9 Texas Drive-In Movie Theaters That Still Light Up the Night

Streaming took something from us, and it took me a while to name what. It is the ritual. The whole car piling in, the radio tuned to a low crackle, a shared bag of popcorn passed to the back seat.

You just cannot get that from a laptop glowing on the coffee table. That is why the Texas drive-in refuses to fade away.

There is a whole world of buttered-popcorn air out there, tailgates down and blankets out, kids in pajamas nodding off before the second feature. Below, discover nine Texas drive-ins flickering to life after dark, from the oldest in the state to a Houston newcomer keeping the flame alive.

Some are seasonal, some run all year, and a few are old enough to have shown black-and-white westerns first-run. Every one of them is worth pointing the car toward on a clear Texas night.

1. Graham Drive-In Theatre in Graham

If you want to start at the source, start here. The Graham Drive-In first lit its screen in 1948, which makes it the oldest operating drive-in in Texas and one of only around 300 left in the entire country.

It has always been locally owned, and it still is. The theater passed to the McFerrin family a couple of years back, and they run it the way it has always run.

You can catch new releases and old favorites on Friday and Saturday nights, with the picture starting once the Panhandle sky goes properly dark. Come early, grab a spot, and let the kids burn off some energy before the projector fires up.

There is something quietly wonderful about watching a movie on the same lot where Texans have parked to do exactly that for over seventy-five years. Pro tip: bring cash for the snack bar and a warm layer, because Panhandle nights cool off fast once the sun drops.

Where: 1519 4th St, Graham, TX 76450

2. The Last Drive-In Picture Show in Gatesville

The name sounds like a goodbye, but it is anything but. This twin-screen drive-in sits about halfway between Dallas and Austin, and it has been showing movies since 1950, back when it went by the Circle S.

The current name arrived in 1989 and stuck. What sets it apart is how hard it works to stay open.

You can catch a film here seven nights a week for most of the year, which is rare for a drive-in, where weekend-only is the norm. Two screens mean two sets of double features, so a single ticket can turn into a very full evening.

Pack a cooler, settle in, and plan to stay late. This is the kind of place that reminds you a movie night used to mean the whole night.

The concession stand keeps it classic too, with popcorn, burgers, and cold drinks to carry you through a double bill. Half the fun of a drive-in is grazing between films while the little ones drift off in the back seat.

Where: 2912 S State Hwy 36, Gatesville, TX 76528

3. Wes-Mer Drive-In in Mercedes

Down in the Rio Grande Valley, the Wes-Mer has been a Friday-night fixture for generations. The name is a mash-up of the two towns it once served, Weslaco and Mercedes, and today it endures under owner Lydia Garza.

Here is the detail that makes Valley families loyal. They charge by the carload, not by the head.

It is ten dollars a car most nights and just five dollars on Tuesdays, so a packed sedan full of cousins is the smartest ticket in town. That old-school pricing is the whole spirit of the place.

Load everyone in, bring your own blankets, and let the warm South Texas evening do the rest while the double feature rolls across the big screen. For a lot of Valley families, a summer Friday at the Wes-Mer is a tradition handed down for three generations now.

Make time for the snack bar, too. The Wes-Mer is known for its concession-stand favorites, and part of the ritual is walking up between films for something hot and salty to share.

Where: 2090 W US Hwy 83, Mercedes, TX 78570

4. Brazos Drive-In in Granbury

Granbury calls this one the finest small-town drive-in in Texas, and it has the history to back the claim. The Brazos opened on June 5, 1952, out on Highway 377 at what was then the edge of town.

It has run continuously ever since, which makes it the longest continually operating drive-in in the state, one of only about a dozen still standing statewide. Jarred and Joanne Hopson took the reins in 2024 and kept the tradition humming.

It runs seasonally, roughly March through November, with dates that flex around the weather. Call ahead or check online before you make the drive.

Pair it with a stroll around Granbury’s storybook courthouse square earlier in the day and you have a perfect Hill Country weekend.

Did you know? The Brazos has been recognized by Preservation Texas as a piece of the state’s living history. Even so, it still shows first-run films rather than trading only on nostalgia.

Where: 1800 W Pearl St, Granbury, TX 76048

5. Sandell Drive-In in Clarendon

Way up in the Panhandle, the Sandell is the kind of small-town screen that a whole community rallies to keep alive. You will find it on the northwest edge of Clarendon, right along Highway 70.

Its secret weapon is the sky. With almost no light pollution for miles, the picture pops and the stars put on a second show overhead.

Tickets run eight dollars a person, and little ones two and under get in free. It opens most Friday and Saturday nights from April through September.

If you are road-tripping old Route 66 or heading for Palo Duro Canyon, this is a first-rate way to cap the day under some of the biggest skies Texas has.

Small-town drive-ins like this one survive on local love. Buying a ticket and a bucket of popcorn is how you keep the lights on for the next carload of kids.

Where: 100 Highway 70 N, Clarendon, TX 79226

6. Stars & Stripes Drive-In in New Braunfels and Lubbock

Ryan Smith and his family have done something rare in Texas. They made the drive-in grow.

They opened their first Stars & Stripes in Lubbock in 2003, then added the New Braunfels location in April 2015. The New Braunfels site runs three big screens, each playing a double feature of first-run movies, so you always get two films for the price of one.

The concession stand is a full 1950s diner, turning out burgers, pizza, and ice cream right alongside the popcorn. Gates open at 7:30 nightly, rain or shine, seven days a week.

Between the retro diner and the fresh releases, it is the rare spot that pleases both the nostalgia crowd and the kids who have never seen a movie outdoors before. The Lubbock original up in West Texas runs the same friendly, family-first formula if you are closer to the plains.

Where: 1178 Kroesche Ln, New Braunfels, TX 78132

7. Doc’s Drive-In Theatre in Buda

About fifteen minutes south of Austin, Doc’s takes the drive-in idea and gives it a clever twist. This twin-screen theater opened in 2018 and quickly became one of the most inventive movie nights in Central Texas.

The real showstopper is the lodging. Doc’s rents out movie-themed tiny homes right on the property.

That means you can watch a double feature and then walk a few steps to bed instead of driving home sleepy. Add a food truck menu, themed events, and a genuinely charming setup, and you have a place that draws couples and families alike.

Book a tiny home well ahead if you want the full overnight experience, because they sell out fast on weekends. Date night or family adventure, this one delivers either way, and it proves a drive-in can still surprise you decades after the format was invented.

The lineup mixes new releases with themed throwback nights, so it is worth checking the calendar before you go. On the right weekend you might catch a Halloween marathon or a holiday classic under the Central Texas sky.

Where: 1540 Satterwhite Rd, Buda, TX 78610

8. Moonstruck Drive-In in Houston

Big cities lose their drive-ins first, so it is a small miracle that Houston still has one at all. The Moonstruck is it, the city’s last remaining drive-in, and it recently reinvented itself for a new generation.

In April 2025 it reopened at a fresh East Downtown home on Delano Street, right near the heart of the city. It added a second screen in March 2026, and it plays brand-new releases, not just old classics.

Being minutes from downtown makes it a genuinely different kind of night out, skyline on one side and the movie on the other. It is proof that the drive-in can belong in a modern city, not just a country field.

The new site leans into that urban energy with food vendors and a lively, social feel on busy weekends. It is a fresh spin on an old format, and Houston is lucky to still have it.

Check the schedule first, since it runs Thursday through Sunday with gate times that shift week to week.

Where: 45 Delano St, Houston, TX 77003

9. Tascosa Drive-In in Amarillo

Amarillo’s Tascosa is a comeback story worth celebrating. It opened way back on May 2, 1952, with room for a whopping 800 cars, and ran for decades before weathering a fire and a long closure.

Then it came roaring back with a grand reopening in the summer of 2024. Today it is Amarillo’s one and only drive-in, and it sits right in Route 66 country.

That makes it a natural stop on any Panhandle road trip. The wide, flat plains around it deliver the kind of enormous night sky the whole format was made for.

Pull in, tune your radio, and enjoy a piece of Texas movie history that a whole city fought to keep. Seventy-plus years on, that big screen is glowing again, and the concession stand still slings the classics: popcorn, corn dogs, and something cold to wash it down.

Where: 1999 Dumas Dr, Amarillo, TX 79107

Plan Your Texas Drive-In Road Trip

From the Panhandle plains to the Rio Grande Valley, Texas still knows how to do a movie right. So grab your people and throw some pillows in the back seat.

Pick the screen closest to you, fill the tank, and pack the cooler. Then go chase a little of that under-the-stars magic before the credits roll on another Texas summer.

Whether you live here or you are just passing through, a night at a Texas drive-in is one of those simple pleasures that never really goes out of style.

Featured image: @ Moonstruck Drive-In