Drive-In movie theaters have started making a comeback around the world amid the COVID-19 crisis. It makes sense since you’re isolated in your car away from everyone else. Sadly for us, the last standing drive-in movie theater in Kuwait was the Ahmadi drive-in pictured above and it got demolished last year. Maybe Cinescape can put together a makeshift one in some large parking lot because I really doubt normal cinemas are going to open up anytime in the near future.
37 replies on “Bring Back Drive-In Movie Theaters”
Cinemas are prepared to open in the states as soon as june but will wait until july since no major releases are coming out until tenet. No need to rebuild this now even though it’d be nice
Nice idea, only issue is the hot weather…
Theres a huge parking lot next to 360 mall that would be perfect as a setup
You don’t have AC in your car?
Imagine the emissions from 100+ vehicles (especially since such a large proportion of vehicles in Kuwait are ginormous SUVs) idling for 2 hours keeping the AC going during peak summer months. We can’t complain about how bad the air pollution is and then wish for something like this.
ok Captain Planet
Last Feb you put up a post titled “We take air pollution very lightly”. Granted that we have a lot of polluting industries that we can’t shut down because of the nature of our economy, why not control what we have personal responsibility over? Why go all ad hominem on me for raising a valid point.
No idea what ad hominem is but if you want to talk about pollution and be all environmentally friendly then either do it right or don’t. Your average movie theater consumes a lot of electricity, generates a good amount of waste and are generally located in malls that generate even more pollution and waste. So if you want to get all Captain Planet about a fun small idea like drive-ins, then you should also be against shopping malls and cinemas which are major contributors against your clean air crusade.
When I posted about us taking pollution lightly, I wasn’t suggesting we pollute less. This is the environment we choose to live in, a country that generates pollution because of the oil industry, my post was about us being aware of this pollution and taking precautions against it.
Del, I think you’re right 👍
Gotta agree with the environment point hehe… and if my engine is off, there goes my battery
Your AC won’t even work without the engine running. You’ll only blow air but the AC compressor which cools the air runs off of the engine.
Seems drive in cinema is back in Kuwait. Tried to reach them via their instagram DM @drivein.kw but received no response. Though I can see their insta-stories of their weekend drive in shows!
I guess none of you have been to a drive in before. You get an AC hose that blows cold air, and you get a hose that pipes in the sound (this has been replaced by using an FM transmitter, but the sound pipe still exists for cars that need it).
Theyll give you a radio
Drive-Ins usually operate at night for obvious reasons. And for other obvious reasons, that’s not a possibility.
I didn’t mean like right now this week 🤦🏼♂️
This is hilarious
Its a nice idea but there are two key factors which needs consideration :
1) Curfew timing
2) Weather
Guys, I didn’t say let’s go to the movies tomorrow night. Weather isn’t an issue if you have air conditioning in your car
Christ isn’t anyone old enough to have gone to the drive in that was where 360 is now? There were hoses at each stand that pumped a/ced air in through your window……geesh I feel old
I have a photo somewhere here in the blog that was taken at one of the drive ins here with AC tubes coming into the car but now all cars have AC so not an issue anymore
Found it, here is the photo https://248am.com//images/2020/05/img_6351-1.jpg
Last Feb you put up a post titled “We take air pollution very lightly”. Granted that we have a lot of polluting industries that we can’t shut down because of the nature of our economy, why not control what we have personal responsibility over?
The plots of the Drive-in cinemas, in Subahiya and where 360 is, are owned by Tamdeen Group. The land in Subahiya was saved for a mall supposed to be called Kuwait Mall (circa 2006). However, the idea was nixed, so they could set up a Drive-in theater there. We get entertained and they get the profit.
“comeback around the world” – nope, only the US.
i see problems with it different than what anyone has mentioned in the comments so far.
drive-in theaters were for places with high car ownership (that means many people have cars, not one guy with a hundred cars) and for a time when home multimedia was of garbage quality. you have to remember the 70s and 80s of the US had a lot of giant american cars pre-oil-crisis before the japanese compacts started coming en masse. they didn’t have high quality LCD and OLED displays on every cellphone and TV, or high quality sound devices.
besides, this country has a policy of reducing cars and car ownership among non-kuwaitis so i’m not sure how building drive-in theatres furthers that goal.
Not sure why you’re arguing with me, it’s taking off AROUND THE WORLD, you really should learn how to google things…
“Drive-in cinemas are coming to Dubai”
“Drive-in cinemas are booming in Germany amid COVID-19”
“Lithuania Opens First Drive-in Cinema”
“D.Live transforms car park into drive-in cinema”
“South Korea drive-in cinemas enjoy sales boom over virus fears”
https://www.google.com/search?q=drive+in+cinema+europe&sxsrf=ALeKk00kkVX6mDQ1XR3EuwA4r7b-rFi9OQ:1588857160836&source=lnms&tbm=nws&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwinha6V6qHpAhXF3YUKHTb2Aa4Q_AUoA3oECGYQBQ&biw=1674&bih=860
The rest of your argument doesn’t make any sense because its like saying they shouldn’t make cinemas because some people can’t afford tickets. If you don’t have a car don’t go to a drive in theater simpe.
In Germany they had a drive-in rave recently…
Or maybe just make one at a friends house or at some random location with a decent wall ;p
https://jalopnik.com/how-i-built-a-100-drive-in-movie-theater-to-hang-out-w-1843109912
I luv your idea. I saw 2 movies as a kid at a drive in. It was so much fun!!
It’s easier to sneak your own food in, like a full meal briyani dinner.
While I think having a drive in theater would be pretty neat, I do think that we’ve progressed past the need for theaters especially during this lockdown when we have media on demand i.e renting films on Amazon Prime.
In winter
I would love to be able to take my family to a movie drive in theatre experience . On the plus side if it’s at night the kids will pass out in the car and We can watch a movie for once
With modern upgrades this can really work. The major reason the old one was demolished was because it attracted the wrong kind of crowd and the culture of drive in cinemas was not good. I don’t want to go into details of how people would do stuff in cars which they could never do outside of one. So no. Don’t bring drive in cinemas back. Let Mark buy s ticket to Germany and enjoy himself there.
Orrrrr just allow tickets to be booked with 2 seats spaces in between. And proper cleaning, etc after a show. And charge like 8-10KD per ticket instead to offset the costs. I’d still pay and go.
Also, Tenet has to be watched in IMAX. Nothing else will do. F***ing Corona
Yessss EXACTLY!!! No need for Drive-thru whatsoever =D
Drive in cinemas are the way to go in the new normal of putting ‘physical distancing’ first. I think It’s simply a brilliant idea. Kuwait can take up to 4 drive in screens across governorates.
It also gets rid of the nonsensical segregation of bachelors from families, once and for all. Outside of the hot Kuwaiti summers, it will be a winning proposition for the rest of the 8 months in a year.
As for car ownership and drive-ins- should be no problem. The vast majority of cinema patrons in Kuwait have always been car owners; mostly multiple car owners.
We can also add Iran to the list
https://scenearabia.com/Life/Banned-Since-the-Revolution-Drive-In-Cinemas-Are-Coming-Back-to-Iran
That will be amazing
Yeah but.. cars have AC’s and you have to close your windows so… how will you be able to hear the movie then ?
During winter months it’ll be fine but not during summertime & yes I’d be against it because everyone would have to keep their car engine running which will add more to the pollution problem we’re facing …
Also … how are Cinemas in Malls causing pollution ? Where’s the logic in that =D