I was pretty excited to hear Walmart was bring some old fashioned summer fun to communities across the country during this crazy time. The mega retailer announced in early July that they planned to turn 160 of its parking lots into drive-in movie theaters to offer contactless film premieres, and I, along with a ton of other people, have been waiting to hear when the big events would be. Well, the wait is over, and it looks like a bust for Michigan.

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In their press release Wednesday, Walmart announced the list of blockbuster films that would be part of their drive-in experience that kicks off August 14th.  Films like Friday Night Lights, The Karate Kid and Space Jam are on the schedule as well as Black Panther, and iconic flicks such as Back to the Future to name a fewThe schedule is jam packed with everything to make the events family oriented and filled with fun in a contact free setting. Families will even have some surprise virtual or in-person appearances from Peter Berg, Jennifer Garner, LeBron James and Chrissy Metz at select showings.(see the complete movie list here)

Here's the problem...not one date is scheduled in Michigan. Not one!  As of 2020, Walmart has 95 locations here in Michigan.  I was sure at least a few locations would be hosting the unique movie experience within the state, but no such luck.

After checking out the location map, I noticed our surrounding states such as Indiana, Ohio, and Illinois had locations with the heavier concentrations being in Texas and Florida. I get it, they are bigger states, but Michiganders love a good drive-in experience. Maybe it's because we actually have 7 of the only 330 remaining drive-in theaters in the country in Michigan and they felt we didn't need the little extra fun?  Who knows?

It does help to know Michigan wasn't snubbed alone. New England and most of the northern half of the country was void of dates as well. At least we weren't the only ones left out...so there's that.

Walmart, if you happen to be reading this, show us a little love. We would really enjoy a night at the movies under the stars at one of our many locations, and we aren't picky about the movie you choose to show. We'll even bring the popcorn.

 

MORE: Where to See a Drive-In Movie in Michigan

 

 

 

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