As summer approaches, drive-in theaters are coming back to life. Some cinemas, including those in Saint-Hilaire, Orford and Saint-Eustache, did not wait for the first warm evenings to welcome moviegoers again.
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The Ciné-Parc St-Hilaire was the first to open its doors in mid-April. Those of Saint-Eustache and Orford followed suit last weekend.
“There were a lot of people for our opening on Friday, but we really had a great night on Saturday,” says Ciné-Parc Orford co-owner François Pradella.
“It has to be said that we showed two very popular films: Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, but also Super Mario Bros., which is still working very well five weeks after its release.
The Ciné-Parc Belle Neige (in the Laurentians) should resume its activities around May 18th. The opening in Chandler in Gaspésie is planned for the end of May.
- Listen to the interview with Kevin Patenaude, co-owner of the Ciné-Parc St-Hilaire, on Yasmine Abdelfadel’s show QUB radio :
Nice programming
While drive-in theaters experienced a resurgence at the beginning of the pandemic, the numerous postponements of Hollywood films have played a trick on them, sometimes for three years. Last year’s season got off to a good start, but the lack of new films meant that viewership dropped towards the end of the summer.
“The good news is that we have a lot of good films throughout the season this year,” emphasizes François Pradella. We also have lively Quebec movies like Coeur de slush, which wasn’t the case last year. I believe this will be our first normal season since the pandemic. Health restrictions were lifted last year, but we were still feeling the impact of COVID on the Hollywood film schedule. There we have the feeling that it will be more normal.