Celebrate 90 years of drive-in theaters at these West Tennessee screens

JACKSON, Tenn. — Pass the popcorn! This week marks a special anniversary for a nostalgic form of entertainment.

The first drive-in movie theater opened in New Jersey on June 6, 1933.

90 years later, many screen across the U.S. are keeping drive-ins alive, even here in West Tennessee.

In Alamo, the Tennessee Safari Drive-In Theater, which opened in 2021, offers a single screen with capacity for up to 150 vehicles. This weekend, you can watch “Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse” at 8 p.m. on Friday and Saturday. It’s located on the property of the Tennessee Safari Park at 618 Conley Road. Gates open at 7 p.m., and tickets are $12 per adult (13 and up) or $10 per child (ages 2-12).

The Birdsong Drive-In is located in Camden at 907 Shiloh Church Road. Opened in 2007, the drive-in has two screens on-site, usually offering double features on each screen. On Friday and Saturday, you can see “Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse” and “Fast X” on Screen 1, or “The Little Mermaid” and “Guardians of the Galaxy: Vol. 3” on Screen 2, with shows on each screen beginning at 8:30 p.m. The box office opens at 7 p.m., and tickets are $10 for ages 12 and up, $5 for kids ages 6-11, and children 5 and under can get in free.

Both the Tennessee Safari Drive-In Theater and Birdsong Drive-In offer concessions on-site. Visit the links above for more information on purchasing tickets or details on upcoming showtimes.

Additionally, a third West Tennessee drive-in theater is located in Memphis. The Malco Summer Drive-In is located at 5310 Summer Avenue in Memphis, offering four screens. Click here for more information.

For more local news, click here.