Head to Westfield South Shore in Bay Shore and bring some popcorn: a drive-in movie series is coming to the mall this spring.
The Movie Lot Drive-In series, organized by marketing and event production company Starfish Junction Productions, is a pop-up movie series showing blockbusters and new release films outdoors on a 52-foot screen.
“What we’re trying to do is make it an experience,” company owner Andy Calimano said. “What you don’t get from watching these movies on TV is we have families that come in; they’ll back up their trucks and place an air mattress in the back. They’ll get the kids in there, and for two hours, the family is just together – no gadgets or games. It’s just a great time.”
This year’s season will kick off April 9 with a double-feature of “The Croods: A New Age” and later “Scream,” for the film’s 25th anniversary. The following day, locals can catch the original “Ghostbusters” (complete with an in-person visit from Ghostbusters cosplayers), or check out the showing of “Impractical Jokers: The Movie” later on. To celebrate opening weekend, every car will receive one carton of popcorn, courtesy of Stew Leonard’s, Calimano said.
Each movie will be displayed in the parking lot behind Dick’s Sporting Goods. The area holds up to 130 vehicles, with social-distancing measures. Radio frequencies are used to play sound in each vehicle, meaning that viewers can tune into a specific radio station for the synced audio.
Movies will be screened bi-weekly on Fridays and Saturdays. Depending on the success of the summer series, movies may also be streamed Thursdays and Sundays in the winter, Calimano said. He said the company has been in communication with studios in an effort to premiere brand-new flicks.
The Movie Lot Drive-In series got its start last year at the Smith Haven Mall in Lake Grove. By the end of summer 2020, Calimano said, the company had learned the ropes and understood how to improve the series for participants.
Just this month, Starfish Junction moved their location from Deer Park to Bay Shore.
On Monday, Feb. 22, New York State Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced that movie theaters in New York City would be opened with a limited audience capacity. Movie theaters across Long Island reopened at 25 percent capacity back in October 2020. Theaters shut down in mid-March 2020 due to the pandemic.
Tickets for each showing are $40 per car and can be purchased at movielotdrivein.com.
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