month, with $122,602 in total income, and summer revenue "carries the theater for the entire rest of the year", in the owners' words. In 2024 it made nearly $550,000 in revenue and a net operating income of just over $50,000.

Your business plan should model the season month by month, with weather losses built in. Use the cinema business plan guide and template, and add lines that indoor cinemas do not have: land maintenance, screen repairs after storms, and seasonal staff hiring. Off-season events, such as markets, car shows, private hires and holiday screenings, use the land when the films do not pay.

Pop-up drive-ins

A pop-up drive-in runs on borrowed land, usually a car park or event field, with an inflatable screen, a rented projector and a portable FM transmitter. It is a way to test demand before buying land. In 2020, Walmart and Tribeca Enterprises turned 160 store car parks into drive-ins for 320 showings between August and October, according to the Los Angeles Times [LA Times].

The same rules still apply. Studio titles need DCI equipment and a booking through the distributor, or a non-theatrical licence for older films. The site owner's permission does not cover the film rights, and many local authorities want an event permit.

Where to learn from existing owners

The United Drive-In Theatre Owners Association (UDITOA) is the US trade body for drive-in owners, a 501(c)(6) non-profit. Its 2025 convention in Kissimmee, Florida, drew more than 100 drive-in owners and operators, with sessions on alternative income streams, DCP-o-matic and playlist building, and a vendor trade show, according to Cinema United [Cinema United]. For someone planning a first drive-in, a convention is the fastest way to meet booking agents, equipment suppliers and owners who have already made the mistakes. Our list of cinema trade associations covers the wider exhibitor bodies.

What it costs: the drivers

There is no honest single figure for the cost to build a drive-in theater. The public numbers we found are specific projects: about $85,000 for a digital conversion in 2013 [Pocono Record], a $1.05 million purchase of an operating drive-in in 2022 [CNBC], and a developer's $1 million new-build proposal in 2020 [NWF Daily News]. For your own plan, price these lines locally:

1. Land, bought or leased, and any rezoning.
2. Site work: grading, ramped rows, surface, drainage, lighting and the entry lane.
3. Screen: permanent structure with engineering and foundations, or inflatable.
4. Projection: DCI projector, server, lens, booth and climate control.
5. Sound: FM transmitters and installation.
6. Concession building, kitchen equipment and toilets.
7. Box office, ticketing and point of sale.
8. Working capital for the first season, including film rental and payroll.

The full cost breakdown for indoor cinemas, with published tender prices, is in how much it costs to open a movie theater.