On the slow road: From drive-in cinemas to smaller outdoor screenings

Sanchit Gupta, co-founder of events startup Sunset Cinema Club, won’t be opening another drive-in cinema anytime soon.

“Maybe during the next pandemic,” he says with a laugh.

In 2019, Sunset Cinema Club rented a large sports facility in Delhi-NCR to create a space where people could park their cars and watch classic movies, such as Pulp Fiction and Top Gun on a big screen. Demand for socially-distanced entertainment options, when Covid hit, had momentarily stoked sales but the economics are no longer favourable.

“Drive-in theatres occupy a huge area of land. It is difficult to scale that kind of business,” Gupta says.

Drive-in cinemas, a quintessentially American way of screening movies, enjoyed patronage in India in the 1980s and 1990s, before losing ground to multiplexes. They regained the spotlight during the pandemic, as people looked for safe ways to go out for a movie. Among the operators of the handful of drive-ins in India today, some hope the concept will hold its own, while others are switching to other experiments.

For instance, the Prarthana Drive-In Theatre was a landmark in Chennai. It opened in 1991 and had the advantage of being near the sea (apparently, the salty air kept mosquitoes away). It shut down this year to make way for a residential complex. On the other hand, Hyderabad is looking forward to what is touted to be India’s largest drive-in at the Rajiv Gandhi International Airport.

The young and the expats

Sunset Cinema Club has moved its focus to outdoor screenings, showing popular rom-coms and sports matches on the rooftops of malls and lawns of microbreweries in five cities, including Mumbai and Pune.

“We set up an HD projector and speakers, candlelit tables, bean bags and mattresses. It requires a tenth of the space and entertains the same number of people,” says co-founder Sahil Kapoor.

Bengaluru-based Under the Stars similarly has outdoor pop-up cinemas with no rules against bringing your own snacks and pets. The operators say these events, with a capacity of about 300, are particularly popular with young couples and groups.

Those with space at their disposal are bullish on the format. In 2021, PVR Cinemas collaborated with Reliance to launch ‘Jio Drive-In’, a Las Vegas-themed drive-in theatre on the rooftop of Jio World Drive in BKC, Mumbai. Since it shares its site with Mumbai’s first iconic drive-in theatre built in 1977, the theatre aims to provide “the charm and nostalgia of the past with a technological upgrade that is reflective of current times,” says Sanjeev Kumar Bijli, executive director, PVR INOX Limited.

Blockbusters and recorded musical concerts, such as BTS and Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour, did well for the venue, says Bijli, as young audiences prefer open screenings where they can dance in the company of friends. Likewise, expats flocked to watch internationally acclaimed films such as House of Gucci, John Wick Chapter IV, and The Inner Cage (Italian). Weekend shows have 70 to 80 per cent occupancy, while weekdays have around 30 to 35 per cent.

“We are exploring other sites and are in talks with developers,” Bijli adds.

It’s a picnic out there

Drive-ins work a little differently from regular cinema theatres. Viewers book a spot just like they would for a screening indoors. Each spot allows one car with up to four people. The theatres feature a giant screen with surround sound speakers, as well as an FM frequency that those watching from inside the car can tune into for the soundtrack. Most venues, having noticed that the audience prefers to sit outside the car, provide regular seating as well.

“The majority of films are on OTT. Movie theatres have become a bit boring. You need something different when you go out, and drive-ins have that to offer,” says Leena Khaneja, a movie enthusiast who recently enjoyed Sam Bahadur at the Mumbai drive-in. The audio inside the car — through the FM channel — was not as impactful, so most step out on to the astroturf. Mosquitos did play spoilsport, says Khaneja, but she enjoyed the picnic-like atmosphere as fellow movie-goers brought along mats, folding chairs, and toddlers.

However, besides the space challenge, drive-ins also run into a scheduling roadblock. Screenings can only take place when natural light is low. To overcome that, Indore’s MPT-DDX, the first drive-in of central India, chose to go in a multi-purpose direction. The theatre, run in a public-private partnership between Madhya Pradesh Tourism and DDX Cinemas, folds up in 

the daytime.

“The speakers have wiring underground with ports. The whole set up is removable, so the hotel ground we use for the cinema can also be used for wedding functions and concerts,” says proprietor Sandarbh Gupta, director of Drishti Group.

Located in a plum part of the city, where the government had open land, MPT-DDX enjoys 75 per cent occupancy on good weekends, but average films can have occupancy as low as 20 per cent. Gupta says plans to expand the drive-in concept are on hold. “Getting land in the city centre is difficult, and people will not travel to the outskirts for a film.”

According to him, the future of this format is exactly in line with the future of multiplexes. “The last few days were jam packed because of Animal but when big movies weren't performing well, there was hardly any audience. Content will be key,” he says.