A mockup of the Queens Drive-In at Flushing Meadows Corona Park (Courtesy of Rooftop Films)
Aug. 11, 2020 By Allie Griffin
The inaugural Queens Drive-In launches this Thursday in Flushing Meadows Corona Park where residents can safely watch new films and old favorites from the comfort of their car.
The drive-in series kicks off Thursday at 7:30 p.m. with a screening of IFC Films’ Tesla — directed by Michael Almereyda and starring Ethan Hawke — on the grounds of the New York Hall of Science (NYSCI), located at 47-01 111th St.
The movie series, organized by Rooftop Films in partnership with NYSCI and the Museum of the Moving Image (MoMI), will run Wednesdays through Sundays from August through October.
Rooftop Films — as its name suggests — typically hosts movie screenings on rooftops and outdoor areas across the city, but is throwing it back to the ’50s and ’60s with drive-in screenings for its 24th season, in light of the coronavirus pandemic.
Other movies in the Queens Drive-In lineup include the documentary thriller The Last Out, the family favorite The Muppet Movie, the New York premiere of Summer White (Blanco de Verano), the Academy Award-winning Mad Max: Fury Road and Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey.
Tickets for screenings cost $35 per car, with up to five passengers per car. Members of Rooftop Films, NYSCI or MoMI will receive a 15 percent discount.
A portion of every ticket sale will be donated to non-profit organizations that serve the hardest-hit communities in Queens.
Beginning later this month, free screenings will also be available through the Queens Borough President Office.
Rooftop Films also started a similar series in Brooklyn, the Brooklyn Drive-In, on the pier of The Brooklyn Army Terminal, which launched last month.
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3 Comments
Queens never actually had a real drive-in theatre of its own. The nearest were on Sunrise Highway in Valley Stream (Nassau County) and in the Bronx near the Whitestone Bridge.
How can you watch a movie with 5 people in the car and you’re one of the 3 sitting in the back seat. I hope smoking weed is prohibited especially since its in Corona. Smoke particles can travel very far.
35 dollars to park your car and watch a movie is to expensive for the area. Very unfair to the local community.