Sign up to our Talk Platform (create an account here) to get in on the conversation below. Want to join the debate? Subscribe to CentralMaine.com here

Have you ever been to a drive-in movie? If so, what was the last movie you saw?

Drive-in movie theaters are a dying breed.

And there may be one less following recent news that the owner of the Skowhegan Drive-In Theatre is considering closing the business. The Skowhegan outdoor theater, which has been around for 68 years, has seen its attendance numbers plummet since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, according to owner Don Brown. Those numbers “fell through the floor” as this year’s season began, and the business has been at the point of “operating just week-to-week,” he said.

A car is parked Sept. 3 at the Skowhegan Drive-In Theatre on the second-to-last night of movies planned to play at the theater in Skowhegan. Michael G. Seamans/Morning Sentinel

Many people are streaming movies at home from Amazon, Netflix and many other services, Brown noted, and he said there are few big box office films being released to theaters to be enough of a draw.

Brown hopes that a solution can be found so the theater can continue to operate, but he said it’s possible the showings this past Labor Day weekend could be the last.

If Brown does shutter the business, there won’t be many drive-in theater options left in the region.

But what about you? Have you ever been to a drive-in movie and if so, what was the last movie you saw? And what do you think of drive-in theaters going by the wayside? Tell us all about it the poll and comments below.


Only subscribers are eligible to post comments. Please subscribe or login first for digital access. Here’s why.

Use the form below to reset your password. When you've submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code.

filed under: