Local drive-in theater entering digital age

ST. HENRY - Mercer County's only drive-in movie theater has rolled into the digital age - a move that will keep the 65-year-old business open this year.

The Starlight Drive-In along U.S. 127, south of Celina, showed its first movie this year on May 22 after obtaining a one-year lease for a new digital projector. The equipment replaces the drive-in theater's outdated reel projector.

Movie studios for several years had warned that films would get tougher to obtain because the industry was going digital. The switch will allow the local business to show more movies this summer, according to owner Joan Myers.

"They (movie studios) kept telling us that it was going to happen and every year they said, 'Well, you're still going to get some films.' Last year we had so much trouble getting films," she said.

Without a costly digital projector, the drive-in's fate was sealed, Myers said.

"If we didn't get the projector then we would have closed. There would be no point in opening here and there when we would get a film on reel," she said. "If we don't go digital, we don't get more films. It's that simple."

The Myers family has owned and operated the drive-in since 1988. However, their film projector has put movies on the big screen since the business' debut in 1950.

A new digital projector system costs between $50,000-$60,000 and includes a projector, a server to store films, software and a computer screen and keyboard, according to Myers. It eliminates scratches and cuts that viewers might see while watching traditional film reels.

The family hopes to get the money needed to eventually buy a digital projector, they said. Myers declined to state the cost of the lease.

The Myers this year created an account on gofundme.com to help cover a portion of the cost of a digital system. The goal is $25,000. Electronic donations currently total $635. Donations also can be made at Peoples Bank in Coldwater and Celina.

In 2013, the family unsuccessfully participated in Honda's Project Drive-In, a national contest that required participants to gather voter support to win a new projector. They also held a fundraiser a few years ago but it fizzled out and the drive-in did not benefit, Myers said.

She fears drive-ins across the country will soon disappear because of the high cost of technology.

"There may be a lot more drive-ins closing this year. It's a lot of money for a new system and some may not think it will be worth it," she said.

Ohio has a long history of drive-in movie theaters. The first one to debut in the state, Starlight Auto Theatre, opened in Akron in 1937, according to driveinmovie.com.

Within 10 years, Ohio had 80 drive-in movie theaters and the number peaked in the late 1960s at 189. However, about 80 percent of the state's drive-ins have closed since then, the site said.

The local Starlight drive-in is one of only 26 currently operating in Ohio.

Movie studios are saving money by changing over to digital, Starlight manager Don Myers said. The digital copies cost about $200 to make, compared with $2,000-$2,500 for film.

The cost per movie for drive-in owners varies week to week, Joan Myers said. Movie companies take a percentage, typically between 40-60 percent, of the box office revenue, she added.

The family this year will benefit from a reduction in shipping expenses. Last year it cost about $50 to receive a movie on hard drive, compared with about $75 for film, Don Myers said.

The digital system also saves him labor. Movies previously arrived in five or six reels of film that he had to splice together, he said.

A typical drive-in season is the beginning of May until the end of September. It could have been much shorter this year without the digital projector, Don Myers said.

"There are only going to be about four or five movies on film this year. There are only going to be about 10 prints for those for the whole country," he said.

Ticket prices this year have increased from $5 to $6 for adults. Children ages 5 to 12 are charged $2; last year they were admitted for free. Youngsters 4 and under are still admitted free.

The Myers said they've received a lot of support on their Facebook page for their efforts to keep the drive-in open. Joan Myers said she hopes the new projection system will allow the business to stay open for many more years.