to think 50 quid for a drive-in is nuts

[VoteForPayton]

Drive-ins were a big thing in the Midwest where I grew up and they were of course really cheap, it was the fun thing to do when you didn't have a lot of money to pile up the kids in the station wagon and head to the drive-in.

They're starting to pop up around the country now and I checked the prices for the ones closest to us and one is around 50 quid for a family of four. 50 quid! And I found it weird they charged per person (the 50 quid is for two adults and two kids). The other one near us is rightly charging per car but that's still £38.

I would have liked to have taken the kids so they can experience it but that just seems really expensive for a film they've already seen 100 times (Toy Story, Jungle Book etc).

AIBU? I know they have overheads, etc and people will probably pay it just to get out and have something to do but yikes.

Population density USA: 94 per square mile
Population density UK: 671 per square mile

So I’m guessing the cost to rent land to show these drive ins is much higher in the UK.

Staffing a temporary, one off is going to be more expensive per event than a regular event too, I expect.

Pricing based on demand - in the USA, it’s ‘normal’ so no-one will pay much. In the UK it’s an ‘event’ so will attract a premium for the novelty. You’re comparing £50 with cinema prices, you should be comparing it with theatre prices.

Charging per person not per car... their choice.

So - I think YABU.
Which is not to say I disagree with you and don’t dodo think it’s expensive!

*also think

I have looked for this and for an open air cinema locally but and agree the prices are unreasonable. I like the PPs analysis above but the prices now seem in excess of similar prices I paid in previous years when the factors (land cost, one-off event...) would be similar. I know COVID would raise some prices but less for this than would account for this.

I’ve paid £35 for a car. There just happens to be 2 of us going, it’s about the same price as cinema in the west end. It’s a novelty and a film neither of us have seen yet. Yabu-surely anyone sitting in the back can’t see anyway?

I hadn’t event thought about Covid @Zilla1 - I must be in a bubble

That makes sense and actually, I think it would account for any massive price hike.

All event companies will have been losing a huge amount since March, as will the owners of the spaces that they rent (in my county it’s stately homes and race courses). So they need to make as much money as possible. At the same time they unusually have no competition from cinemas (for probably a short period) so need to make hay while the sun shines. Then there’s the customers... plenty of people are working still or furloughed on a reasonable amount and are actually saving money without trying because of closures. So there is a proportion of the population with money to burn, desperate to go out and “do” something special. I can’t blame a business trying to take advantage of that after losing 3+ months of business.

Four of us in a car £38. That is about the same price as a family cinema ticket. There's also a comedy act on first.

Really looking forward to it. As a child I was fascinated by 'drive ins' in the US. Now, I get to go for my birthday at the tender age of 47!

These are all good points, I've got my nostalgia goggles on when it comes to this topic I reckon.

Wasn’t this invented when American cars had huge bench seats and plenty of space? And mostly as a place for teen snogging?

4 in a Fiesta, stuck behind a hulking Range Rover, sounds a shit night out to me!

A few years ago, there were a number of pop up drive in movies near us. These were around £25 to £30 a car. As previous poster write, land rental, setting up acoustics, film rental, rental of screen (these aren’t cheap, staff to direct traffic, insurance etc. All adds up and when it’s temporary, the Set up expenses aren’t spread out over time.

We bought tickets as I wanted to share nostalgia with my kids (born in uk). It rained, was cancelled and we got refunds. Now back in my childhood, you went even if it rained. Not here as it was in grass and would’ve been a quagmire to try to get all the cars out. So you can imagine what the insurance is for this type of event. Hence cost. You’re going for the experience, not just the movie. If you put it into thst context, it’s worth it. If you’re looking at it as going for the movie, pay for the movie on Netflix/amazon/sky as it’s cheaper due to less costs for Netflix/amazon/sky

Won't people in the back seats have to be hunched down and craning their necks so they can see out the windscreen without the roof and front seats/passengers getting in the way?

I mean, the screen will have to be high up so it isn't blocked by cars in the first place.

Think I would only want to go to one if I was in 50s America in an open top sports car accompanied by a twenty something John travolta. Otherwise I’ll not bother

MrsT
And waiters and waitresses on roller skates bringing coke in proper classic bottles with straws, or milk shakes the size of tower blocks.

And weren’t there clip on tables to put by your open window?

In ye olden retro days, there weren’t compulsory safety features such as seat head rests in the front seats to block your view.