Drive-in movies are back
Tors’ big screen to return after nine-month hiatus
IN a sign that life is returning to normal in the North, the owners of Tors Drive-in have announced they will screen their first movie in nine months on December 10.
When Steve and Debbie Snell closed the gates to their popular Tors Drive-in in March for a touch of maintenance little did they realise the dramatic turn of events that would follow.
First COVID-19 forced the closure of all cinemas nationwide, then the big film studios began pushing back start dates for their blockbusters.
Finally, in July the Charters Towers battlers decided to draw the line in the sand on their 24-year fight to compete with the ratepayer-funded
World Theatre. This week’s announcement that they will be re- opening the gates follows months of discussions with a number of the local councillors.
“Council recently resolved that in the future the World Theatre cinemas will operate t more as a community service in the truer sense, and less as a competitive, commercial operation,” the couple said.
“This significant step should enable us to operate and program more easily, as behind-the-scenes planning is the core of any cinema.
“And we want to thank those councillors and staff who made the effort to discuss the complex issues con
cerning both parties rational, open-minded mutually respectful way.”
The Snells have spent the past week chasing fresh films for those eager to show their support.
“We’re now able to program more easily and we’ll have a better chance of screening good content. Some of the competitive obstacles we faced before are
in a and
disappearing,” Debbie said. “It’s a fragile business, and many people don’t understand how much so, but that’s why we don’t have four or five operators ... in town.”
Already the couple has secured Cats and Dogs 3: Paws Unite! and The Witches as a double feature for the opening weekend.
Future programming will be dependent upon what
movies are being released by the studios, with many film premieres including movies such as Peter Rabbit 2 and the James Bond thriller No Time to Die delayed until 2021.
“We’re in uncharted waters with film availability,” Debbie said of film programming for the next few months.
“Every movie that was scheduled for March was canned.”