NORTHUMBERLAND COUNTY, Pa. — Tucked behind the pine trees on a patch of grass in Northumberland County, two giant white screens stand tall.
Point Drive-in is a trip back in time to the early days of cinema. The theatre has shown hundreds of films since it opened in 1953 and the process hasn't changed much.
Pull your car through the gate, choose your parking spot and tune in your FM radio to hear the show.
"You come and you watch two features, you spend time with your family and friends, you have some good food and good munchies and stuff like that. You sit out under the stars and there's absolutely nothing better on a summer night," said David Renn, Owner of Point Drive-in Theatre.
Owner David Renn took a summer job at the theatre in 1989 with no intention of staying more than a few months. His boss at the time warned him.
"He said, 'you know, the theatre, it gets into your blood. It becomes a family.' I remember saying at that time, 'boy, I never want to do this for the rest of my life.' Thirty-four years later, I'm here and I've always told people, basically, the only way they're going to get me out of here is with a toe tag on," said Renn.
After shutdowns in movie production due to the pandemic, big films are starting to come back to the silver screen, but growing costs and a shrinking employee base are weighing heavy.
A weather event knocked down the theatre's third screen a few years ago, effectively cutting profits by 33%.
"Health issues have crept up a little bit and the whole movie business has changed. It looks like this might be our last year for it," Renn explained.
This summer the theatre is only showing movies on the weekends. Renn says he's watched generations of customers enter through the theatre gates and grow up with films under the stars. He'll play back those moments like a scene on the big screen.
"It's been hard. It's been hard over the years, but we thank everybody that's come out and made this part of their life. It'll be sad, but I know we will see them around different places. We just hope everybody can come out and have at least one last blast up here this year," said Renn.
The theatre's opening up this Memorial Day weekend with the return of a classic, showing Top Gun: Maverick on two screens. Renn says the sequel is a fitting way to kick off the theatre's final season.
He expects the last screenings at Point Drive-in to be sometime in late July.
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