Melbourne's Lunar Drive-In Cinema closing July 9

June: Lunar confirms its last night will be July 9, site to be redeveloped

"Ernest Hemingway once wrote, 'The world is a fine place and worth fighting for.' I agree with the second part." - Morgan Freeman's character William Somerset, in the film Seven.

Alas, we're running out of drive-in cinemas to fight for, and it's not clear people would bother to answer the call to arms.

And so, another iconic drive-in venue falls to property values, land taxes and rising food costs, joining the many that have closed since Australia's very first drive-in – a Hoyts – opened in February, 1954. The second, 'Skyline' in the Melbourne suburb of Burwood, is remembered today with a drive-in-themed playground [↗].

Lunar, in Dandenong, was among the first 10 in Australia, having opened in 1956.

The first film shown at Lunar was 1952's Assignment – Paris! [↗], shown above.

According to Drive-ins Down Under [↗], there have been hundreds of drive-ins around Australia. It lists descriptions of 61 locations in Victoria, 12 in NSW, 24 in Qld, 7 in SA, and one in WA.

Sadly, that website also says the Lunar drive-in "has been experiencing solid growth for years, proving that drive-ins are still relevant in the era of personal devices, streaming and social media".

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Despite that solid growth – 400,000 visitors per year, they say – the costs were clearly just too high to keep operating.

“Fifteen acres of land ... that’s hard to justify when there’s no one here in the daytime and we only operate a few hours each night,” Owner David Kilderry told 7News.

“The drive-in concept is still sound, it will work, but not necessarily in locations that are the Toorak of Australia’s industrial area, which we are here in Dandenong.”

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Lunar's last night of business will be on Sunday July 9, with 7pm screenings of Austin Powers: Goldmember and the new Indiana Jones film, The Dial of Destiny.

“We’re going to live in people’s memories for a long time,” Kilderry said.

Australia's remaining drive-in theatres

January 10, 2023: Lunar Drive-In Cinema to close mid-year following sale

Australia's largest drive-in cinema site will shut down in mid-2023.

Melbourne's Lunar Drive-In, located in Dandenong, was purchased by the Pellicano Group in December, following its sale in response to surging land taxes in the suburb.

The site is expected to receive an industrial fit-out in the future, with proximity to other business parks in Melbourne's south-east.

Lunar Drive-In owner David Kilderry told the Pakenham Gazette it was a loss for the region.

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"To be able to provide low-cost movies for the South-East Melbourne, particularly for families and young people, created an opportunity for low-cost entertainment where young people can come with their cars and enjoy a night supervised," he said.

Our earlier story, below, continues unchanged.

Jordan Hickey

November, 2022: Melbourne's Lunar Drive-In Cinema set to close following sale

The future of Australia’s largest and longest running drive-in cinema, Dandenong's Lunar Drive-In, is uncertain with owners offering the 15-acre site for sale.

The sale of Melbourne's Lunar Drive-In follows years of easing audience numbers, with owner and film historian David Kilderry citing changes both in viewing methods – such as streaming – and the type of film offerings from Hollywood in its 66-year career.

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Melbourne's Dromana 2 drive-in features an electric vehicle charger

Located in Dandenong South, the four-screen Lunar Cinema can accommodate up to 900 vehicles. It's one of just three in Melbourne, and only 16 across Australia.

The business has been dutifully entertaining Australians since 1956, but the challenges of falling profits and growing expenses saw Kilderry consider selling the site even before the COVID pandemic began.

Speaking with the ABC, Kilderry indicated the value of Lunar's land had changed over time, increasing in the amount of land tax to be paid. The location had originally been considered part of Melbourne's outskirts, but continued sprawl has resulted in the area’s eventual shift to a more “middle suburban” location.

“People are shocked when I tell them [that Land Tax is] already over $1000 a day,” Kilderry told the ABC’s Andrew Hansen.

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Kilderry indicated that the sale of Lunar wouldn't necessarily mark the end of the location as a drive-in theatre, “we would love it to continue on as a drive-in, but the reality is that we’re surrounded by multi-national warehouses and factories.

"We think that ultimately short-term or medium-term, that’s what the land will be used for”, Kilderry said.

Drive-in theatre attendance peaked in the 50s and 60s, although the much-loved theatre chariot Holden Sandman didn’t arrive until 1974.

As of 2022 there are 16 drive-in theatres remaining across Australia, with Lunar being one of three in Melbourne. While the fate remains unknown for Lunar, its potential closure would follow Adelaide’s Mainline cinema at Gepps Cross, which ended screenings in November 2021.