Drive-in theater

Drive-in cinema Gravenbruch in Neu-Isenburg

Drive-in cinema Cologne in Cologne-Porz

A drive-in movie is an open-air cinema , the screen of the car can be seen on the provided spaces out. The first drive-in theater opened in the USA in 1933 , where it achieved widespread use and cult status in the 1950s and 1960s. In Germany, the heyday of drive-in cinema was between the second half of the 1960s and the early 1980s. Nowadays there are only comparatively few stationary drive-in cinemas, but they have a steady following.

History of the drive-in theater

United States

The First Drive-In Theater, Pennsauken, New Jersey, 1933

While the first cinemas were still a fairground attraction in the 1900s, movie theaters have found a permanent place in the center of large cities since the 1910s. At the same time, the automobile gained popularity in the USA. On the market since 1908, the first mass-produced car, the Ford Model T , had sold 15 million cars by 1927.

With these burgeoning technologies in mind, Richard Hollingshead Jr., owner of a car care company his father founded, opened the world's first drive-in theater just outside his hometown of Camden , New Jersey , on June 6, 1933 . The film Wife Aware was shown , a production that played no major role in the history of the film . Hollingshead did not use a canvas as a projection surface, but a large, whitewashed stone wall. The sound came through three large loudspeakers so that the sound could be heard several kilometers away. The Camden Drive-In Theater offered 335 vehicles, but was closed again after three years. The magazine Die Woche reported on the lessons that were learned from the noise problems of this first “open-air cinema”: “Because the volume was disturbing for the neighborhood, 400 small loudspeakers were used in Los Angeles cinemas that were recently set up for the same purpose. They hang in front of the car's radiator, and their voices can be heard well by their occupants, but not further. "()

The idea was taken up. However , few drive-in theaters were opened in the uncertain times of economic crisis and World War II . In 1942 there were about 100 drive-in theaters in the United States. With increasing mobility, the Ozoners , as they were often called in the United States, then peaked in popularity in the 1950s and early 1960s. During this period there were around 4,000 drive-in theaters in the United States alone, and many conventional downtown theaters had to close due to competition in the suburbs.

The drive-in cinema was popular with families on the one hand because of its low admission prices, who also appreciated the fact that the operators set up food stands and playgrounds on the site, which made drive-in cinemas a popular destination on weekends. Young lovers, who prefer to drive in the last row of cars - the love lane - also enjoyed the privacy of their own car. Car races and cuddling in drive-in cinemas were rebellious expressions of youth against the morality and prudery of the American adult world during this period. In many places, kissing in public is still frowned upon. Horror films were especially popular with young people, as they offered countless moments in which the friend could seek protection from her companion.

Europe

In Europe, the drive-in cinema did not catch on in this number, and there was hardly any sign of the US car cult. In addition, the operators were usually only given the rights to secondary exploitation of films, so that new productions could only be shown six to eight weeks after the actual theatrical release. On September 2, 1957, Europe's first drive- in cinema opened in Castelfusano near Rome.

Germany

The drive-in cinema in Zempow, the only drive-in cinema in the German Democratic Republic until reunification

In 1954, the first attempt to bring drive-in cinemas to Germany failed in Erlangen. It was not until March 30, 1960 that Hermann Franz Passage opened the first German drive- in cinema in Gravenbruch near Frankfurt am Main , which still exists today. Another six years passed before the Olympic Kinobetriebsgesellschaft opened a second drive-in cinema on German soil in Berlin - Siemensstadt in September 1966 , which had to give way to the expansion of the Reuter West thermal power station in the early 1980s . On August 18, 1967, the third drive-in cinema in Germany followed in Cologne - Porz and at the same time the first in North Rhine-Westphalia . Dozens more were to follow in the next few years, with operators even racing to see who would open the first drive-in cinema in a region, e.g. B. between the Ufa in Gelsenkirchen and the Olympic-Kinobetriebsgesellschaft in Essen - Bergeborbeck for the title "First drive -in cinema in the Ruhr area". This trend continued until the late 1970s and slowly weakened until the mid-1980s. The Zempow drive-in cinema ( Wittstock / Dosse in Brandenburg ) , which opened in 1977, remained the only one in the GDR until reunification.

The highest level is given as between 23 and approx. 40, both figures referring to the 1970s. The number of 23 appears more plausible against the background of the almost complete coverage of all former and current drive-in cinemas. However, there were and still are drive-in cinemas with several screens, which can explain upward deviations, since the primary sources - mostly the film funding agency - publish the number of halls and thus the screens and less the number of locations.

From the mid-1980s, growth turned into a decline, there were now more closings than new openings, including one of the best-known and most popular, the drive-in cinema at the Minidomm amusement park near Düsseldorf . The reasons for this are varied, beginning with the summer time in 1980, which was harmful to the drive- in cinemas. Since projection technology can only be used after dark, the drive-in cinemas had to start the first showing in the spring and autumn months at around 8 p.m. to 9 p.m., in summer even to 10 p.m. Due to the late start of the first performance, only two instead of the previous sometimes three performances were now possible in one evening with a sufficient number of visitors, and at the same time the first performance was too late for many working people during the week. In addition, the drive-in cinemas, like the classic cinemas , were affected by the introduction of private television from 1984 and the decision in the format war in the mid-1980s. After his decision in favor of VHS , more and more viewers stayed away from the cinemas and instead watched films as home videos on their home television .

In the first ten years after the fall of the Wall and German reunification , the development of drive-in cinemas in the old and new federal states was contrary. While their decline continued in a weaker form in the west, numerous new ones emerged in the new federal states. In the old federal states even significantly more drive-in cinemas would have been closed if they had not been bought up by the advertising and film operating company of the Starnberg City Council Walter H. Jann and supplemented by a second pillar through car markets. Walther H. Jann z. B. the drive-in cinemas in Aschheim near Munich, Essen-Bergeborbeck, Gravenbruch, Hannover Messe, Hamburg-Billbrook, Cologne-Porz, Kornwestheim near Stuttgart and Nürnberg-Marienberg, of which he has been able to keep five to this day and none of which had to close for purely economic reasons .

After the turn of the millennium, general developments caught up with the new drive-in cinemas in the new federal states; for these mostly only small and often rural locations, the costs of digitization were more difficult to cope with than for the established, large drive-in cinemas in the west, which open all year round. In addition, actually profitable drive-in theaters - e.g. B. the DriveIn drive-in cinema in Nuremberg - close, as their premises can now be leased more profitably. Other drive-in cinemas - e.g. B. the DriveIn drive-in cinema Hamburg-Billbrook - fell victim to politics or - like the DriveIn drive-in cinema Essen - Bergeborbeck - their existence is threatened by appropriate campaigns.

In 2020 there were still 12 drive-in cinemas in Germany with a total of 17 screens, namely the five permanent drive-in cinemas in Aschheim (two screens), Essen (one screen), Gravenbruch (two screens), Cologne-Porz (one screen) and Kornwestheim (two Picture walls), as well as the seven seasonal drive-in cinemas in Ahlbeck, Berlin-Schönefeld, Geyer, Koserow, Langenhessen (three picture walls), Leipzig and Prora / Binz. Drive-in cinemas that only take place as short events are not included in the key figures of the film funding agency.

Development of drive-in cinemas in Germany from 1960 to 2001
year		Cinemas
1960	1
1966	2
1967	4th
1968	9
1969	17th
1971	18th
1973	19th
1977	20th
1978	21st
1984	18th
Data source: Own count. The actual number may be slightly higher, but not lower

Development of drive-in cinemas in Germany from 2002 until today
year		Video walls
2002	33
2003	31
2004	38
2006	36
2007	31
2008	27
2010	25th
2011	22nd
2012	21st
2013	20th
2014	19th
2015	20th
2018	18th
2020	17th
Data source: 2002–2019: Study of special forms by the Filmförderungsanstalt (ffa) From 2020: Own update, 2020 without corona-related pop-up drive-in cinemas

However, these comparatively few remaining drive-in cinemas enjoy a lasting and even increasing following of nostalgics and car enthusiasts.

Audience figures in drive-in cinemas in Germany
year		spectator
2002	553,534
2003	532,492
2004	478,942
2005	368,618
2006	351.100
2007	321,600
2008	258,524
2009	318,653
2010	218.279
2011	292.078
2012	285,407
2013	312.964
2014	250,621
2015	330.053
2016	272.077
2017	313,445
2018	285,671
2019	293,784
Data source: 2002–2019: special form study by the Filmförderungsanstalt (ffa)

The above Audience figures correspond to a relatively stable market share of 0.3% in 2002, 0.4% in 2003, 0.3% from 2004 to 2007, 0.2% from 2008 to 2016 and again 0.3% in 2017.

Although stationary drive-in cinemas are becoming increasingly rare in Germany, a trend towards mobile drive-in cinemas can be observed in recent years. Inflatable screens are often used. The events are limited in time and have the character of events . The selection of films ranges from current blockbusters to cult films.

Temporary drive-in cinema in Flugfeld in June 2020

During the Corona crisis , Germany is experiencing a resurgence of the drive-in cinema. Due to general decrees, all drive-in cinemas that were still in existence had to close. However, since it is easy to comply with measures to avoid contact, the drive-in cinemas in most federal states - most recently also in Bavaria and Saarland - have received special permits despite general contact restrictions and the closure of movie theaters and other events. The drive-in cinema in Kornwestheim received a special permit on March 18, 2020. The drive-in cinema in Essen-Bergeborbeck followed on March 19, 2020, Cologne-Porz on April 3, 2020 and most recently the Gravenbruch drive-in cinema on April 20, 2020. The Aschheim drive-in cinema had to remain closed until May 11, 2020. Additional LED screens were set up in Cologne-Porz and Kornwestheim for afternoon performances with a children's program (Porz: 60 m², Kornwestheim: 25 m²).
In addition, temporary drive-in cinemas, so-called “pop-up drive-in cinemas”, which were initiated by local cinema operators in many cases, were also built in many places. Between the start of the Corona crisis and April 18, 2020, at least 120 applications for the allocation of VHF frequencies for sound transmission in such a pop-up drive-in cinema were submitted nationwide.

Of the 20 drive-in cinemas at the beginning of 2020, their number had risen to around 200 by the beginning of June as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Austria

The first drive-in cinema in Austria was opened on August 2, 1967 with a screen (cinema A) and expanded in 1990 by two additional screens (cinemas B and C). It is located in Groß-Enzersdorf near Vienna . In 2015, the operating company had to file for bankruptcy, and it has been closed since then. It reopened on May 15, 2020 with admission at 12:01 am and the film start at 01:01 am.

At the beginning of the 1970s, a drive-in cinema was opened in Pasching , at the Plus-Kaufpark shopping center, which opened in September 1969, today PlusCity, southwest of Linz . the place lay fallow for a long time later. Today the Megaplex Pasching is operated at roughly the same place .

In 2018, the Citypark shopping center in Graz began to close on several days of the week for 4 weeks from August 6, 2018 (2019 on 22 days for 5 weeks from August 1) temporarily in the evenings of the drive-in cinema - Grazer Drive-In Cinema - on the uppermost parking level B4 of the West car park organize.

As part of the distancing measures on the occasion of the COVID-19 pandemic , cinemas will not be allowed to open until July 1, 2020. The change to the relaxation regulation by the federal government, which will come into force on May 15, will make it possible to hold drive-in cinemas.
In April 2020, the city of Linz is working on a project to set up a drive-in cinema with an LED screen on the Urfahraner market area. A drive-in cinema was opened in Gunskirchen on May 17, 2020. Innsbruck's first drive-in cinema is to open on May 29, 2020 and play for the 3 summer months of June, July and August in cooperation with the Metropolkino on the Olympiaworld area.

Technology and special features

Air-cooled drive-in cinema in the classic city of Frankfurt. Temporary event for classic cars, screen size ten by five meters

Image reproduction

The drive-in cinema in Brussels uses an inflatable screen

The technology used to reproduce images usually does not differ significantly from that of a conventional cinema . As in classic cinemas, projectors for 35 mm films were used in the past , which had to give way to digital projectors, since no copies on 35 mm film have been made available for years. The digitization is a financial challenge, especially for small drive-ins, and contributed to its decline.
Fixed image surfaces attached to frames are usually used as projection surfaces in drive-in cinemas with continuous operation. In particular in seasonal drive-in cinemas and those as short-term events, inflatable screens are also used, but house walls are also possible, such as B. at the drive-in cinema in Pratteln in Switzerland.
In the recent past, LED screens have also been used instead of projection surfaces . This technology enables presentations even in daylight and dispenses with a projector house, but is comparatively expensive, so that such areas are usually significantly smaller and accordingly allow fewer viewers. In the German-speaking countries, no drive-in cinema is currently using LED screen walls permanently. Provisional drive-in cinemas during the Corona crisis, on the other hand, use such screens in several cases to enable afternoon screenings with children's films and because the costs for rental screens are correspondingly lower due to the simultaneous cancellation of trade fairs and other events worldwide.
Digitized technology also enables drive-in cinemas to show live broadcasts or other digital sources, such as concerts, church services or sports. This option is being used extensively, especially during the Corona crisis.
The screen of drive-in cinemas is up to 600 m² in size when projection technology is used ; depending on the number of autologists, they are around 15 m high and up to 40 m wide and therefore, for reasons of visibility, significantly larger than the four to eight screens of conventional cinemas Meters tall. When projecting outdoors, daylight is a limiting factor, so that with this technology, performances can only begin at nightfall, although some operators tried to compensate for this with huge tarpaulins stretched over the parking spaces. Drive-in theaters with projectors usually accommodate a much larger audience than movie theaters and the number of spaces ranges from a few hundred to over 1,000. The largest drive-in theater in the world was in Newington, Connecticut , which until it closed in 1997 had space for about 4,000 cars.

Sound reproduction

The tone is located as in the conventional cinema as a light - ( Dolby , SDDS ) or Magnettonspur on the film or is played separately from other media, which are then synchronized with the film ( DTS ). Magnetic sound plays a subordinate role today.

As in a conventional movie using fixed cinema speaker but he was only in the early years of the drive-in movie history played. Loudspeakers mounted centrally or individually in front of the cars were initially replaced by mono loudspeakers that were connected to flexible cables and hung in the car window , and later by adapter cassettes . In modern systems, the sound is transmitted via an FM frequency and can be heard on the car radio. In the past, cables were also used for this purpose that were plugged directly onto the antenna or, in the case of window antennas, glued; today, mostly FM transmitters with sufficient transmission power for the entire area are used. The car battery of a normal car is sufficient to watch a complete film with sound without any problems. For vehicles without a radio or with a structurally weak electrical system (e.g. vintage cars ), special portable VHF radios are issued at the cash register. The frequencies of the respective presentation are preset on these and the power is supplied via a 230 V socket , which is available at every parking space in stationary drive-in cinemas. If the vehicle battery has discharged too much during the performance, the cinema operator usually has the appropriate equipment ready to give free jump starters. Some drive-in cinemas leave the old mono loudspeakers at least partially in operation for nostalgic people.

The transmission of the sound via VHF makes it possible to have performances in a translated version and in the original sound at the same time. By choosing the appropriate frequency, each viewer can determine for himself which sound he would like to hear.

3D technology

In principle, it is also possible in drive-in cinemas to carry out film screenings in 3D technology. However, these would only be suitable for vintage cars, since the UV filters integrated in modern car windows spoil the view.

Structural features

The drive-in cinema is usually driven through an entrance with a drive-in box office, at which the cinema tickets must be bought or shown for each occupant of the car. On the premises of many drive- in cinemas, there is a fast-food restaurant , which, as in normal cinemas, also offers popcorn , snacks and drinks . The fast-food restaurant is often located in the middle of the site and also serves as a screening room. The consumption of food and drinks that you have brought with you is generally allowed in the drive-in cinema (in contrast to most ordinary cinemas).
In drive-in cinemas originally built as such, the screen is usually in a corner, especially in the case of approximately square areas, or on the shortest side of the property. The rows with the autologists are usually laid out in arches in front of the screen to give all viewers a good perspective of the screen. To ensure a good view, the parking spaces in drive-in cinemas are either equipped with ramps or the floor is slightly undulating so that the front wheels of the cars are slightly elevated.
Operation in the winter months is costly for operators with high energy costs for mobile heating and naturally lower audience numbers. For this reason, seasonal drive-in cinemas and drive-in events mainly take place in the spring or autumn months or in summer.

Problems with modern cars

The development of modern vehicles and diverse designs brings with it problems that were still unknown in the early years of the drive-in cinema:

The increasing prevalence of SUVs, VANs and minibuses means that (especially in the case of temporary drive-in cinemas) the visibility conditions must be given special consideration when allocating seats.
For reasons of crash safety, aerodynamics, but also the optics, modern cars today offer increasingly smaller window areas, so that especially on the back seat, the screen can hardly be seen.
The parking lights cannot be switched off completely on some cars. Here the lamps have to be masked off so as not to disturb other visitors.
Many car radios switch off after about 30 minutes when the ignition is switched off. With some models, it is sufficient to press the on / off switch, but in some cases the ignition must be pressed briefly. Finding the FM frequency without RDS is also not self-explanatory on some models.
Modern (car) radios have sound processors, which can result in a time delay of up to approx. 1 second compared to the original sound signal - which is particularly annoying for films with sound effects.

Car disco

With the corona pandemic, there are also car discos, musical performances from a stage, the sound of which is received and played back inside parked cars in the manner of a silent disco . There is no standing dancing, the consumers are in their cars.

Events of this kind took place for the first time in Germany on May 1, 2020 in Schüttorf (Lower Saxony).

Drive-in concerts

Drive-in concerts are another event caused by the corona pandemic.

Secondary uses of drive-in theaters

Due to the large amount of space available and the infrastructure of the parking lot, the area of many drive-in cinemas is used for other events, such as flea markets and used car markets, in addition to evening cinema .

List of drive-in cinemas in German-speaking countries

Germany

Drive-in cinemas with year-round gaming

Surname	place	state	opening	Video	Audio	(Parking) spaces	location
DriveIn drive-in cinema Munich-Aschheim	Aschheim near Munich	Bavaria	May 22, 1969	Fixed projection surface with 540 m² (36 m × 15 m), Xenon projector with 7 kW	FM 98.9 MHz	600	(Location)48.161908 11.697607 The drive-in cinema in Aschheim near Munich around 2018
DriveIn drive-in cinema Munich-Aschheim	Aschheim near Munich	Bavaria	May 22, 1969	Fixed projection surface with 240 m² (24 m × 10 m), Xenon projector with 4.5 kW	FM 99.8 MHz	250
DriveIn drive-in cinema food	Essen-Bergeborbeck	North Rhine-Westphalia	June 1968	Fixed projection surface with 540 m² (36 m × 15 m), xenon projector with 7 kW	VHF 90.0 MHz, optional speakers in the first row	1000	(Location)51.487332 6.970525 The drive-in cinema in Essen-Bergeborbeck around 2018
DriveIn drive-in cinema Cologne (-Porz)	Cologne-Porz	North Rhine-Westphalia	18th August 1967	Fixed projection surface with 540 m² (36 m × 15 m), laser projector with 6.7 kW and up to 56,000 lumens	FM 90.5 MHz	1000	(Location)50.901867 7.075502 The drive-in cinema in Cologne-Porz around 2018
DriveIn drive-in cinema Stuttgart-Kornwestheim	Kornwestheim near Stuttgart	Baden-Württemberg	July 27, 1969	Fixed projection surface with 540 m² (36 m × 15 m), xenon projector with 7 kW	FM 89.0 MHz	600	(Location)48.87893 9.191225 The drive-in cinema in Kornwestheim around 2018
DriveIn drive-in cinema Stuttgart-Kornwestheim	Kornwestheim near Stuttgart	Baden-Württemberg	July 27, 1969	Fixed projection surface with 240 m² (24 m × 10 m), Xenon projector with 4.5 kW	FM 91.3 MHz	250
DriveIn drive-in cinema Frankfurt-Gravenbruch	Neu-Isenburg ( Gravenbruch ) near Frankfurt am Main	Hesse	March 29, 1960	Fixed projection surface with 540 m² (36 m × 15 m), xenon projector with 7 kW	FM 91.5 MHz	600	(Location)50.05691 8.743809
DriveIn drive-in cinema Frankfurt-Gravenbruch	Neu-Isenburg ( Gravenbruch ) near Frankfurt am Main	Hesse	March 29, 1960	Fixed projection surface with 240 m² (24 m × 10 m), Xenon projector with 4.5 kW	FM 88.6 MHz	450	(Location)50.05691 8.743809

Seasonal drive-in theaters

Surname	place	state	opening	business		Video	Audio	(Parking) spaces
Surname	place	state	opening	from	to	Video	Audio	(Parking) spaces
Drive-in cinema Ahlbeck (Seebad)	Ahlbeck (Heringsdorf) (Usedom) (location) , parking lot on the border between Germany and Poland 53.923723 14.213055	Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania	after 1990	Summer months		?	VHF	?
Drive-in cinema Berlin	Berlin - Schönefeld , Hans-Grade-Allee 54	Berlin	2003 (until 2015 at the central fairground)	Summer months		LED screen	VHF	950
Greifensteine drive-in cinema	Geyer , at the leisure pool	Saxony	1997	April	October	17 m × 7 m	VHF	?
Drive-in cinema Usedom	Koserow (Usedom) (location) , parking lot at the nudist beach 54.063328 13.982592	Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania	1996	May	September	180 m²	VHF	150
Drive-in cinema Langenhessen	Langenhessen , at the Koberbach dam	Saxony	1991 (previously as an open-air cinema)	March	November	3 screens	VHF	total of 200
Drive-in cinema Alte Messe Leipzig	Leipzig , Old Fair	Saxony	2002	Summer months		?	VHF	200
Drive-in cinema Prora	Prora / Binz ( Ruegen )	Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania	?	spring	summer	?	FM 87.8 MHz	?

Drive-in theaters as recurring events

mobile drive-in cinema in Hückelhoven (North Rhine-Westphalia) - screen size 16 × 8 m

Surname	place	state	meeting	Video	(Parking) spaces
Drive-in cinema GMHütte	Georgsmarienhütte , event area Potthoffs Feld in the Oeseder center.	Lower Saxony	mostly July	200 m² (20 m × 10 m) inflatable	180
Hückelhoven drive-in cinema night	Hückelhoven , shaft 3 of the Sophia-Jacoba colliery	North Rhine-Westphalia	second weekend in September	128 m² (16 m × 8 m) inflatable	400
Drive-in cinema in the Völklinger Hütte World Heritage Site	Völklingen , Völklingen Ironworks World Heritage Site	Saarland	Four evenings a year from the Thursday before the first Sunday in September	264 m² (24 m × 11 m) inflatable	500
Car flicker on Dallenberg	Würzburg , Dallenbergbad parking lot	Bavaria	Annually on changing dates in October	inflatable	400

Drive-in cinemas temporarily created during the Corona crisis 2020

Drive-in cinema in Tübingen

Temporary drive-in cinema in Itzehoe

Concert stage on the Schützenplatz in Hanover

With the closure of all venues in March 2020, the existing drive-in cinemas were the only way to watch films outside of your own apartment while observing hygiene rules. As a result, drive-in cinemas with special editions were gradually created, mostly without the box office and gastronomic offers, tickets have to be bought online and scanned through the window of the car, the cars may only be left in an emergency. In the summer of 2020, many graduation parties took place in drive-in cinemas. The graduation ceremony of the European School Munich took place z. B. in the Aschheim drive-in cinema . The high school graduates in Apolda and the Bruchsal high school in St. Paulusheim also got their certificates in the drive-in cinema.

place	state	Location	opened	closed or planned until	Remarks
Aachen	North Rhine-Westphalia	Bendplatz	April 18, 2020	June 1, 2020	Screen: 120 m² LED, 300 seats, also afternoon shows
Ahaus	North Rhine-Westphalia	BBS Ahaus car park	April 23, 2020	May 3, 2020
Alsdorf	North Rhine-Westphalia	REWE car park Neuweiler	April 26, 2020	May 18, 2020	128 m² inflatable screen, VHF 103.1 MHz, canceled on May 14th to May 18th due to vandalism.
Aschaffenburg	Bavaria	Fairground	May 29, 2020	June 28, 2020 (originally planned until August 31, 2020)
Floodplain forest	Baden-Württemberg	Car park behind the Auenwaldhalle in Unterbrüden, Beaurepairestrasse (location)48.936134 9.50007	1st May 2020	-	VHF frequency 95.7 MHz, also live comedy and church services
augsburg	Bavaria	Augsburg Exhibition Center	June 9, 2020	-	2 screens, 480 seats, also concerts, comedy, live shows
bad Homburg	Hesse	Technical town hall	May 20, 2020	-	82 seats
Bad Mergentheim	Baden-Württemberg	Bad Mergentheim wildlife park car park	April 30, 2020	June 14, 2020 (originally planned until May 6, 2020)	Image area 50 m², FM 104.7 MHz
Baunatal	Hesse	On the old fairground	April 29, 2020	-	LED technology, including afternoon shows, 135 seats, access only via Altenritter Straße, organized by the Cineplex Group
Bensheim	Hesse	Parking lot of the Luxor Film Palace	April 29, 2020	-	-
Bestwig	North Rhine-Westphalia	Fort Fun Adventure Land	April 12, 2020	17th May 2020	-
Bielefeld	North Rhine-Westphalia	Velodrome	April 30, 2020	May 23, 2020	Inflatable projection screen 12 m × 6 m, 170 seats
Bonn	North Rhine-Westphalia	Immenburgstrasse / Hein-Moeller-Strasse near the northern heating power station , former slaughterhouse or brothel / street line	May 14, 2020	-	Concert by Heino on May 15th, 2020
Bark	North Rhine-Westphalia	?	?	-	also classical concerts
Bremen	Bremen	Bürgerweide	May 22, 2020	-	Screen 530 m², 650 seats, VHF 95.2 MHz
Bremen	Bremen	Open space behind the waterfront	May 25, 2020	August 31, 2020	250 seats, FM 88.8 MHz
Buchholz id Nordheide	Lower Saxony	Parking behind Möbel Kraft , access via Maurerstraße	May 20, 2020	-	Screen 200 m², 200 seats, VHF 92.7 MHz
Büdingen	Hesse	Fairground Düdelsheim	May 20, 2020	-	140 seats
Chemnitz	Saxony	Chemnitz Arena parking lot (location)50.818714 12.883389	April 22, 2020	June 25, 2020	230 seats, also music, cabaret, poetry slam, puppet theater or live travel reports
Coesfeld	North Rhine-Westphalia	Parking lot of the disco factory	April 10, 2020	-	160 seats
Dettelbach	Bavaria	Cineworld parking lot	May 20, 2020		LED screen
Dresden	Saxony	Parking lot P4 at the airport	April 24, 2020	-	350 seats, four large LED walls, VHF 94.5 MHz, afternoon shows, all-week show including live program
Dresden	Saxony	Ostragehege , flood channel at the Dresden Exhibition Center	May 12, 2020	June 30, 2020	Screen: 33.5 m × 15 m (502.5 m²), 500 seats
Dortmund	North Rhine-Westphalia	Phoenix West	17th April 2020	at least May 16, 2020	250 seats
Dusseldorf	North Rhine-Westphalia	Exhibition car park P1, field 5	April 8, 2020	-	400 m², FM 92.6 MHz, Alligatoah concert on April 24th, 2020, Sido concert on April 26th, 2020 On May 5th, 2020 three weddings took place on the premises. Mayor Thomas Geisel took over the first wedding .
Duisburg	North Rhine-Westphalia	Parking lot P4 of the MSV-Arena	17th April 2020	May 10, 2020	-
Elmshorn	Schleswig-Holstein	Buttermarkt (location) , 53.752349 9.656143	May 14, 2020	17th May 2020	VHF 88.1 MHz, organized by Elmshorn City Marketing, all 4 performances were already sold out on May 9, 2020
Eschwege	Hesse	Werdchen fairground, Mangling Alley	April 30, 2020	-	LED technology, also an afternoon show, organized by the Cineplex Group
Eschweiler	North Rhine-Westphalia	Drieschplatz	April 26, 2020	-	Cabaret theater with drive-in cinema technology
eat	North Rhine-Westphalia	Grugahalle	April 18, 2020	May 10, 2020	Capacity: 180 cars, frequency: 88.3 MHz
eat	North Rhine-Westphalia	Essen-Mülheim Airport	April 21, 2020	Summer 2020	Capacity: 240 cars, frequency: 93.7 MHz
Esslingen am Neckar	Baden-Württemberg	Neckar-Center (parking deck)	April 22, 2020	-	total of ~ 200 cars, 44 m² screen, since May 30th: 2nd screen 140 m², VHF 93.4 / 98.5 MHz, organized by the Esslingen municipal cinema, report in the SWR Landesschau Baden-Württemberg , May 2, 2020
Ettlingen	Baden-Württemberg	Pachyderm Place	?	?	-
Flensburg	Schleswig-Holstein	Parking lot in front of the Flens-Arena (location)54.773521 9.452722	May 13, 2020	-	80 m² screen, 100–120 seats, FM 91.6 MHz, Wed to Sun from 9:30 pm, Fri + Sat from midnight
Friedrichshafen	Baden-Württemberg	Messe Friedrichshafen (indoor, ZEPPELIN CAT Hall A1)	April 30, 2020	Summer 2020	-
Geestland -Depstedt	Lower Saxony	Metro parking lot	May 11, 2020	August 31, 2020	130 seats, FM 88.8 MHz
to water	Hesse	Hessenhalle	May 13, 2020	-	Concerts from Revolverheld
Gronau	North Rhine-Westphalia	Station (replacement for Ahaus)	May 7, 2020	17th May 2020	-
Halbendorf	Saxony	Halbendorfer See	1st May 2020	-	100 seats, projection with a beamer
Hamburg	Hamburg	Heiligengeistfeld , Trabrennbahn , Hafencity , trade fair , possibly other locations	at the beginning of June	-	Concerts etc. are also planned, a maximum of only 2 people from one household are allowed per car
Hanover	Lower Saxony	Parking lot P29 at the exhibition center	May 8, 2020	-	FM 93.5 MHz, from May 7, 2020 also children's films. Concerts and comedy on the Schützenplatz
Had	Lower Saxony	Place in front of the outdoor pool	April 24, 2020	May 31, 2020	-
Hechingen	Baden-Württemberg	Pond area	May 2, 2020	-	also church services
pagan	Schleswig-Holstein	Place in front of the Heider TV tower	May 15, 2020	August 31, 2020	LED screen 110 m², VHF 88.6 MHz, 2 × drive-in cinema daily, Fri and Sat additional. Car disco
Heilbronn	Baden-Württemberg	Theresienwiese	17th April 2020	-	LED technology, 300 seats, also concerts (e.g. by Michael Patrick Kelly )
Hemer	North Rhine-Westphalia	Sauerland Park	April 18, 2020	17th May 2020	-
Herborn	Hesse	Herborn fairground	May 29, 2020	-	Mundstuhl will perform on May 30, 2020
Herne	North Rhine-Westphalia	At the Revierpark	April 10, 2020	-	LED projection screen 6 m × 3.5 m
Hildesheim	Lower Saxony	Schützenplatz	May 14, 2020	July 12, 2020	also church services, theater and concerts
Homberg	Hesse	East Prussia barracks	May 14, 2020	-	LED screen
Husum	Schleswig-Holstein	Parking lot of the North Sea Congress Center at the exhibition center	May 8, 2020	-	30 m² LED screen, 80 seats, VHF 88.6 MHz, daily from 8.30 p.m., additional on weekends. Children's films from 4:30 p.m.
Ingolstadt	Bavaria	Fairground	-	-	also concerts, e.g. B. from Alligatoah on May 5, 2020
Itzehoe	Schleswig-Holstein	Malzmüllerwiesen (location)53.918665 9.519496	May 8, 2020	June 7, 2020	LED screen, 150 seats, VHF 96.9 MHz, 2 performances daily from 7 p.m., from May 10th also church services
Jena	Thuringia	Parking lot at Jenzigweg 33	17th May 2020	June 28, 2020	LED screen, 200 seats, FM 99.7 MHz, ticket sales only online, no box office
Karlsruhe	Baden-Württemberg	Measuring station	April 22, 2020	-	organized by the Kammertheater Karlsruhe, also afternoon performances and concerts (e.g. by Max Giesinger on May 29, 2020)
kassel	Hesse	Schwanenwiese exhibition center	April 29, 2020	-	250 seats, organized by the Kassel Cinemas Association
Kleve	North Rhine-Westphalia	Tichelpark	April 13, 2020	-	LED technology, also afternoon shows
Cologne-Vogelsang	North Rhine-Westphalia	Aquarian Hall	April 25, 2020	-	LED projection screen 18 m × 9 m, 220 seats
Korbach	Hesse	-	-	-	Inflatable screen, 14 × 7 meters
Krefeld	North Rhine-Westphalia	Brödentalplatz	April 20, 2020	May 18, 2020	LED technology, also afternoon shows
Lauterbach (Hesse)	Hesse	Parking lot - at the Bleiche	06/10/2020	06/13/2020	LED technology with 3 screens, 6 films and a car disco, approx. 60 parking spaces, VHF frequency 98.3, www.autokino-lauterbach.de
Limbach-Oberfrohna	Saxony	Traffic practice area on the cellar meadow	April 15, 2020	-	LED screen, Thursday-Sunday performances, approx. 70 seats
Lippstadt	North Rhine-Westphalia	Hella parking lot Lichtkanal	April 10, 2020	-	-
Mainz	Rhineland-Palatinate	Fairground	May 7, 2020	-	-
Marburg	Hesse	Afföller exhibition center	April 30, 2020	-	LED screen: 15 m × 6 m, 150–200 seats, on weekends also afternoon shows
Marl	North Rhine-Westphalia	Marler Str. 321	April 6, 2020	-	around 400 seats
Mettmann	North Rhine-Westphalia	Neander bath	April 18, 2020	-	-
Mönchengladbach	North Rhine-Westphalia	Nordpark exhibition center	April 16, 2020	-	-
Mönchengladbach	North Rhine-Westphalia	Trabrennbahn (Krefelder Str. 820, stable area)	April 22, 2020	June 9, 2020	-
Muenster	North Rhine-Westphalia	Hall Münsterland	April 16, 2020	July 1, 2020	300 seats; organized by the three local cinemas in Münster . Inflatable 130 m² AIRSCREEN screen. FM frequency 102.2.
Nuremberg	Bavaria	Parking lot P31 at Albrecht Dürer Airport Nuremberg	May 16, 2020	September 30, 2020	LED screen> 100 m², 230 places, FM 91.9 MHz
Nuremberg	Bavaria	Parking lot S1 at the Max-Morlock-Stadion	May 30, 2020	-	180 places, FM 106.0 MHz
Oldenburg	Lower Saxony	Parking lot Weser-Ems-Hallen	May 21, 2020	3rd June 2020 originally planned until May 31, 2020	Screen 130 m², around 200 seats, VHF 88.9 MHz
Pforzheim	Baden-Württemberg	Measuring station	May 8, 2020	-	Screen 14 m × 8 m
Pfullingen	Baden-Württemberg	"Arbach North" Pfullingen	May 8, 2020	August 30th	200 seats, LED wall 9 m × 4.5 m, performances daily at 3 p.m. and 7 p.m.
Ratzeburg	Schleswig-Holstein	Parking lot in front of the town hall	May 7, 2020	-	Screen, 60 places, VHF 96.9 MHz
Remscheid	North Rhine-Westphalia	Schützenplatz	April 26, 2020	June 6, 2020	opened by the mayor Burkhard Mast-Weisz , concert by Kasalla on May 22, 2020
Rheinbach	North Rhine-Westphalia	Industrial area, premises of the company WOTEC	April 30, 2020	-	90 seats
Rheine	North Rhine-Westphalia	Fairground	April 11, 2020	April 19, 2020	-
Rheine	North Rhine-Westphalia	VEGA company premises (replacement for the Rheine fairground)	May 8, 2020	2nd June 2020	-
Schorndorf	Baden-Württemberg	Parking lot at Gottlob-Bauknecht-Straße	May 8, 2020		Operator: Lochmann Filmtheaterbetriebe
Solingen	North Rhine-Westphalia	Weyersberg	April 30, 2020	June 1, 2020	150 seats
Speyer	Rhineland-Palatinate	Parking lot of the Technik-Museum Speyer	April 30, 2020	-	175 seats
Stadtallendorf	Hesse	Herrenwaldstadion	May 14, 2020	-	-
Stendal	Saxony-Anhalt	Borstel airfield	May 15, 2020	-	-
Stuhr-Brinkum	Lower Saxony	behind the BMÖ petrol station at Bremer Straße 112	April 24, 2020	-	Screen 200 m², 250 seats, VHF 99.1 MHz
Taunusstein	Hesse	At the "Orlener Stock" industrial park	April 30, 2020	-	Cinemascope LED screen 120 m², 240 seats, also afternoon show
trier	Rhineland-Palatinate	Fair park	-	-	-
Tübingen	Baden-Württemberg	Fairground	April 29, 2020	May 12, 2020	190 seats
Ulm	Baden-Württemberg	Fairground	April 30, 2020	-	-
Vechta	Lower Saxony	Stubble market	April 24, 2020	-	160 places, VHF 87.9 MHz
Verden (Aller)	Lower Saxony	Magic Park car park	May 15, 2020	-	320 seats, screen 235 m², VHF 95.2 MHz
Viernheim	Baden-Württemberg	Parking lot of the Rhein-Neckar-Zentrum	May 2, 2020	-	LED screen 76 m², 225 seats
Waechtersbach	Hesse	Fair Wächtersbach	May 15, 2020	-	350 seats
Waldshut	Baden-Württemberg	Chilbiplatz	May 2, 2020	-	-
Warendorf	North Rhine-Westphalia	Teutemacher site	April 23, 2020		200 seats
Weir	Baden-Württemberg	Ludin Park car park	May 15, 2020	May 24, 2020
Wertheim	Baden-Württemberg	Schlößchen car park in the courtyard garden	May 8, 2020	-	LED screen, 107.4 MHz
I want to	North Rhine-Westphalia	Schützenplatz	April 11, 2020	-	LED screen 14 m × 8 m, VHF 92.3 MHz, also afternoon shows
Würselen	North Rhine-Westphalia	Aachen Event Center, near the vehicle registration office	1st May 2020	-	100 seats
Wurzburg	Bavaria	Dallenbergbad parking lot	May 15, 2020		Auto flicker on Dallenberg, 94.5 MHz
Wuppertal	North Rhine-Westphalia	Carnaper place	May 7, 2020	-	250 seats

Sangerhausen Saxony-Anhalt Walkmühle / Kupferhütte May 22, 2020

No longer existing drive-in theaters

Switzerland

Hinwil ZH: Drive-In Movies
Aargau: Muri drive-in cinema
Basel-Landschaft: Cinema Drive-In

Austria

Surname	place	state	opening	Video	Audio	(Parking) spaces	location
Drive-in cinema Vienna	Groß-Enzersdorf	Lower Austria	August 2, 1967 Reopening May 15, 2020	Fixed projection surface with over 500 m²	VHF	800	(Location)48.202807 16.539705

literature

Stefan Jung: The Drive-In . In: Encyclopedia of Fantastic Films, Part III: Themes and Aspects . No. 103 , 2013, ISBN 978-3-89048-400-6 .
Elizabeth McKeon, Linda Everett: Cinema Under the Stars: America's Love Affair With the Drive-In Movie Theater . 1998, ISBN 1-58182-002-X .
Don Sanders, Susan Sanders: The American Drive-In Movie Theater . 2002, ISBN 0-7603-1707-0 .
Kerry Segrave: Drive-In Theaters: A History from Their Inception in 1933 . 1992, ISBN 0-7864-2630-6 .

Web links

Commons : Drive-In Cinema - Collection of pictures, videos, and audio files

Wiktionary: Drive-in cinema - explanations of meanings, word origins, synonyms, translations

1954 article about first drive-in theaters in Europe
History and cult of the drive-in cinema
"Hollingshead's Story" - about the inventor of the drive-in cinema ( Memento from February 23, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) (English)
"Documentary" - about the Zempow drive-in cinema in Brandenburg

Individual evidence

^ Die Woche , Issue 21, May 20, 1936, p. 26

↑ Radio Bayern 2 - First German drive-in cinema opened. Retrieved May 30, 2020 .

↑ ^a ^b Katja Iken: Fumbling until the projectionist comes . On: einestages .spiegel.de on March 30, 2010

↑ "mirror" of 23.12.1959 on the preparations for the opening. Retrieved May 30, 2020 .

↑ Kinowiki (new): drive-ins Berlin-Spandau. Retrieved May 28, 2020 .

^ WAZ - the Bergeborbeck drive-in cinema is being built in Essen. Retrieved May 30, 2020 .

↑ Drive-in cinema Zempow on the website of the community. Retrieved May 2, 2020 .

↑ Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger - Mecca for young lovers - The drive-in cinema is turning 70. Accessed on May 30, 2020 .

↑ Tagesspiegel - light plays in front of alternators. Retrieved May 30, 2020 .

↑ nuernberginfos - Drive-in cinema Nuremberg. Retrieved May 28, 2020 .

↑ Make-up removed - Drive-in cinema Marienberg (Nuremberg). Retrieved May 28, 2020 .

↑ WORLD: Off for the Billbrook drive-in cinema. Retrieved May 28, 2020 .

↑ taz letter to the editor: Everything beautiful is stolen from you. Retrieved May 28, 2020 .

^ Hinz & Kunzt: Twilight in Billbrook. Retrieved May 28, 2020 .

^ Announcement about the failed purchase of the Essen-Bergeborbeck drive-in cinema. (PDF) Retrieved May 28, 2020 .

↑ Key figures of the Filmförderungsanstalt for the year 2019. Accessed on May 18, 2020 .

↑ 14th edition of the FFA study on special cinema formats: More visitors, more sales and more screens. Retrieved May 18, 2020 .

↑ Out of the niche: How much of the drive-in boom will remain - Interview with Christian Kremer, Managing Director Airscreen. 0:08 min. In: Vollbild - the film magazine. Accessed June 6, 2020 (German).

↑ Last flap for the last drive-in theater. In: kurier.at. February 26, 2015, accessed December 24, 2017 .

^ Drive-in cinema Vienna: bankruptcy proceedings opened. In: DiePresse.com. February 24, 2015, accessed January 14, 2018 .

↑ AutoKino.at - The history of drive-ins. In: Stadt-Wien.at. May 14, 2020, accessed May 14, 2020 .

↑ Drive-in cinema Vienna is now allowed to open orf.at, May 13, 2010, accessed May 16, 2010.

↑ Film: Austria's only drive-in cinema closes derstandard.at, April 28, 2011, accessed May 3, 2020. - Forum entry: Der Wappler, April 28, 2011, 7:15:30 pm.