The Holiday Twin is one of seven drive-ins left in Colorado. The United States was once home to more than 4,000 drive-ins in 1958. Today, fewer than 300 remain.
FORT COLLINS, Colo. — The projector is digital, there’s online ticketing and the sound now runs through FM radio. But not much else has changed at the Holiday Twin drive-in since Wes Webb bought the joint in 1979.
Even general manager, CJ Cisar, looks true to the era, sporting a mullet and metal framed sunglasses. Cisar is in the movie business, but he mostly sells nostalgia.
“You can go watch a movie anywhere. You can watch it at your house, you can watch it in your car, you can watch it on your roof, wherever you have an iPhone,” said Cisar. “But there's something different that we have here.”
The Holiday Twin — located at South Overland Trail and West Drake Road — is one of seven drive-ins left in Colorado. In 1958, more than 4,000 drive-ins opened for business nationwide. Today, only 283 remain. Other drive-ins still serve Commerce City, Buena Vista, Pueblo, Montrose, Monte Vista and Delta, Colorado.
“The big reason that drive-ins have disappeared is the cost of the land. You get offered what a drive-in would make in five or 10 years in one go,” said Cisar, who started managing the Fort Collins theater at 18.
Originally named the Starlight, the drive-in opened in 1968. In 1975, the owner built a second screen and changed the name to the Holiday Twin. Today, the Holiday Twin is open every night from May until September, as well as Friday and Saturday nights in the late-spring and early-fall.
Cisar started helping at the Holiday Twin in 1999, when his mom, Stephanie Webb married Wes Webb. The family lived in Salt Lake City, where Webb operated six other drive-ins. When he was 15, Cisar learned how to project 35 millimeter films.
Webb’s other drive-ins sat on leased land in northern Utah. When the leases expired, landlords opted to sell. The Holiday Twin was the only drive-in Webb owned down to the dirt.
“I treasure this place because it is the last one that we have,” said Cisar, who came to Fort Collins when he was 18 to manage the drive-in.
Since then, he and his brother have managed the theater at various times.
Wes Webb died in 2019. His wife Stephanie Webb still helps to run the drive-in.
For drive-in fanatics like Jeff Ernster, chasing the last drive-ins has become an obsession.
Ernster works in facility management at a school in Laramie, Wyoming. He spends his summers traveling from drive-in to drive-in.
“It's so much different than a regular indoor theater where you just get there, get your stuff, sit down and leave. Here, it's a social event. It’s like a family for me.” said Ernster, 52.
Last year, Ernster clocked 44,000 miles on the road. He visits the Holiday Twin over 100 nights per summer. Ernster’s miniature pinscher, Lady, and his cat, Salem, always come with. Salem has a litter box in the front seat.
Over the past two years, two drive-ins he used to frequent have closed, the Idan-ha Drive-in and the Teton Drive-In, both in Idaho.
“It stinks. You wish more would open, but I know the financial part isn’t there for everyone,” said Ernster.
When studios first release a movie, they keep the majority of ticket revenue, up to 75%, said Cisar.
The longer he keeps a movie, the higher percentage he gets to keep from ticket sales. Over the years, Cisar has developed a knack for picking movies that keep crowds coming for several weeks. In addition to blockbusters like “Barbie,” cult classics from “E.T.” to “Beetlejuice” and “Jaws,” often make cameos in the Fall.
The theater earns the bulk of its revenue from concessions. Popcorn costs $8 for a jumbo. The stand also sells beer, cotton candy, nachos and grilled food.
Mandi Lundgren, 22, visited the Holiday Twin twice last summer after moving to Fort Collins. In May, she took her date to see “Final Destination” and “Sinners” from the bed of a pickup truck.
“Every time I mention there’s a drive-in here, everybody’s like ‘oh my gosh, we have to go to that,’” said Lundgren. She likes the theater’s “cute aesthetic.”
Cisar does most of the maintenance himself — from mowing to painting — but the theater’s charm lies in its lack of luster. The box office and concession stand are both original — white, accented the color of puckered lips.
Despite encroaching development, Cisar said he has no plans to sell.
“The drive-in means something to this community,” said Cisar. “It's a staple.”
Tickets at the Holiday Twin cost $12 for adults and $9 for children and seniors. All tickets include a double feature with an intermission. Showtimes correspond to sunset.
