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Movieland at Boulevard and Square. (Photo: 8News photographer Jacob Sexton)
RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC)— People will soon have another option to watch movies at the theater.
Chief Operating Officer of Movieland, Joe Masher, said he’s planning to transform part of the Movieland parking lot into a drive-in movie experience.
He said he’d use about half of the 160 space parking lot off of Arthur Ashe Boulevard to make this happen.
Moviegoers will have the opportunity to pay for the drive-in movie per car and use the app to order food to get delivered to their vehicle.
Masher said people can still choose to watch movies inside the theater. Most of the movies showing inside will be available for the outdoor screenings.
“People are still striving for out of home entertainment and movies are still the most affordable form,” he said.
Bow Tie Cinemas requested a zoning permit to show movies outdoors at Movieland—something Masher said hasn’t been done since the 70s.
The Richmond City Council has to sign off on the zoning permit request. If expedited, people could attend the drive-in movie theater as soon as April 1, 2021.
Todd Schall-Vess, a consultant with the Virginia French Film Festival, said the drive-movie theater would be the perfect match for their event this year. The French Film Festival was canceled last year because of the coronavirus pandemic. It’s impossible to hold the festival indoors while maintaining all of the Covid-19 regulations, so Schall-Vess said they’re working with Movieland to hold the festival at their drive-in theater this year.
“It allows you to provide safety, distancing and still the opportunity to see the films. It’s probably the only way that it could be done,” he said.
