Social historian Kerry Segrave, in Drive-in Theaters: A history from their inception in 1933, rejects the notion that television was a factor -- he cites attendance figures that rose during the 1950s, even as television became more common.

Instead, he theorizes that drive-ins were done in by quality problems. Equipment and maintenance was poor, which made for a bad moviegoing experience. With bad sound equipment and poor picture quality (as well as a shortage of first-run pictures), he suggests that people were turned off by the experience. Moreover, drive-ins were limited to certain times of the year in most parts of the United States, which hurt their profitability.

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There are a few other factors not mentioned. Suburban sprawl makes finding conditions for drive-in movie theaters hard. You have to have very little ambient light and noise for an reasonable viewing experience. It is hard to find those conditions anywhere near a population capable of sustaining a theater.

Don't forget the effect of daylight on profitability. A drive-in has to wait until the sun sets before it can show the movie. That means a drive-in can only show one movie per daybecause the average movie-goer doesn't want to start watching a late, late movie.