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drive-in movie theater
Photograph: Shutterstock/Viniciu

A free drive-in movie theater is opening on the beach in NYC this summer

The group behind the Tribeca Film Festival is behind the pop-up theater.

Collier Sutter
Written by
Collier Sutter
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Drive-ins are the talk of the town in entertainment this summer. We’ve seen them open in a diner parking lot in Queens and on the waterfront in Brooklyn with a skyline view. Now, a major drive-in series is in the works from the organization behind New York's famed Tribeca Film Festival.

Typical film festivals are unlikely this year. But next month, Tribeca Enterprises is launching a new version of a summer film fest in the form of a pop-up drive-in. 

The series will take place each weekend (Thursday through Sunday) from July 2 through August 2. Four venues have already been announced, including two local locations: Orchard Beach in The Bronx and Nickerson Beach in Nassau County, Long Island. At Orchard Beach, all screenings will be free!

The experience will present new, classic and independent works from various filmmakers, creators, and artists onto the big screen. 

“The Tribeca Drive-In series is a tribute to movies and the shared experience of watching them, even if from our cars. In anticipation of theaters reopening imminently, we look back at what we love about the big screen experience,” said Tribeca Enterprises and Tribeca Film Festival co-founder Robert De Niro in an official statement.

Giant-screen specialist IMAX is on board to enhance the image and sound quality for all Tribeca Drive-In viewings, and IMAX has collaborated with Tribeca Enterprises to curate the program from its library of films. Orchard Beach can fit 500 cars per screening, and Nickerson can hold about 250.

For the Bronx venue, here’s the schedule of free film screenings:

Palm Springs, July 9

Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure, July 10

Black Panther, July 11

Love & Basketball, July 12

The Dark Knight, July 16

Superbad, July 17

Straight Outta Compton, July 18

Wonder Woman, July 19

You can reserve tickets on their website for your free ticket. Screenings on July 9, the kick-off night at Nickerson Beach, are also free. After that date, it’ll cost you $26 per vehicle to see a screening at Nickerson, though a percentage of the ticket proceeds (and proceeds from other cities) will be donated to Black Lives Matter movement. 

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