Only 282 US Outdoor Theaters Remain

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Summer is almost here, which means it will soon be prime drive-in movie theater season all across America.

The concept is simple: stuff as many of your family and friends as you can into your car, head to the drive-in and watch two (or more) movies on a giant screen while enjoying fresh air under the stars.

In recent years, some enterprising drive-ins have added fun new twists to the formula, with expanded food and drink menus and even overnight camping options.

Despite these efforts, every year sees more drive-ins closing for good. In the late ’50s there were reportedly over 4,000 outdoor theaters open in America. But changing tastes and the rise of multiplexes and then home video reduced that number to under 600 by 1998, and less than 300 by 2017.

By our best count, only 282 drive-in theaters remain active in America as the 2026 summer movie season starts.

During the COVID pandemic, drive-in theaters – which made social distancing easy – got a brief wave of much-needed attention. Bands such as Metallica and Bon Jovi even offered up exclusive concert movies for entertainment-starved fans.

But during that time many people also got used to watching movies at their homes, which are increasingly equipped with massive TV screens and powerful sound systems.

Even indoor movie theaters have taken a big hit from this change in customer behavior, and unlike drive-ins they don’t have to worry about bad weather threatening an entire weekend’s ticket sales.

But to true believers, nothing can beat the drive-in movie experience. In order to help you experience this for yourself, here’s a state-by-state list of every currently operational drive-in theater in America.

(Note: Although I checked multiple sources – including lists from the Skyway Drive-In, DriveInMovie.com and Backyard Movie Critic, it is of course quite possible that I missed some open drive-ins. None of the four lists mentioned in the previous sentence match up exactly, for example. By all means, reach out via staff@ultimateclassicrock.com to let me know if a theater needs to be added.)