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Watching a film outdoors is one of Helsinki's greatest late-summer pleasures. Every August and September, beaches, parks and city squares transform into open-air cinemas, many of them completely free. Here are the best outdoor movie screenings in Helsinki in 2026.
Kesäkino Engel, Café Engel
Set in Café Engel’s cosy courtyard opposite Helsinki Cathedral, Summer Cinema Engel is a pioneer of outdoor cinema in the city. Films have been screened here since the late 1990s. A sail canopy offers protection from the weather, while outdoor heaters keep cooler evenings comfortable. There’s also a licensed bar.
Films are shown in their original language with Finnish and Swedish subtitles unless otherwise stated. Table seats cost €19.50 and standard seats €17.50. Screenings start late, at either 22.00 or 22.30, and the programme mixes European classics with newer releases.
Several screenings each week until the end of August.
Outdoor movies at Malja
The Malja bar on Hietalahti waterfront proudly calls itself Helsinki's largest outdoor cinema. Entry is free as long as you buy a drink or something to eat from the bar. Screenings begin at 19.00 and range from classics such as E.T. (15 August) to the latest Mission: Impossible (6 August). It's also a great chance to revisit Dune: Part Two (29 August) on the big screen before the third instalment arrives in cinemas this December.
Good to know: Malja’s events differ from the other film screenings on this list. The films are shown using equipment closer to a home-cinema set-up than a professional projection system. Come primarily for a relaxed evening at the bar, rather than expecting a cinema-quality viewing experience.
Thursday to Sunday until the end of August.
Vantaa Movie Picnics
Vantaa, part of the Helsinki metropolitan area, hosts a series of free outdoor movie nights throughout August. Arrive from around 20.00 to pick up some picnic snacks and enjoy DJ sets before the film starts at sunset.
All screenings are weather permitting. In the event of heavy rain, they'll be rescheduled.
12 Aug – Myyrmäki, Löydöspuisto: School of Rock
19 Aug – Koivukylä Central Park: Past Lives
29 Aug – Korso, Ankkapuisto: The Marching Band
4 Sept – Hakunila: The Lunchbox
Organised by Vantaa Cultural Services, Vantaa Libraries and Pop Up Kino Helsinki.
Lapinlahti Film Festival
Lapinlahti Film Festival brings free outdoor screenings to Lasipalatsi Square and the historic courtyard of Lapinlahti Hospital, alongside indoor screenings at Kino Regina in Oodi Library.
On Wednesday 19 August, Shoplifters will be shown at Lasipalatsi Square. During Helsinki Festival's Night of the Arts on Thursday, Lapinlahti hosts multidisciplinary performances, followed by outdoor screenings after sunset throughout the weekend.
17–23 August.
Night of Shorts
Held during the Night of the Arts, Night of Shorts returns to Teurastamo for its fourth edition. The evening begins at 20.00 with live Finnish film music and schlager performed by the Ykspihlaja Cinema Orchestra, followed by filmmaker interviews and a programme of acclaimed Finnish short films, including a recent Jussi Award winner and an Oscar-shortlisted short.
20 August, 20.00–23.00.
Movie Night on the Beach: Life
At the end of the metro line in Vuosaari, Aurinkolahti Beach turns into an outdoor cinema for one night. DJ Suolakeksi gets the evening started on the sand before the screen lights up with Life (1999), starring Eddie Murphy and Martin Lawrence. Bring something to sit on and settle in by the sea.
Free admission. 21 August. DJ from 20.00, film from around 21.30. Aurinkolahti Beach, Vuosaari.
KinoKivinokka
Probably Helsinki's most magical outdoor cinema. Once a year, Kivinokka Beach in Herttoniemi, surrounded by woodland and allotment gardens, transforms into an open-air cinema. Bring your own blanket and settle onto the sand for a surprise preview screening, which in previous years has typically been a forthcoming Finnish film shown in its original language.
Admission is free. The film begins after dark, shortly after 21.00.
22 August.
Lasipalatsi Square outdoor cinema
Right in the heart of Helsinki, Lasipalatsi Square will host open-air film screenings from 26 to 28 August. The music-themed line-up includes La La Land, Rocketman and Bohemian Rhapsody. The free event is organised by Lasipalatsikortteli Oy, Cinema Gilda and Pop Up Kino.
Romeo + Juliet on 35mm, WeeGee
Espoo Ciné Film Festival serves up one of the summer’s outdoor cinema highlights, with Baz Luhrmann’s Romeo + Juliet screened in the courtyard of the WeeGee Exhibition Centre from an authentic 35mm film print.
The free screening celebrates the film's 30th anniversary. Luhrmann transplanted Shakespeare's original dialogue into a neon-soaked world of pop music, guns and MTV-era visual energy, while making Leonardo DiCaprio an international star a year before Titanic.
29 August, Tapiola.
Lippakino
Sing along to Kaija Koo under the open sky at Restaurant Lippa on Mustikkamaa. The venue hosts free screenings of Beautiful, Wild and Free, a biopic about Finland’s best-selling schlager queen, in true sing-along spirit.
2–3 September, 20.00.
Karhupuisto Film Festival
Kallio's Karhupuisto hosts its second annual film festival in September. Some screenings take place outdoors, others inside a festival tent, and several events are free to attend.
7–13 September.
Outdoor screening at Alvar Aalto's Studio
It's not every day you get to watch a film at a UNESCO World Heritage Site. On 13 September, Pop Up Kino presents Architecton (2024) in the amphitheatre of Alvar Aalto's Studio.
Directed by Viktor Kossakovsky, the documentary explores the rise and fall of civilisations through architecture while asking how we should build the world of tomorrow. The English-language film is screened with Finnish subtitles.
Tickets €15. 13 September, 20.00.