This is topic Drive-in boom hits Melbourne in forum Film-Yak at Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE.
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Posted by Peter Berrett (Member # 672) on 03-14-2003, 08:32 PM:
Hi all
Whilst visiting the Lunar Drive-in in Dandenong last night I asked one of the girls in the snack bar, when the Drive-in would be adding their 3rd and 4th screens.
I was told that the Drive-in is looking to add its 3rd screen later this year.
http://www.drive-insdownunder.com.au/australian/vic_dandenong.htm
This continues the growing popularity of Drive-in Theatres in Melbourne after a brief period in the late eighties when there were no drive-ins left in suburban Melbourne at all.
After this brief hiatus Coburg Drive-in was re-opened. Later a second screen was added and later still a third screen.
http://www.drive-insdownunder.com.au/australian/vic_coburg.htm
Meanwhile down at Dromana which is just outside suburban Melbourne the Dromana drive-in had proceeded to add a second screen and a couple of months ago added a third screen. There is an aerial picture of the drivein at its home page which shows the new screen (top right).
http://www.drivein.net.au/
But wait... you want more? News is that the Warragul Drive-in, also just outside suburban Melbourne is to be reopened.
http://www.drive-insdownunder.com.au/australian/vic_warragul.htm
And the future?
It has been a few years since Coburg added an extra screen. One can forsee that at some future juncture an extra screen might be added. Maybe David Kilderry can give us a hint of what teh future holds for Coburg?
Dromana might be able to add an extra screen at some future point but it is running out of real estate. Dandenong already has approval to go to 4 screens. One can reasonably expect this to occur in the next couple of years.
The big question though, surrounds a disused Drive-in located smack dab in Melbourne's highly residential and leafy eastern suburbs. The site of the former Wantirna drive-in is largely intact including snack bar and projection rooms. Formerly a single, and later twin drive-in it sits idle and basically only requires the erection of screens. The site is owned by the government and was earmarked for a public hospital however this proposal fell through. Meanwhile the site is used for a very busy weekend market during which the snack bar is packed.
If this drive-in was up and running with say 3 screens it would attract huge patronage. It is staggering to think that noone has seriously considered reopening the drive-in. Maybe Readings could re-open it?
Returning to the growth of drive-ins in Melbourne, many of the patrons are in fact younger people who are discovering for the first time the joys of open-air cinema. Back in the 70s drive-ins had acquired a decidedly seedy reputation however this image problem seems to have been shaken off. The drive-ins of today are largely family-orientated and show first run product.The increased number of screens provides greater choice for patrons and the snack bars at Dandenong, Dromana and Coburg have been renovated to make them more modern and provide easy access for the handicapped.
The increased number of screens, modern conveniences, family orientation and first-run product suggest that over time a new business model has emerged for drive-in theatres which encompasses the above features. It seems likely that this business model will be more robust than that of drive-ins' previous incarnation in that the diversified cinema product being shown means that the risk of screening is spread across several films.
If the growth in Drive-ins in Melbourne continues unabated, one would reasonably expect to see a further 2 or 3 multi-screen drive-ins open in Melbourne by 2006. The absence of a drive-in in either Geelong or Melbourne's western suburbs suggests that a new drive-in located in Werribee would do very good business.
The only other remaining Drive-in site which has not bene built upon in Melbourne is the former site of the Doncaster Drive-in which is in a dishevelled state. Maybe this site might even one day be re-opened however some dificulties might be experienced with the local council.
http://www.drive-insdownunder.com.au/australian/vic_bulleen.htm
All in all, the future looks bright for drive-in cinema-going in Melbourne.
cheers Peter
Posted by Mark Gulbrandsen (Member # 72) on 03-14-2003, 10:45 PM:
Peter,
There may be a used DI screen available near me soon! I can put it on a barge and ship it your way soon......
Mark
Posted by Peter Berrett (Member # 672) on 03-15-2003, 07:03 PM:
Thanks Mark
Send it over, although I think you might have a bit of trouble finding a prepaid envelope large enough at the post office ![[Smile]](smile.gif)
cheers Peter
Posted by Tim Reed (Member # 137) on 03-17-2003, 04:45 PM:
Hey, that's great news!
Try as they might, drive-ins can't be killed! ![[evil]](graemlins/evil.gif)
Heh-heh!
Posted by System Notices (Member # 2357) on 01-10-2011, 03:52 AM:
It has been 2855 days since the last post.