Digital Film Technology Threatens Drive-In Theaters With Closure

NELIGH, NE - SEPTEMBER 27: Janet Kallhoff (R) chats with Colby Snodgrass in the concession stand at the TK/Starlite Drive-In Theater on September 27, 2013 in Neligh, Nebraska. The theater, which opened in 1952, is one of only two drive-in theaters left in Nebraska, a state that once had almost 50. At the peak of their popularity in the late 1950s there were between 4 and 5 thousand drive-in theaters in the United States, there are now only about 350. As movie studios begin to phase out distribution of 35mm film prints in favor of digital media, the high cost drive-in theaters face when switching to a digital projection system is expected to force more of these theaters to close. The TK/ Starlite installed a digital projector earlier this year. (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images)