Now this is the kind of news that I enjoy sharing. The Sunset Drive-In Cinema opened in Laredo TX last September, but I just now noticed it. As reported by the Laredo Morning Times, the Sunset is the culmination of Martin and Priscilla Resendez’s dream, inspired by drive-ins they visited during trips to Central Texas.
The Sunset lot is so new it doesn’t really show up on Google Maps, and its location on Francisco Guerra Jr. Blvd. is so remote that there’s no decent Google Street View yet. But the drive-in has been showing movies at a steady pace. According to its web site, tonight’s double feature will be “Sixteen Candles” and “The Breakfast Club.” Tomorrow night brings two showings of “Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs.”
If you’re anywhere near Laredo, be sure to drop in and help support this great throwback to the drive-ins of old.
The Copperas Cove Leader Press reported that a local Realtors group owner has refurbished the old Joy Drive-In screen, which now faces the Joy RV Park. It looks like they hold Friday and Saturday movie nights for the park residents.
But the article said that owner Jodie Nobles is also planning to add “about 30” spaces for cars so the drive-in can be a true, y’know, drive-in. (That’s more like it!) She hopes to get it all running by January 2026.
Bryan TX is hosting a Valentine’s Day weekend drive-in showing of “Top Gun: Maverick” at the soccer lot of the Bryan Regional Athletic Complex on Saturday, Feb. 15. You’ve got to be a grown-up (18+), and you have to bring cash ($10 per vehicle). The City of Bryan web site has more details, including the promise of a family-friendly “Lilo & Stitch” drive-in double feature on May 16.
That’s all good news, though it has stirred my old existential question – what is a drive-in theater? Should this qualify? Bryan has been doing this since at least 2022, apparently always in the same place. The photo from its announcement appears to be an inflatable screen, which isn’t a surprise given the multipurpose uses of its location. It’s running multiple drive-in nights per year, though less often than once a month.
That’s a pretty good argument in favor of including what I’d call the Bryan Drive-In as part of my list of active drive-in theaters. For example, the Blue Starlite in Austin just two hours down the road uses inflatable screens…
(Oh dear. When I went to get a link, I found that the Blue Starlite, which had shown movies as recently as January 2025, is on “extended hiatus from public showings so the creators can focus on their family during a difficult time.” Good luck and hurry back.)
Anyway, if inflatable screens aren’t disqualifying, how often does a location have to show movies to be on the list? The Highway 2 in Manistique MI scheduled only four nights last year. Heck, the Roadium in Torrance CA is mostly a flea market that shows movies once or twice a season to satisfy its zoning or something.
To include as many drive-ins as possible while omitting the once-a-year pop-ups, I’ll try to define it this way: If you’ve got a permanent screen like the Roadium or the Highway 2, any regularly scheduled showings are sufficient to remain an active drive-in theater. If it’s a temporary screen, then maybe four nights a year should be the minimum? I’ll need to consider where to draw the line. What do you think?
