Depends on if you plan to commit fornication during the film or you want to get it out of the way before. What are you going to see?

Ask the drive-in theater for their recommendation.

If you're going to the Goochland Drive-In Theater (which has a really buggy website) this is what they say:

>Plan to arrive early.....arriving 1 hour before showtime isn't considered early. All attendees under 1 ticket must arrive in the same car - no later drop-offs/walk-ins. Gates close 20 minutes before showtime....never wait until then to arrive. Once gates close - no later entry is permitted - sorry no exceptions

Basically, you should arrive between 20-60 minutes from showtime, but absolutely no less than 20 minutes before showtime otherwise you're not getting in.

For Goochland specifically, they only do advance ticketing and do not sell tickets onsite, so there's no risk of you getting there 20-60 minutes beforehand and finding out there's no space for you despite you already having a ticket for your car.

Oh my god lmao! I’m going to see Wakanda Forever (:

Their website is super buggy, thank you so much

Ok that drags a bit in the middle so I’d suggest you save the awkward backseat coitus for mid-movie, so you don’t need to get there especially early.

It’s a bit of a drive, but the Apache drive in outside of Tyler, TX seems right up your alley.

If you leave now, you should be okay.

Lolol at the comments here.
I always head there for the recommended 2ish hours ahead of time, your main concerns will be food and parking. If you want both, aim for 6pm for a 8pm showing. If you aren't eating or plan to grab a snack, and instead want decent parking, I'd aim for 7pm. Anything closer to an 8pm is doable, but if the movie is at all popular you'll be stuck in the back