If you take a trip to the Blue Moon Drive-In Theatre in Gu-Win, Alabama, chances are you’ll see the same face behind the counter, scooping popcorn, pouring drinks and passing out candy with every visit.
“Most of the time, anybody that comes in here can tell you that it’s just me standing behind this thing,” said drive-in owner Chris Curtis. “It’s safe to say I’m the only employee, but friends help.”
Curtis has been running the drive-in for nearly 30 years since opening it with his father in 1996. As one of the few remaining drive-ins left in the region, Curtis said most of his patrons come from Gu-Win and Jasper, Alabama, as well as the Columbus and Tupelo areas.
But after pushing through the pandemic, the rise of streaming services, and most recently, suffering a lightning strike – Curtis said this season has been the toughest yet.
Scattered storms brought lightning down at the drive-in two weeks ago, damaging the air conditioning units, cash registers, TV monitors and most critically, the projectors.
The drive-in was closed for a week after the storm hit, and Curtis spent that time removing dead wiring, tracking down rare projector parts and dealing with the lingering smell of burnt plastic.
“I haven’t had much sleep in a week, but I believe it’ll all work,” Curtis said. “It just takes troubleshooting and some time.”
Since announcing the temporary closure, Curtis has seen an outpouring of support on social media, with patrons offering to donate money to help cover the costs of repairs.
But Curtis said charity isn’t what will save the drive-in from permanent closure.
“I don’t want GoFundMe’s or things like that,” Curtis said. “I can handle it, just as long as you come watch a movie. We can only stay open if people come. We’ll make sure it stays open as long as people want to come out.”
‘I want people to still care about drive-ins’
Curtis’ daughter, Alexandria, has grown up at the Blue Moon. She said this year has been the worst she’s ever seen.
“My dad always said that he believes a business should be able to support itself, so if it can’t keep itself open, then it probably shouldn’t be,” Alexandria said. “…This has been my whole life, and I’ve seen it through lots of seasons. I think this year has probably been the worst.”
Chris agrees.
“Our peak years ran from 1996 all the way up to 2019,” he said. “Every year just got better and better. 2024 was probably the best year we’ve ever had.”
Just last year, the drive-in saw about four weeks of the lot at its max capacity of 250 cars. This year, Chris said he only sees between 50 and 60 cars on their best nights.
“We just haven’t had many consecutively good movies,” he said. “That’s why I’m sort of trying to change the business to be more of a unique experience instead of just people coming out and watching movies because people can watch movies on their TV all day every day.”
To compete with the convenience of streaming at home, Chris is doubling down on nostalgia. When new releases are lacking, he turns to showing retro classics – “Risky Business,” “Gremlins” and the original “Beetlejuice,” to name a few. He’s also revamping the concession area with colorful lights, hand-painted signs, a working jukebox and memorabilia from the old Gu-Win Drive-In, which stood on the same lot from 1956 to 1986.
“It’s something I just came up with recently, so I haven’t gotten too far into it,” Chris said. “But I got to make this place a little different, just give it more of a nostalgic feeling.”
After a week of repairing and planning, Chris re-opened the drive-in Friday night with a double feature of Freakier Friday and Fantastic Four: First Steps on the front screen, and a single-feature of Naked Gun on the back screen.
“I do hope people come, but I’ve always hoped people would come,” he said. “I want people to still care about drive-ins, but in this day and age, people … have all kinds of things to do.”
Bucket-list nostalgia
Vylene Yoder of Lowndes County visited the Blue Moon for the first time earlier this year. Yoder said it was a “bucket-list item” to experience a drive-in with her family.
“The whole place was so family-oriented and felt so safe and peaceful,” Yoder said. “It’s such a godsend because it’s something fun and affordable I can take my whole family to do.”
Her daughter, Breelyn Yoder, 17, said it was one of the most “authentic” experiences she’s had in a while. Her sister, Samara Yoder, 11, shared the sentiment.
“When we were watching the movie, It felt like we were in it, like we were there,” Samara said.
Tiffany Hamlin of Monroe County, a regular patron of the drive-in since 2017, said the hourlong drive is more than worth it.
“For us it’s the nostalgia and the fact that these drive-ins barely exist anymore,” Hamlin said. “… It’s just a really neat experience you can’t get anywhere else. You can’t get the same feeling from a movie theater.”
Hamlin shared fond memories of her visits to the Blue Moon, recalling it as the place she first introduced her children to The Goonies and one of the few places to offer her family a safe community during the pandemic.
“I think it would have a huge impact on the community if they were gone, so I hope that people go and experience the drive-in,” Hamlin said. “… There’s absolutely nothing like it.”
With the drive-in’s 30th anniversary approaching next year, Alexandria said she hopes to see her son, Christopher Henderson, grow up in the drive-in too.
“This would be four generations here with my grandfather, my dad, myself and now my son,” Chris said. “… It means a lot to my dad, so it means a lot to me, and I’d like to see it continue for another 30 years.”
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Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 41 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
