Report: Ford-Wyoming Drive-In was top-grossing movie theater in nation over weekend – Detroit Free Press

Ford Wyoming Drive In always has double features in Dearborn, Mich. photographed on Wednesday, June 24, 2020. (Photo: Kimberly P. Mitchell, Detroit Free Press)

At 70, the Ford-Wyoming Drive-In in Dearborn deserves respect just for its seniority. But now it's got another kudo: top-grossing movie theater in the country over the weekend.

Of the locations actually open at this stage of thecoronavirus pandemic, the historic outdoor venue in Detroit was number one with $127,300 in box-office business, according to Deadline.

The rest of thetop five theaters one in the Canadian province of Quebec, two in California, and one in Ohio also were drive-ins.

Deadline, anonline entertainment news site, creditedan unidentified industry report for its figures. It reported that a whopping160 of the top-grossing 201 cinemas were drive-ins.

By comparison, the highest-earning indoor multiplexes were the Megaplex Theatresin South Jordan, Utah,with $14,600 and the Palladium 19 in San Antonio, Texas, with $14,600.

Representatives of the Ford-Wyoming declined to comment.

While indoor movie theaters are starting to open their doors nationally, they continue to face a lack of new movies from Hollywood, which stopped its pipeline in March when the threat of COVID-19 prompted massive shutdowns of businesses.

New releases are scheduled to return in July, beginning July 10 with the thriller "Unhinged" starring Russell Crowe. The potential blockbusters arrive later in the month with Disney's live-action version of "Mulan" coming July 24 and the sci-fi drama "Tenet" slated forJuly 31.

Indoor movie theaters remain closed in Michigan under Gov. Gretchen Whitmer's orders aimed at limiting the pandemic's spread.

More: Emagine postpones Juneteenth festival after legal threat, chairman slams Whitmer

More: Dearborn's Ford-Wyoming drive-in theater shut down again by police

Emagine Royal Oak, a multiplex in suburban Detroit,announced plans last week to launcha Juneteenth Film Festival in defiance of state orders, but it scrapped the event a day before it was to begin.

Emagine Entertainmentsaid it was cancelling because the Department of Attorney General had given notice that continuing with the festival would result in criminal charges.

Ford-Wyomingreopenedit doors on May 28the day the governor's order originally was set to expire and was promptly told to cease and desist by the Dearborn police. Days before, the order had been extended to June 12.

Ford Wyoming Drive In always has double features in Dearborn, Mich. photographed on Wednesday, June 24, 2020. (Photo: Kimberly P. Mitchell, Detroit Free Press)

On June 1, Whitmer lifted the stay-home order ahead of schedule. Ford-Wyoming reopened June 3.

Drive-ins are experiencing a resurgence in popularity, but numbers on exactly how much they're earning aren't easily accessible.

A co-owner of the fifth top-grossing theater named by Deadline the Aut-O-Rama Twin Drive-In of North Ridgeville, Illinois told Cleveland.com thatbusiness has been good, but that the $60,100 gross cited by the online sitewas "about three times what we actually did."

Ford-Wyominghas five screens and a 1,700-car capacity. Rules posted on its Facebook page explain the COVID-19 safety measures Itis running at half capacity, with one car allowed between two speaker poles.

In addition, it currently isn't using its regular drive-in speakers for sound. Instead, customers can use theircar radios or a portable radio.

Face masks are required for trips to restrooms and the concession stand.

Ford-Wyoming'scurrent schedule of double features includes recent releases like "Bad Boys for Life,"family fare like "Trolls World Tour," a new low-budget Michigan-made horror film titled "Wretched," and the 1981 cult classic scary movie by metro Detroit's own Sam Raimi, "The Evil Dead."

On Saturday, the drive-in will be featuring two Garth Brook concertsthat are being billed as "a drive-in concert experience."Tickets for the special event are being sold through Ticketmaster.

Contact Detroit Free Press pop culture critic Julie Hinds at jhinds@freepress.com.

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Report: Ford-Wyoming Drive-In was top-grossing movie theater in nation over weekend - Detroit Free Press

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