Domenica Bongiovanni|Indianapolis Star
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Drive-in theaters have seen some things over past several decades. They've watched their compatriots across the United States dwindle from the thousands to the hundreds. They've competed with people pulling up streaming services on their home TVs and on phones in the palms of their hands. And they must remain relevant in a world where choice is king.
So what's anindependent drive-in theater to do?
One answer is to expand — which is the very conclusion the Skyline Drive-In Theatre reached. Last month, the longtime drive-in in Shelbyville launched a crowdfunding campaign on Indiegogo to raise $25,000. The owners will use the money, or in-kind donations, to construct a second screen and buy a used digital projector.
In an industry that has and continues to see its share of difficulties, owners Joe Gaudin and Matt Masters see this measured growth as a way to sustain a drive-in that has been a mainstay of Central Indiana since 1950. Like other remaining U.S. drive-ins, they overcame the hurdleof switching over to a digital projector in the last decade.
Nowthey want to get out in front of a new barrier that independent theaters are increasingly facing: how to offer their customers more choices in a world where movie studios are gathering more control.
"It's not a sob story. We understand that times change, things are different. No need to feel bad or sorry. But we know that to do that, we've got to change. We've got to evolve," Masters said.
How the Skyline has survived
Indiana currently has 20drive-ins run by owners dedicated to keeping them alive and reopening old ones when possible. Most recently, in 2018, KJB Theaters opened the Moon Lite Drive-In in Terre Haute, where a screen still stood from an older theater. In May, the Tibbs Drive-In Theatre, which is the only drive-in left inside Indianapolis city limits, changed owners for the first time in almost 25 years.
The Skyline, at3986 E. Michigan Roadin Shelbyville, is one of five remaining drive-ins within a 40-mile radius of Downtown Indianapolis.
Gaudin, an indie filmmaker and videographer who runs Smashed Productions,has been an owner of the Skyline since 2009. Masters, an engineer for Sprint,joined him in 2014. For both, the drive-in is a part-time side gig that's worth saving as the outdoor theaters have dwindled.
"Going to the drive-in, going to this sort of slice of Americana, was a unique experiencefor us as kids in the '70s when drive-ins were more or less at their peak," Masters said.
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To ensure the Skyline's longevity, the owners have made numerous upgrades over the past decade, both to programming and the grounds. It's the site of the Super Monster Movie Fest and Drive InSanity, which shows grindhouse films. IndieSinsationsserves ages 17 and up with independent films, including horror and unrated.
They plan specialty nights to showworks on their old 35-mm projector. Thefestivals, one-off eventsand the standard fare of new releasesgenerally happen from March to November — a longseason by drive-in standards.
Off-screen, the ownersturned the concessions into a destination on their own. The Skyline serves Green River Soda and Triple XXX Root Beer for soft drink aficionados. Last season saw a Pretzeloin (pork tenderloin on a pretzel bun) and Wisconsin cheese curds. They developed the "Saw" pizza, which had a mystery quarter devoted to ghost pepper sauce. And for the Super Monster Movie Fest, they stabbed a pulled pork sandwich with potato sticks.
The biggest upgrade, however, was purchasing a digital projector. Hollywood studios stopped putting out 35-mm film around 2013in the U.S., and the expense for drive-ins to convert to digital ran around $70,000 or more per screen.
The Skyline paid off theirs after five years, Masters said. And that wasjust in time for a new hurdle: studios acquiring more assets and exerting stronger control over the films theaters can show.
How the industry is changing
Masters and Gaudin sit down each February to figure out the coming season. They scour the movie release schedule to make sure their festivals don't happen at the same time as summer blockbusters. If blockbusters from different studios happen at the same time, they must choose one and hope that it's the one their audience will want most.
With one screen, the decisions they make greatly impact their bottom line. Not only do people want to see the movies the week they come out, Masters said, studios are keen on giving the best deals to theaters that program them when they are released.
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"We are growing up in a culture where choice is quite the luxury. We can whip out a personal device and do whatever we want," Masters said. "It's getting harder and harder with a single screen to offer those options."
The Walt Disney Co.'s acquisition of major assets over the years has given it more power, particularly after its purchase of 21stCentury Fox in March.
The deal gave Disney Fox's archive catalog of more than 2,000 films, and the company hasn't allowed some indie theaters access to it, according to Vulture.com.A Disney spokesperson told Vice.com that commercial theaters did not have access to Fox and Disney library titles but that Fox's "Rocky Horror Picture Show" would remain available.
What's problematic is that screening these older films often brings small theaters more revenue during film festivals, throwback nights and singular double and triple features, the article states.
For new releases, theater owners say Disney's terms can be difficult to handle. In 2017, for example, the Tri-Way Drive-In Theatre in Plymouthjoined a boycott, stating that it would not play "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2" to "stand up against the rising demands of Disney."The company also often requires drive-ins to run new releases for three weeks, according to drive-in owners and news reports. With control over so many popular brands, including Marvel and Pixar, the squeeze becomes tighter.
"By the third week, no one's coming out to see "Avengers: Endgame" anymore," Masters said.
Disney did not respond to questions from IndyStar.
Masters said studio agreements require most of the proceeds from the box office to go to the studio. Because drive-ins show double features, it's more financially efficient for the Skyline to choose a second Disney-owned movie as well. If the theater picks a film from a different studio, it must pay a percentage to that studio as well, Masters said.
Drive-ins need that second movie, and negotiations have become more difficult, said D. Edward Vogel, the administrative secretary for the United Drive-In Theatre Owners Association.
Studios will "offer you the main feature and a co-feature, and if you don't want it, you can go somewhere else for it, which again is going to drive up the bill because you're paying two companies and you've got to negotiate two pictures," Vogel said.
How a second screen will help
Making a drive-in into a twin can only help with income, Vogel said.
A second screen adds flexibility and variety. It means twice as manymovies will be shown on the day a film is released.
"We would have the ability to say, 'OK, we'll put the main Disney stuff over there. Over here, we're going to show a couple of other studio features or comedies or something else. Maybe we're going to put some action there." Masters said. "To get into that arena, we have to have a second screen or our hands are incredibly tied."
Multiple screens are especially helpful if the theater arranges its showtimes efficiently.
"Why it's such a boon in income (is that) it doesn't really require more staff because if you're watching your showtimes and offsetting your intermissions, the crew is constantly busy," said Vogel, who owns Bengies Drive-In Theatre in Baltimore.
But first, Masters and Gaudin must face the hurdle of obtaining another digital projector and second screen. The screen would be smaller than the first — 50 feet wide instead of 70 — and 180 degrees away on the property.Masters said banks weren't keen on loaning money to a part-time seasonal business. So they are turning to their supporters for help.
The duo is prioritizing the projector. Now that a few generations of digital technology have rolled out, Masters said they would like to buy one second-hand from larger multiplexes selling off theirs or even eBay.
"As they move along in technology —like anything else, like a used car, right —it's more efficient," Masters said. "All we're in the game for is a digital projector. Beggars can't be choosers. Series 1, series 2:Whatever, fine. As long as it can show movies, we'll deal with it."
If you donate
Find "Project Gemini" for the Skyline Drive-In Theatre atindiegogo.com/projects/skyline-drive-in-project-gemini#/.
Contact IndyStar reporter Domenica Bongiovanni at 317-444-7339or d.bongiovanni@indystar.com. Follow her on Facebook, Instagramor Twitter: @domenicareports.
