What time do drive-in movies start?
Most drive-in movies start around dusk, when the sky is dark enough to see the screen. Dusk is not a promise, though: some theaters start earlier. Plan to be parked by sunset, and check the theater's own start time on the day you go.
The words we use
Sunset, dusk and full dark
- Sunset is the moment the top of the sun drops below the horizon. The sky is still light.
- Dusk, or full dark, is about 25 minutes after sunset, when the sun is 6 degrees below the horizon. The sky is dark enough to show a movie. Weather apps call this the end of civil twilight.
Every theater page shows sunset and full dark for that theater's exact spot. Your phone may give a slightly different time if it is set to a different town.
Where a theater tells us its own start time, its page says so first. Where it does not, the page says that too. Either way, the theater has the last word.
What we found
When drive-ins really start their movies
We took start times the theaters posted on their own websites in summer and September 2026. For each one we worked out sunset and full dark for that night and that place. The last column shows how far the posted start was from full dark. Earliest start first.
| Theater | Date | Posted start | Sunset | Full dark | Movie started |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Capri Drive-In, Coldwater, MI | Sep 11 | 8:00 pm | 7:57 pm | 8:26 pm | 26 min before full dark |
| Moonlite Drive-In, Brookville, PA | Sep 18 | 7:25 pm | 7:21 pm | 7:49 pm | 24 min before full dark |
| Dependable Drive-In, Moon Township, PA | Sep 11 | 7:50 pm | 7:37 pm | 8:05 pm | 15 min before full dark |
| Stateline Drive-In, Elizabethton, TN | Sep 4 | 8:10 pm | 7:53 pm | 8:19 pm | 10 min before full dark |
| Skyview Drive-In, Lancaster, OH | Sep 4 | 8:16 pm | 7:57 pm | 8:25 pm | 9 min before full dark |
| Tiffin Drive-In, Tiffin, OH | Sep 11 | 8:15 pm | 7:49 pm | 8:17 pm | 3 min before full dark |
| Cherry Bowl Drive-In, Honor, MI | mid-Sep | 8:30 to 8:45 pm | 8:01 pm | 8:31 pm | right around full dark |
| Jericho Drive-In, Glenmont, NY | Sep 11 | 7:45 pm | 7:13 pm | 7:41 pm | 3 min after full dark |
| Parkway Drive-In, Maryville, TN | Sep 4 | 8:30 pm | 7:59 pm | 8:25 pm | 4 min after full dark |
| Starlite Drive-In, Amelia, OH | Sep 18 | 8:15 pm | 7:41 pm | 8:07 pm | 8 min after full dark |
| Sandell Drive-In, Clarendon, TX | Jul 25 | about 9:30 pm | 8:52 pm | 9:20 pm | 10 min after full dark |
| MoonStruck Drive-In, Houston, TX | Sep 17 | 8:00 pm | 7:24 pm | 7:48 pm | 11 min after full dark |
| Parkway Drive-In, Maryville, TN | Sep 11 | 8:30 pm | 7:49 pm | 8:15 pm | 15 min after full dark |
| Garden Drive-In, Hunlock Creek, PA | mid-Sep | 8:00 pm "or as darkness permits" | 7:09 pm | 7:36 pm | 24 min after full dark |
| Birdsong Drive-In, Camden, TN | early Sep | 8:15 pm, all season | 7:15 pm | 7:41 pm | 34 min after full dark |
- The typical movie started about 30 minutes after sunset.
- 6 of 15 started before full dark, by 3 to 26 minutes.
- Early starts were most common in September. Many theaters set one clock time for the week, and it gets dark a little earlier every night.
Pre-show
Theaters that play ads or previews first
Here is what these theaters, or their visitors, say about what plays before the movie:
- Stardust Drive-In, Watertown TN: The movie starts at the posted time. The pre-show and previews play before it.
- Sundance Drive-In, Oregon OH: The pre-show runs about 10 minutes.
- Summer Drive-In, Plymouth MI: Reviewers in 2025 say pre-show ads ran 15 to 40 minutes.
- GQT Huntington Drive-In, Huntington IN: One reviewer says trivia and movie quotes play before the movie.
- Parkway Drive-In, Maryville TN: The movie starts about 40 minutes after sunset.
- Bay Drive-In, Alexandria Bay NY: The first movie starts at about sunset.