The Ocala Drive-In Theatre is just one of four in Florida still bringing generations of moviegoers together for the outdoor experience. Today only about 300 drive-in movie theaters remain in the United States from more than 4,000 theaters nationwide in the 1950s.
Ocala’s Drive-In Theatre is the only one of its kind in North Central Florida. Its unique operation stands out. A survivor in a fading industry that competes with streaming and convenience, the voucher-based business model, novelty and new movie releases keep the theater alive.
Curious newcomers and nostalgic regulars appreciate the theater’s outdoor setting. Customers bring blankets, sit in truck beds or lawn chairs to watch movies beneath the night sky.
This tradition has lasted decades for some families.
Vicki Worth, an Ocala resident, and her grandson, Easton Johnston, visit the drive-in a couple of times a month.
“I lived here my whole life,” Worth said. “I used to go as a little girl and bring his mom and then my three nieces. I have pictures of us over the years coming. So, it's a tradition for me.”
The theater also draws customers who did not grow up attending drive-ins.
Mariah Graper-Moore and her son, Asher, were visiting the Ocala Drive-In for the first time after moving to Belleview. They discovered the theater after driving past it.
“We're loving it,” Graper-Moore said. “It's great.”
Weeknight reruns draw smaller crowds, but employees say major releases still bring long lines.
Dalton Hensley, who has worked at the drive-in for about five months, said some fans of this theater model travel more than two hours to visit.
“I think it's because the drive-in is a dying medium in general,” Hensley said. “It's just cool to see something that's so old, because this place is 80-ish years old. And it's just a bit of a novelty.”
That novelty offers something streaming can’t.
“Streaming services usually have really set times for their products,” Hensley said. “You know, you'll buy a Netflix subscription, and in the next month, what you bought it for is gone. Here, we also hold it for a little bit longer than a month, and if it does really well, it can extend past that. It's just the novelty of going somewhere.”
Summer blockbuster releases also help bring crowds to the theater.
“My first weekend working here, I worked for the ‘Toy Story 5' drop,” Hensley said. “When I tell you, the line to this stand went out the window and went through for a solid five hours.”
The theater’s voucher system also sets it apart. Customers may pay slightly more for admission but receive a voucher to spend at the concession stand. This keeps the food sales high and helps sustain the business.
“When ‘Beetlejuice’ came out, the second one, one of my coworkers had told me that they literally did not stop until the doors were shut and they had to force people out because there were just so many people,” Hensley said. “People missed movies to get their food here. It's crazy.”
Busy movie releases can keep employees working late into the night.
Samantha Johnson, an employee of three years, said the biggest challenge they face is being short-staffed.
“Sometimes it gets a little busy and we don't have enough people, and then the hours,” Johnson said. “We don’t get out here till 1 or 2 a.m.”
She said late hours are necessary in the summer because the theater cannot show movies until it is dark enough for customers to see the screen.
Working after dark has also given employees stories about unusual experiences at the theater.
Hensley recalled a story involving the theater's owner, John Watzke, who told employees about a strange dream involving a young child. Watzke explained that he would hear voices in the kitchen when no one was there. Hensley said the employees later learned about a young boy who had died on the property before the drive-in was built.
“We had a medium come in one time,” Hensley said. “She said there was a lady in the flea market here. There's also a little boy chilling here.”
Hensley said the stories have made the theater feel different after hours.
“This place kind of scares me a little bit sometimes,” he said. “When you're here at night, and nobody's here, there's a weird aura.”
The stories are only one part of what makes the drive-in different from a traditional theater. Whether customers arrive because of childhood memories, a family tradition or simply curiosity, the Ocala Drive-In continues to offer an experience that goes beyond the movie itself.
Worth said Easton enjoys having the freedom to move around outside while the movie plays.
“He really likes it, especially here that cars can't come through,” she said. “You know, he loves just being able to move. For him, it’s the experience.”
She said that experience is more than the movie playing on the screen.
“It's about coming to the drive-in, being out in the open, under the sky and just feeling free,” she said.