In a small town like Powell,  there are basically three things we as students can do on a weekend: drive around town, think of stuff we would rather do or go to the movies.

The Powell theaters generally have a harder time trying to show movies. Big movie corporations create tight regulations that force our theaters to give up more money and show movies longer.

A good example of this is the American Dream Drive-In, which is one of the few attractions which set this town apart from others.

“I have to make a required amount of money and keep [movies] up from anywhere from 2 to 3 weeks,” Drive-In owner Mrs. Pokey Heny said. “Drive-in business will be in the dumps if I show something for three weeks.”

This creates obvious problems for the local business, as the drive-in shows movies Friday-Monday. Our cinemas don’t have large theaters and it’s harder for them to show movies for weeks on end.

“Hollywood takes 70 percent of our [Vali Twin Cinema] ticket sales,” junior Ashlyn Aguirre said. “They will only give us movies if it benefits their schedule.”

Big studios do need to make money off their movies, but these sort of prices negatively affect small town theaters. These prices may be fair for a theater in, say, Denver, but they prove unfair for smaller towns.

“Of course they want the big theaters in the bigger cities to show their movies first because they can show them so many more times,” Mrs. Heny said. “The box office reports we turn in nightly would be slim compared to the big theaters.”

Big studios do not take our theater limitations into consideration. Bigger theaters can show nine different movies, every day, 3-4 times per day. Powell does not have that option.

“We [Vali Twin Cinema] can’t play every movie because we only have two theaters,” Aguirre said.

It’s unfortunate that the little theaters of Powell get hit with such rules when trying to show a movie. This is especially for businesses like The American Dream Drive-In, which was not only the first drive-in built in Wyoming, but the last one still running.

“I love what I do,” said Mrs. Heny. “I hope the community continues to love the drive-in like I do, so it can stay a part of our community.”