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Moonlight Cinema crowds at twilight in Centennial Park
Photograph: SuppliedMoonlight Cinema in Centennial Park

The best outdoor cinemas in Sydney for open-air movies

It's not looking like a summer you'll want to spend inside. We share all our fave places to watch films in the open air

Alannah Le Cross
Winnie Stubbs
Written by
Alannah Le Cross
Contributor
Winnie Stubbs
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We love a cinema in Sydney, and we do have some really beautiful picture houses, but you know what's even better than sitting in a darkened room mainlining movies during summer? Sitting outside under the stars!

Feel like enjoying a film in the great outdoors? From blockbusters to tearjerkers, rom-coms to thrillers, you can catch them all in the open air across the city thanks to a proliferation of popcorn-offering spots popping up across the city. 

Bring a rug and some snacks (or buy them from handy pop-up eateries) and settle in with the fam, a mate, or a date – some cinemas will even let you bring your dog!

While you're planning your summer adventures, organise a trek to these majestic waterfalls near Sydney or the most beautiful walks around Sydney.

Sydney's most scenic outdoor movie screenings

  • Film
  • Outdoor cinema
  • Centennial Park

From November 23, 2023, Moonlight Cinema is back in action at Centennial Parklands for its 28th year in Sydney and screening a bunch of flicks in the open air and under the stars. The program features a stellar line up of 2023 Box Office blockbusters, festive movie favourites and family flicks right through to March 24, 2024.

The Moonlight experience is about more than the movie. You can snuggle up in the comfiest of bean bags – and so can your furry best mate, because dogs are allowed! It’s BYO friendly (so chuck a bottle of bubbles on ice) but if you’re famously under prepared, have no fear – there’s a phalanx of food trucks, licensed bars for libations (including freshly made Aperol Spritzes) and on-site activations flogging free samples, to boot. 

 

  • Cinemas
  • North Sydney

The north-of-the-bridge iteration of Bondi's Sunset Cinema is taking over North Sydney Oval again this summer, bringing three months of al fresco flicks to the open air location.

The program features a mix of new releases and old favourites – action movies to kids films to thrillers to the hotly anticpated Sydney Sweeney movie starring our very own sparkly city.

This one might not be beachside like it's Bondi counterpart, but the Sunset lounge (pay an extra $25 for a prime positioning, a private beanbag and unlimted popcorn) more than makes up for it. 

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  • Film
  • Outdoor cinema
  • The Rocks

Every Wednesday night between October and March, Laneway Cinema is busting out the big screen, deckchairs and cosy bean bags on Atherden Street amongst the golden sandstone buildings and cobbled lanes.

Films screen at 7pm every Wednesday night. Be sure to register over here for free tickets to secure your seats, as there is limited seating available.

 

  • Film
  • Film

If picnic rugs, deckcharis and beanbags aren't for you, Mov’in Bed just might be. This open-air, beach-style cinema pop up will be home to 150 queen sized beds, complete with noise cancelling headphones and bedside food delivery options. The screen (the largest outdoor movie screen in Australia) is set against Baragaroo harbour, so you can expect spectacular sunset views before the opening credits roll and it's time to get tucked in.

 

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  • Film
  • Prospect

The last remaining drive-in movie theatre in the city is so popular that, on busy nights, it backs up traffic all the way along Reservoir Road and out onto the Great Western Motorway. So if you’re planning a commute past Prospect, you might want to check session times. We love the joint's en pointe 1950's theme, with diner food served by staff in era-appropriate costume. There are new blockbusters and classic flicks to see, and you can even catch the odd late-night horror session, if you dare. Check the program here.

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