Following a visit to the United States in the early 1950s, Hoyts' southern division manager, George Griffith Jnr, believed that drive-in theatres would be successful in Australia. Hoyts and Fox however did not share Griffith's enthusiasm for the establishment of a drive-in theatre, so Griffith subsequently formed a syndicate, Auto Theatres Pty Ltd, which decided on a site in the Melbourne suburb of Burwood for Australia's first drive-in theatre. Construction proceeded through the latter half of 1953 from plans drawn up by AC Leith Bartlett & Partners in conjunction with RCA Australia. The Skyline Burwood officially opened on 18 February 1954 and proved extremely popular, with traffic jams in both directions along the Burwood Highway. Hoyts subsequently bought out Griffith and his partners.