Movie studios say no more to Starlite Drive-In’s carload pricing

For years, it was somewhat of a tradition to cram as many people as possible into a car to go to the Starlite Drive-In.

When the theater offered per-carload pricing in the early spring and fall, guests would pay a flat fee to get into the drive-in, regardless of how many were in the car.

Those days are over.

Now everyone will pay individually to attend movies at the Starlite Drive-In, a practice that in the past was reserved for peak summer months.

To counteract the removal of the per-carload policy, the drive-in has decreased ticket prices – admission is now $6 for those 12 and older and $3 for children 5-11 years old. The theater has done occasional carload pass giveaways, but only on select occasions.

Abolishing the per-carload pricing system was at the suggestion of movie studios, who “were giving us a hard time selling us product” with the per-carload system, said Chuck Bucinski, owner of the Starlite Drive-In.

The change was made earlier this year.

Bucinski said attendance at Starlite Drive-In has generally been “very good” this year.

“We had a couple of bad months mainly because of weather – April was a bad month because of rain and product, and August was not a very good month because of the movies available,” Bucinski said. “As long as the weather is good, we’re banging. When it’s raining or it’s cold, people don’t come out as much.”

The theater will be open at least through November this year, and Bucinski is considering staying open until mid-December, to be able to screen “Star Wars: The Last Jedi.”

“You never know with Kansas weather – we could still have 50-60 degree weather days,” Bucinski said. “Unless there’s a big ice storm or a snowstorm, we’re opening. If it’s snowing a bit, we will play. It doesn’t affect the screen.”

Starlite does offer in-car space heaters that guests can use to stay warm in the winter months, Bucinski said. Heaters, which plug into the in-car cigarette lighter, are available at the theater’s snack bar.

For more information on Starlite, visit www.starlitefun.com or www.facebook.com/starlitewichita.

This story was originally published October 19, 2017 at 10:51 AM with the headline "Movie studios say no more to Starlite Drive-In’s carload pricing."