‘Twisters’ Has Become the Perfect Storm for Drive-In Theaters

As a fictional “once-in-a-generation tornado outbreak” hits Oklahoma in the sequel to the 1990s thriller classic “Twister,” Americans are heading to the best place to ride it out. Not a storm shelter, but drive-in movie theaters, which are seeing a wave of renewed interest around the country with the release of “Twisters.”

“Twisters,” in a spoiler-free nutshell, is exactly what you’d expect from a sequel to a ’90s action flick. It’s two hours of popcorn-guzzling Ram product placement, goofy physics, and Okie pandering with a stadium country soundtrack. But it hits important nails on the head, with better-written characters than the original film (at least after the opening sequence) and a satisfying ending. The $25 I spent to see it in IMAX was not regretted. But now, I kinda wish I’d joined the crowds that are flocking to see “Twisters” tear up the drive-in.

“Twisters” is tied to the drive-in experience by a scene in the first film where a huge F4 tornado strikes a drive-in theater during a nighttime showing of “The Shining.” It’s only natural that fans of the original would want to immerse themselves in that terror by seeing its sequel at such a venue, with some people waiting literally years for the chance. Evidently, their numbers are great enough that “Twisters” is stealing screen time from supposedly bigger releases.

“We were surprised by the crowd. Bigger than any Thursday we had and actually the weekend was the biggest weekend we’ve had that I can remember,” said the owner of the Winchester Drive-In Theatre in Oklahoma City to KOCO. “We’re showing it this weekend with ‘Deadpool and Wolverine,'” he continued. “We’re gonna probably do that again next weekend ’cause they’re so popular movies. [sic]

“Folks are so excited that it’s an Oklahoma movie, made here about Oklahoma. There was storms up in Edmond and north Oklahoma City that never came down here. We had a few sprinkles that kinda cooled things off, but it was a beautiful night. And the flashes behind the screen were just… It was actually kinda magical.”

While this is exactly the response you’d expect of a film that romanticizes the Sooner State, it’s not just Okies that are turning out. The 66 Drive-In Theatre in fellow Tornado Alley state Missouri said on Facebook that it’s giving the film an extended run after having to turn away cars on opening night. Even outside tornado country, near the west coast of the United States, the 99W Drive-In in Newberg, Oregon announced that it “will be funneling out to the drive-in [for] several more weeks.”

The bump in traffic will no doubt be welcome to the dwindling number of drive-in theaters, which Statista indicates declined by 35% between the year before the original “Twister” film’s release in 1996 and 2020. These old-timey moviegoing experiences saw brief resurgences during the days of COVID distancing, but it’s hard to say what future this American institution has once Baby Boomers stop seeing new movies.

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