Hong Kong may be losing its only dedicated arthouse theatre,but is about to gain its first ever drive-in cinema.

Located on the Kowloon side of Victoria Harbour, the drive-in will officially open with the premiere of TakashiShimizu's horror film The Grudge 2 onDec 7. It will have one screen at opening, with a second to open by Christmas,and also features a Dolby stereo sound system and outdoor restaurant with freedelivery service.

Tickets will cost $13 (HK$100)for one car and one patron, $6.50 (HK$50) for a second patron and $5 (HK$40) foreach additional patron.

The drive-in is thebrainchild of local entertainment lawyer John McLellan, who is director ofSowell Resources Ltd which holds the lease of the site. He has retained theservices of Elite Management for day-to-day logistics and local distributorGolden Scene's Winnie Tsang for film programming.

The site, which overlooks Hong Kong's dramatic skyline, will also be used for concerts, exhibitions and corporateevents.

Drive-ins were first establishedin the US back in the 1950s where about 400 still remain. China's first drive-in, the Maple Garden Motor Cinema, openedin Beijing in 1999 and has proved popular with the city's fast-growingpopulation of car owners.

Meanwhile, Hong Kong's only dedicated arthouse cinema, the Cine-Art House, will closetomorrow with a day of free screenings of five mainland Chinese movies. Thecinema, located in the Wan Chai district of Hong Kong, is closing after theoperator Sil-Metropole Organisation was unable to agree on a new lease with thelandlord, Sun Hung Kai Properties.