The Rise and Fall of the Drive-In Movie Theater
by Steven Davies on Jun 25, 2013 | Views: 249 | Score: 0
| 1 | |
| 1933 | 1 |
| 1938 | 7 |
| 1943 | 97 |
| 1948 | 820 |
| 1953 | 3317 |
| 1958 | 4063 |
| 1963 | 3502 |
| 1968 | 3372 |
| 1973 | 3253 |
| 1978 | 2732 |
| 1983 | 1903 |
| 1988 | 961 |
| 1993 | 771 |
| 1998 | 581 |
| 2003 | 423 |
| 2007 | 405 |
Number of Drive-In Movie Theaters
Sources:
, drive-ins.com

The drive-in movie business exploded in the 1940s and 50s, reaching the peak number of open drive-in theaters in 1958 with a total 4,063 theaters. The number of theaters then fell quickly in the 1970s and 80s, and continues to fall with only 405 drive-in movie theaters open in 2007.