The Stardust Drive In in Chetek, Wisconsin will not open for the 2025 season and has launched a fundraising campaign to help preserve the theater for the day when it can reopen.

Located in northwest Wisconsin about 45 miles north of Eau Claire and 80 miles northeast of Minneapolis, Minnesota, the outdoor movie theater was built in 2001. It has been operated by Nick Meyer since 2024.

As warmer weather as finally returned to Wisconsin, it's natural for fans of watching movies under the stars at the Stardust to be wondering when it will open. Unfortunately, Meyer announced recently that due to issues he's having with his health, the Stardust Drive In will not reopen for the 2025 season. 

To assist with the costs of maintaining the theater for a day when he hopes to reopen the theater, a fundraising campaign has been started. The theater's website contains a link to the campaign on GoFundMe that hopes to raise almost $40,000. As of the writing of this article, just over $1,100 has been raised from 24 donations. If you are interested in donating to this campaign, please visit the Stardust Drive In website for the link (we do this so that you can verify and determine the validity of the link and in any case that the link is updated).

Moviegoers in the area will need to visit one of the other nearby theaters, including the CEC Theatres - Lake 7 Theatre in Rice Lake. If you're looking for the drive-in movie theater experience of watching a movie under the stars, the closest drive-in theater is the Elko! Drive-In Theater in Elko New Market, Minnesota, which is south of Minneapolis and a 2-hour drive, so it's not really a viable option.