Mall of America is bringing back a piece of classic Americana this fall. Movies at the Star will host three drive-in movie nights in MOA's North Lot in Bloomington between August and October, complete with food trucks and pre-show entertainment.
The Lineup and How It Works
The series opens with Top Gun Maverick on Saturday, August 22, with doors at 7:30 pm and the show at 9 pm. The Mighty Ducks follows on Saturday, September 19, doors at 7 pm and show at 8:30 pm. Hocus Pocus closes the series on Saturday, October 17, doors at 6:30 pm and show at 8 pm.
A 25 dollar car pass admits a vehicle with up to six people and includes a parking spot plus access to the food trucks and pre-show activities. For those who prefer the lawn, a 7 dollar chair rental covers lawn access and the same food and entertainment perks.
Why a Drive-In Is a Rare Find in Minnesota
Part of what makes this Twin Cities event notable is scarcity. Only about 250 drive-in theaters remain in the United States, a steep drop from more than 4,000 at the peak in the late 1950s. Just a few survive in Minnesota, including the Starlite Drive-In in Litchfield. For most families in the metro, a drive-in night simply is not something you can do close to home very often.
MOA's Parking Lots Keep Doing Double Duty
The drive-in series fits a strategy Mall of America has leaned into for years: creating in-person experiences you cannot get online. The North Lot alone has hosted Panda Fest, one of the country's largest traveling outdoor Asian food festivals, a month-long run of Cirque du Soleil's Bazzar show in 2024, The Big Bounce America bounce house, a Christmas festival, and the X Games' 2017 Harley Davidson Flat Track Race. Inside, the mall has added experience-driven tenants like Pop Mart, Miniso, Rolife, and Bubble Planet, along with the indoor B&B Theatres Bloomington 13.
For Twin Cities residents, the takeaway is simple: the biggest mall in America keeps finding reasons to visit that have nothing to do with shopping. If you have been waiting for an excuse for a low-cost family night out in the metro, 25 dollars for a carload of six is hard to beat.
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