Fairgrounds Features, the much-anticipated new drive-in at the Clackamas County Fairgrounds and Event Center, finally opened this past weekend.
Approximately 150 patrons attended between the three showings ofThe New Mutants on Friday, Saturday and Sunday night, according to Marketing and Events Coordinator Tyler Nizer. The drive-in itself will accommodate approximately 120 at one time.
Nizer said most patrons seemed to be excited about the unveiling of the new Canby attraction, which many residents — including himself — have wanted to bring to town for a long time.
“We may need to find another movie, though,” he joked. “It seemed like a lot of people didn’t really care for the one we showed.”
The New Mutants, the thirteenth and final installment in the X-Men film series and one of the first new releases to come out of Hollywood amid the coronavirus pandemic, has been receiving somewhat less-than-enthusiastic reviews — and not just from Canby audiences.
The Josh Boone-directed vehicle starring Maisie Williams, Anya Taylor-Joy, Charlie Heaton, Alice Braga, Blu Hunt and Henry Zaga, holds a critical approval 34% on Rotten Tomatoes and a score of 39 out of 100 on Metacritic.
Audience reviews have generally been more favorable, though.
“I think people were just glad to be able to get out,” Nizer said. “It was really cool to see people meeting up and sitting with people they know. That was really cool to watch.”
The New Mutants will be back this weekend (most new releases are required to be shown at least two weeks in a row), but it will be joined by the much more beloved superhero team-up The Avengers, the 2012 blockbuster from Marvel Studios.
Tickets are $25 per vehicle and may be purchased from the Canby Cinema 8 in person or online. Concessions are also available at the theater the day of your showing.
The double-feature kicks off at 8 p.m. Friday, Saturday and Sunday. For a list of drive-in rules, see the post from the Canby Cinema below.
