The Best Outdoor Cinemas In London
What with the never-ending sunshine (we're not complaining, it's been long-awaited), there's no reason why you shouldn't be spending lots of time outside enjoying it. Enter the the capital's huge array of pop-up outdoor cinemas and rooftop film screenings. Whether you're into the classics or latest release, here are the best outdoor cinemas that London has to offer.
1. Rooftop Film Club
We couldn't compile a list of 'best outdoor cinemas' without mentioning the OG flick club. Wireless headphones and blankets – the Rooftop Film Club have perfected the art of outdoor cinema. Highlights this summer include Top Gun: Maverick, Love & Basketball and Pulp Fiction.
Where: Stratford and Peckham
When: Running through July and August. For more info on listings click here.
2. Barbican Outdoor Cinema
This summer, everyone's favourite brutalist building is welcoming punters for a week of spectacular open-air screenings full of fantasy, adventure and spectacular environments. In true Barbican style, the shows on offer all run to a theme designed to give your brain a little nudge. Taking inspiration from their exhibition Our Time on Earth, all the screenings feature films that make a profound connection to their settings, such as extra-terrestrial fantasy La Planète Sauvage, and Daughters of the Dust by Julie Dash.
Where: Barbican Centre, Silk Street, London, EC2Y 8DS
When: 23—28 August, 2022
3. The Luna Cinema
It's all about location with Luna Cinema. Buy a ticket and you can creep into a palace, Royal park or equally other magical (read:exclusive) location. Past London venues have included Westminster Abbey, Greenwich Park and Hampton Court Palace, or watching Jaws on a dinghy in Brockwell Lido. This year you can even make like Meghan Markle and hit up Kensington Palace (well, the front garden) for a night of cinema under the stars. Not in London? No fear. This mobile movie theatre travels all over the country.
Where: Venues across London, including Old Royal Naval College, Westminster Abbey and Kenwood House.
When: The summer season runs from May to September. For full listings click here.
4. Everyman Secret Garden pop-up cinema at The Grove
This year, luxury five-star country estate, The Grove in Hertfordshire (just outside of London), is welcoming back outdoor cinema legends Everyman, for a series of outdoor film screenings. All this summer, guests at the hotel guests as well as pop-in diners in The Grove’s restaurants can enjoy a luxury cinematic experience in the Walled Garden with film highlights including The Greatest Showman, Fantastic Mr Fox and Moulin Rouge. Expect beanbags, snacks and the opportunity to take advantage of The Grove's 300 acres of Hertfordshire countryside.
Where: The Grove, Hertfordshire
When: July 15 - September 4
Inclusive overnight hotel packages include the cinema experience, with packages also available for guests dining at the restaurants. Cinema and dining packages start from £59 per adult and £35 per child. For more, click here.
5. Pop Up Screens
The guys behind Pop Up Screens transport their inflatable screen around parks over the summer. This year they'll be hitting up Fulham, Brockley, Hammersmith and more locations across London. They love a classic (Back To The Future and Grease) but have plans to show sliiiiightly newer listings too (The Greatest Showman and No Time To Die).
Where: Various parks across London.
When: Running through August and September. For more info click here.
6. Sunset Screening Sessions, Beckenham
Infinita Productions has partnered with DMovies, to bring you 10 British movies at the Homestead Cafe in Beckenham Place Park, in South East London. Think: a giant outdoors screen of 9x7 metres inside a lovely walled patio of the Cafe. Highlights include Charlie Chaplin's 1936 classic Modern Times, Labyrinth and Withnail and I.
When: July 15 - August 20, 2022
Where: Beckenham Place Park
For more information, click here.
7. The Nomad
Charity pop-up screen Nomad Cinema is technically taking a break for 2019. While their schedule isn't as jam-packed as usual, they haven't totally disappeared - occasional screenings will be taking place throughout the summer (mostly in/around Shoreditch). Films on the roster include ward-season favourites The Favourite and A Star Is Born, as well as the likes of Blade Runner: The Final Cut. The best bit? Nomad donates 100% of it's profits towards funding sustainability projects in rural South Africa. Fore more details check out their website.
Where: The Hoxton, LSO St Luke's (both in Shoreditch) and Queen's Park
When: Throughout August and September
8. Backyard Cinema
For the uninitiated, Backyard Cinema started with a bunch of mates in a garden watching 'Jurassic Park' projected onto a bedsheet. Since then they've hosted everything from zombie apocalypses to Romeo + Juliet with a choir in a church.
Back after three years away, for 2022 Backyard Cinema is offering some pretty ultimate summer experiences, including Romeo & Juliet in Union Chapel as well as their LA Nights and Miami Beach cinema experiences.
Where: A variety of venues across London
When: From July to August
For more information, click here.
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