Outback Open Air Cinema at Coober Pedy

131-133 Hutchinson Street,
Coober Pedy, SA 5723

500 cars

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Additional Info

Previous Names: Outback Open Air Cinema, Coober Pedy Drive-In

Nearby Theaters

THE COOBER PEDY DRIVE - IN THEATRE - SOUTH AUSTRALIA - 1970's

The Outback Open Air Cinema was opened in 1965 by the Coober Pedy Miners Association, as a means of income for the Opal mining town. Some nights they would get over 500 cars attending, and it was not unusual for sticks of dynamite to be thrown at the screen if the film wasn’t to the audiences liking! There was even a slide shown at the beginning of the programme warning ‘Patrons - Explosives Are Not To Be Brought Into This Theatre - The Manager’. After going through a phase of screening adult porn films to the lusting male audience, and the introduction of television and VCR’s, it was closed in the early-1990’s, and fell into a state of disrepair.

It was refurbished in 2001, and re-opened as the Coober Pedy Drive-In. It is open all year round, screening films on Saturday nights, once a fortnight. It is one of only two drive-in theatres now operating in South Australia. By 2013, it had been re-named Outback Open Air Cinema at Coober Pedy and screens films every Saturday night. It was closed in November 2023 following damage incurred during a storm.

Contributed by Ken Roe

Recent comments (view all 8 comments)

Ken Roe
Ken Roe on April 5, 2011 at 9:29 am

Coober Pedy Drive-In slide:
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Screen:
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View from behind the screen:
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TLSLOEWS
TLSLOEWS on April 5, 2011 at 1:11 pm

Interesting Ken first time I have seen a warning about no bombs in a theatre.

Drive-In 54
Drive-In 54 on January 24, 2012 at 4:20 pm

Goggle aerial view 2012

davidcoppock
davidcoppock on March 24, 2016 at 1:34 am

Cooper Pedy is a opal mining town, hence the expolsives sign.

davidcoppock
davidcoppock on June 8, 2018 at 1:13 am

Sorry, i meant Coober Pedy.

davidcoppock
davidcoppock on July 1, 2018 at 12:48 am

This drive-in appeared on an episode of Let’s go(hosted by Grace Koh), series 2(episide number unknown?).

kennerado
kennerado on January 25, 2024 at 4:35 am

Now closed due to damage from a storm in November 2023, its currently unsure if they will repair and re-open.

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