The Best Outdoor & Rooftop Cinemas in London (Summer 2026)

Say hello to canal plus. Everyman’s outdoor screening season heads into its seventh year on the Regent’s Canal at King’s Cross this summer. Six weeks of crowd (and the odd duck) pleasing movies will be projected onto a screen between June 29 and August 16, as well as tennis from Wimbledon and a programme of ‘summer entertainment’. On the slate are the likes of Some Like It Hot, Grease, Dune: Part One, Paddington and The Devil Wears Prada – projected onto a screen designed in partnership with Central Saint Martins students. DJ Yoda is cutting the ribbon on it all with a live set on opening night. All the screenings are free so get there early to snag a beanbag. 

Location in the walled gardens of Hertfordshire’s The Grove hotel, Everyman’s pop-up is a special occasion option – because you’ll need to splash out for a room for the night or dinner in one of the hotel restaurants to experience it. Still, if you're up for a luxe take on the al fresco cinema thing, then give it a whirl: a crowdpleasing line-up of movies spans F1, The Housemaid, Bridemaids and Gladiator, and quite a few kids faves including A Minecraft Movie and Wonka. The beanbags and headphones are all top of the range, and there’s luxe South Asian and Turkish dining options courtesy of Madhu’s and Skewd.

Helping soften Canary Wharf’s corporate image with something fun and family-friendly, Canada Square Park will again be screening movies and sporting events up on its big screens from June until late August. There’s a packed programme of free movies, taking in everything from F1: The Movie (July 14) to 2025’s Superman (August 18). There’s a Bollywood classic on the bill too, with Shah Rukh Khan’s roadtrip comedy My Name is Khan playing on July 19. It’s a BYO set-up, so bring your own blankets and snacks. Head to the nearby Waitrose for any last-minute picnic needs.

There are few more striking spots to catch a movie than the iconic surrounds of the Barbican Sculpture Court. As usual, the City of London’s temple of the arts has an inventively curated line-up in store for the final week of August. On the year’s line-up is a kaleidoscopic array of films and filmmaking styles, ranging from Spike Lee concert docs to Denis Villeneuve science fiction, via the French New Wave and the best of Iranian cinema. Standard tickets are £20 (£18 concessions and £10 for under-18s) and there’s street food to feast on while you sit back, relax and enjoy the show.

New name, same high concept. The two-venue outdoor cinema experience is a well-grooved and classy enterprise these days, with deck-chaired splendour awaiting anyone on the hunt for classic flicks with killer views and all the trimmings. Rooftop Cinema Club like to start the summer early and its new season is off and running on April 30 at its Peckham Bussey Building venue, and May 7 at Roof East in Stratford. To all the usual cult classics and fan favourites, Rooftop Cinema Club is adding one-off events including a Gossip Girl TV watch party (May 19) and an Interstellar screening to coincide with a rare blue moon (May 31). Tickets start at £14 for adults and £8 for kids. Book before May 3 for a 20 percent discount.

Not just a luxe indoor movie option, Picturehouse also has wheels. The chain’s outdoor screen will be hitting the road again this summer, with two stop-offs in London: Jags Sports Club in Dulwich (July 3-4) and its longer-term home in Gunnersbury Park  (July 31-August 9). The programming is pure joy food, with Shaun of the Dead, Mamma Mia!, Grease, 10 Things I Hate About You all on the line-up. Oh, and Jaws to put everyone off their beach holidays. Tickets come with a £7 food and drinks voucher, with deck chairs available on a first-come-first-served basis. Bring your own blankets, cushions and (smallish) chairs.

Short of watching them on an aircraft carrier, there’s surely no more fitting spot to catch Top Gun (August 22) and Top Gun: Maverick (August 23) than at Hendon’s RAF Museum. Even Mav himself would appreciate the jets and historic military hardware that’ll backdrop a weekend of mach 2 dogfights and Righteous Brothers singalongs. All tickets come with popcorn and a soft drink, and early birds tickets start at only a tenner. Proper plane-spotters and wannabe Icemen can splash out on a VIP ticket that comes with an in-depth museum tour and a look around one of the museum’s own fighter jets. 

Waterloo’s Lower Marsh buzzes with fun-loving energy on a rainy winter’s night, so it doesn’t need​ an excuse to put on a street party on a sunny summer evening. Still, Lower Marsh Lates is providing one with a run of outdoor screenings right in the thick of it all – and perfectly positioned for some of the best street food and beverage options in town. On the slate so far is that most summery of winter movies, Cool Runnings, on June 25. There are prizes for the coolest costumes, so find three friends (and a coach) and head down when it kicks off at 6pm.

A calm enclave amid the Liverpool Street bustle, Devonshire Square welcomes back outdoor cinema this summer for City folk keen to take a different kind of screen break. Alongside World Cup highlights and Wimbledon matches, Nuveen Big Screen will be screening that swooning classic Cinema Paradiso (Jun 11), the tennis-themed Battle of the Sexes (Jun 18), and Frida Kahlo biopic Frida (Jun 25). Deckchairs are available, as well as snacks and drinks from the pop-up bar. Email frontdesk@dsq.london to reserve seats.

Street food, Thames views and five family-friendly movies… what could be better than July’s outdoor screenings in Vauxhall’s Pleasure Gardens? Just the fact that they’re all completely free. Running every Tuesday evening from July 7 at 7pm, this leafy Thames-side spot will be welcoming all-comers for screenings of Zootropolis (July 7), Cool Runnings (July 14), Clueless (July 21) and Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again (July 28). There are food options to tuck into and bars on site, or bring a picnic and a blanket. Book ahead because spots are limited.