Theaters in Florida, Missouri, South Carolina and Tennessee win digital projector from Honda

End of 35mm film distribution puts many drive-in theaters without new digital projectors in jeopardy of closure

- Public encouraged to continue supporting the cause at Project Drive-In to keep theaters and car culture alive in America

- New video released today showcases emotional reactions of winners

TORRANCE, CA--Sept. 23, 2013: Project Drive-In, Honda's national effort to help save drive-ins facing closure due to the end of 35mm film distribution, is awarding four additional drive-in theaters (in alphabetical order)—Monetta Drive-In (Monetta, S.C.), Ocala Drive-In (Ocala, Fla.), Starlite Drive-In (Cadet, Mo.) and Stateline Drive-In (Elizabethton, Tenn.)—a new digital projector along with the first five theater winners—99W Drive-In (Newberg, Ore.), Cherry Bowl Drive-In (Honor, Mich.), Graham Drive-In (Graham, Texas), McHenry Outdoor Theater (McHenry, Ill.) and Saco Drive-In (Saco, Maine)—announced last week. More than 2.6 million votes at Project Drive-In determined the total of nine winning theaters.

"It's not often that a company gets the opportunity to help preserve an American pastime. It has been an honor and a privilege to bring national and local attention to the fate of drive-ins and to meet the passionate owners of these small businesses," said Alicia Jones, manager of Honda & Acura social marketing at American Honda Motor Co., Inc. "We hope that the #SaveTheDriveIn movement continues in the effort to help keep more drive-ins open for the next generation."

Beyond supplying digital projectors, Project Drive-In raised more than $43,000 at the Save the Drive-In Fund at Indiegogo Save the Drive-In . Those dollars helped to purchase one of the four projectors awarded today and this fundraising effort will continue through the end of the year in hopes of raising further money to support more digital conversions.

To tell the story of participating drive-ins, a video debuts today revealing the emotional reactions and excitement of the drive-in winners and expresses the outpouring of support from nearby communities; Watch the Reactions.

In addition, a Honda-donated 2014 Odyssey Touring Elite is available on the Project Drive-In fundraising Web page for $50,000. The donation will not only award the winning bidder with the brand new Odyssey minivan, but also help fund an additional digital projector and save another drive-in from closing.

Over the past seven weeks, Project Drive-In has elevated awareness of this historic part of American cinema and car culture. The effort has received more than 651million impressions in press coverage in addition to 62 million impressions on Twitter alone. There were more than 30,000 individual online mentions across blogs, forums, etc. The effort began with a poignant video, viewed more than 1.1 million times, designed to rally Americans to help drive-ins at risk of closing because of the costly switch to digital projection, estimated at $75,000+ per screen.

Visitors to the Project Drive-In website were encouraged to share information about the program with family and friends via social media, email or texts and pledge to see one movie at their local drive-in.

All nine winning theaters will host a celebration that includes a special screening of Sony Pictures Animation's Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2, in theaters everywhere on September 27.