Digital projection has drive-in movie theaters reeling

As the night grew darker, a cold wind whipped across the asphalt expanse of the vintage Rubidoux Drive-In Theatre in Riverside, Calif. A howling gust banged open the door to the snack bar, where hot dogs glistened on metal spits and the black-and-white linoleum floor gleamed. Quentin Tarantino’s “Django Unchained” flickered to life on the colossal screen _ for an audience of eight cars. This time of year is always slow at drive-in theaters, which have been struggling with declining attendance for decades. But it’s not just cold weather that has made this a winter of discontent. The digital revolution is here, and that could mean lights out for many of the nation’s 368 surviving drive-ins. Hollywood is expected to stop distributing 35-millimeter film prints to all U.S.