Where to catch your favourite flick at Victoria’s best outdoor cinemas
There’s something about an outdoor cinema that makes watching a movie so much better and this summer you can stare at a screen from the foot of the Dandenong Ranges or Wilson’s Promontory, St Kilda beach or the Murray River.
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Things that are better outdoors: Swimming pools. Footy games. And movies.
While purists may argue the last point, there’s certainly something about the atmosphere of outdoor cinema screenings that sets the experience apart from its controlled-climate indoor counterpart.
And Victoria can’t get enough.
This summer, we’re doing it outdoors everywhere from the foot of the Dandenong Ranges to Wilson’s Promontory, Bendigo courtyards to city rooftops, St Kilda beach to the Murray River — and every experience is different.
That includes the new, and the old. Next month, the Classic will add a brand new rooftop cinema to the Elsternwick skyline.
“We know how much our audiences love coming along to Lido on the Roof and Cameo Outdoor at our other Melbourne sites, so we’re excited to be able to provide that open-air experience at Classic Cinemas as well,” proprietor Eddie Tamir says.
“Classic Rooftop offers gorgeous views of the bay, and is one of the only rooftop bars on the south side. It brings a sense of adventure and excitement to going to the movies over summer.”
Meanwhile, down on Wilson’s Prom, Tidal River Open-air Cinema has been entertaining campers since the summer of 1968. The same team, Roger Little and David Lenton, is still running the picture show all these years later.
“Yes, 50 years!” Lenton says. “To our knowledge it’s the only purpose-built outdoor cinema in Victoria.”
A night at the movies on the Prom has been a must-do for generations of local families, however Lenton points out that it’s an extra “special experience for overseas visitors who relish the chance to watch a movie under the stars while mingling with the wildlife”.
While the outdoor cinema scene keeps evolving, from seating options to gourmet food and drink offerings, the ultimate drawcard remains up there on the big screen.
Christmas favourites are always a fixture in December. Along with perennials Love Actually, Elf and Die Hard, this season, there’s a new gift under the tree: rom-com Last Christmas featuring Game of Thrones faveEmilia Clarke and the music of George Michael.
Mike Baard, who as managing director of Universal Pictures Australia released both Love Actually and Last Christmas, believes it’s the communal experience that keeps us coming back to festive flicks.
“The heightened experience of sharing a film with an audience of strangers is very special,” he says.
“For many, the themes in movies such as Love Actually and Last Christmas are particularly relevant. They offer life-affirming, positive messages of hope at a time of year when audiences are more acutely open to it.”
Along with the concluding chapter in the latest Star Wars trilogy, The Rise of Skywalker, and clever murder mystery Knives Out, one of the hottest titles of this outdoor season will be Once Upon a Time in Hollywood – it’s showing up on almost every schedule, giving audiences the chance to revisit (or finally catch up with) Brad, Leo and Margot in Tarantino’s ode to Hollywood’s golden age.
“Quentin Tarantino is an Australian favourite and after nine films, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood has become his biggest ever in this country, grossing over $21.5 million,” says Stephen Basil-Jones, executive vice president of Sony Pictures Releasing for Australia/New Zealand.
In fact, Australia has been the fifth-biggest market overall for the movie (outpacing some much bigger territories). It has already returned to cinemas once with bonus content, now it’s heading outside.
“Most agree the more you see it, the better you like it,” Basil-Jones says.
“And you’ll get that California feeling even more so when you see it outdoors and revisit that brilliant soundtrack this summer.”
So when the sun goes down and the screen lights up in Victoria’s great outdoors this summer, what will you be watching?
MOONLIGHT CINEMA
Twenty-five years in, Moonlight has its movie mix pretty much nailed. We’re talking fan favourites (The Matrix, Bring it On), Oscar contenders (Bombshell, Ford v Ferrari) and even the world premiere of Aussie go-karting adventure Go! on January 7 – think Karate Kid on wheels. And forget one-off ‘dogs night out’ screenings; these days, every night at Moonlight is dog-friendly.
Royal Botanic Gardens until March 29
MOV’IN BED
Just when you thought outdoor cinema seating options couldn’t get any more elaborate, Mov’in Bed is bringing 150 queen-sized beds (with pillows and blankets!) to St Kilda beach. You can have food delivered direct to your bedside as you take in flicks including Gladiator, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, Hustlers and Maleficent: Mistress of Evil. Jaws is a great choice for opening night (just don’t look too closely at the water!), while Australia Day can be spent in bed with Johnny and Baby in Dirty Dancing.
St Kilda Beach, Pier Rd, in front of Catani Gardens, January 4-February 23
CAMEO OUTDOOR CINEMA
“Memory, all alone in the moonlight…” Grizabella will finally have some company when the Cameo welcomes the new year with a dress-up screening of Cats, starring Rebel Wilson and Taylor Swift. There’ll be an entire Star Wars week leading up to and including Christmas Day, and don’t miss the January 14 session of True History of the Kelly Gang – on land Ned and the lads may very well have stepped foot on 140 years ago.
1628 Burwood Hwy, Belgrave, until March
OPENAIR CINEMAS
The only thing better than big cushy beanbag chairs by the beach is Openair’s feel-good film selection. Welcome in summer tomorrow night with Downton Abbey, sing along to Rocketman and Yesterday, get the family feels from The Farewell and give your heart to Last Christmas. For its December 11 screening, Openair asked punters to vote from a selection of ’90s teen flicks: 10 Things I Hate About You won out on the 20th anniversary of Heath Ledger’s star-making turn.
South Beach Reserve, St Kilda, until December 20
COURTYARD CINEMA @ MISTER GRIMSBY
The courtyard at Bendigo coffee joint Mister Grimsby, housed in an old flour mill, makes for an intimate outdoor cinema experience with a selection of old-school favourites including Cool Runnings, The Goonies, Pulp Fiction and The Lost Boys. Tickets for family-friendly PG-rated sessions include a soft drink/milkshake and snack, while M-rated sessions include a grown-up drink and snack. Arrive early and you can treat yourself to a pre-movie dessert in the cafe.
2/35 Wills St, Bendigo, until February 22
bendigoregion.com.au/explore-bendigo
LIDO ON THE ROOF
Prepare to get your cosplay on: Lido’s midnight screening of The Rise of Skywalker will be preceded by a Cantina party with Star Wars-themed cocktails. This coming week, cineastes should not miss acting powerhouses Anthony Hopkins and Jonathan Pryce in an exclusive big-screen season of The Two Popes. As summer rolls on, expect all the big new releases, including war epic 1917, which is fast gaining Oscar buzz.
675 Glenferrie Rd, Hawthorn, until April
CINEMA POP UP
The first Pop Up mini season has hit Apex Park in Wonthaggi this weekend, showing Home Alone tonight, and Big Hero 6 tomorrow. Next stop is Drouin (Dec 5-8), then Frankston (Dec 12-15), Hastings (Dec 19-22), Castlemaine (Jan 2-5), Moama (Jan 9-12), Broadford (Jan 16-19) and Lilydale (Jan 23-26).
Various locations, Victoria and southern NSW, until January 26
**Book online for free/cheaper tickets
ROOFTOP CINEMA
If movies were streets, Rooftop’s line-up would be a graffitied Melbourne laneway. The city’s personality is reflected in a program that ranges from left-field (Korean art house smash Parasite, Jim Jarmusch zombie flick The Dead Don’t Die) to old school (Pretty in Pink, Clueless) to never-out-of-style (Spirited Away, The Muppet Christmas Carol). The season opens tomorrow with one of this year’s big hits, Joker. Fuel your viewing with burgers and handmade choc tops.
Curtin House, 252 Swanston St, city, December 1-March
BAREFOOT CINEMA – RIPPON LEA ESTATE
Before their season starts in late January, Barefoot is hosting two pre-Christmas Twilight Movie Nights at Rippon Lea Estate next weekend: Gremlins on Friday and Home Alone on Saturday. Arrive early for retro lawn games and live music. When the season proper gets underway, don’t miss Taika Waititi’s Jojo Rabbit and Adam Goodes doco The Australian Dream.
192 Hotham St, Elsternwick, December 6-7 and January 29-February 16
PALACE WESTGARTH OUTDOOR CINEMA
Jump off the 86 tram and head upstairs for an urban outdoor cinema experience atop the Westgarth. Grab a spritz and a set of headphones (audio snobs can BYO and simply plug in) and don’t forget your lightsaber because tickets for outdoor sessions of Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker from December 19 are already on sale.
89 High St, Northcote, December-March
palacecinemas.com.au/cinemas/westgarth
BAREFOOT CINEMA – PORTSEA
Who needs trailers when you can watch the sunset over Port Phillip Bay before the main feature? Fittingly, given its waterside location, one of the must-sees here this summer is Momentum Generation, a doco which tracks how Kelly Slater and co took surfing to new heights. Brad Pitt’s space odyssey Ad Astra is will gain extra meaning under the stars, while families can welcome 2020 with a New Year’s Day screening of Aladdin.
Point Nepean National Park, Franklands Drive, Portsea, December 26-January 7
TIDAL RIVER OPEN AIR CINEMA
Pull up a deck chair or hire a beanbag and kick back on the grass for all the big new releases, including Jumanji: The Next Level, Frozen II, and from New Year’s Day, Guy Ritchie’s star-studded return to the gangster caper in The Gentlemen. Along with the usual choc tops and popcorn, the kiosk has old school iced coffees and spiders.
Tidal River, Wilsons Promontory, December 26-April 13
SUMMER IN THE PARKS
The park is the place to be for families on balmy Friday nights in January as the movie love is shared around the Bendigo region. January 3: Christopher Robin at Redesdale Recreation Reserve. January 10: How to Train Your Dragon at Lockwood South Recreation Reserve. January 17: Dumbo at Elmore Recreation Reserve. January 24: The LEGO Movie at Axedale Park. January 31: Toy Story 4 at Barrack Reserve, Heathcote. All sessions are free.
Various venues, January 3-31
BAREFOOT CINEMA – MOUNT MARTHA
A historic homestead, a vineyard stretching out on rolling hills… Locations don’t come much more picturesque than The Briars on the Mornington Peninsula. A short but sweet two-week season is set to be a lot of fun with Brittany Runs a Marathon, The Princess Bride, Toy Story 4, Muriel’s Wedding and an Australia Day screening of Ride Like a Girl.
450 Nepean Hwy, Mount Martha, January 10-26
AUSTRALIAN OPEN 2020
As the festival vibe around the Open grows, the tournament is taking over Birrarung Marr for its kid-friendly AO Ballpark and AO Hilltop. Nights during the tennis can be spent watching family favourite movies on big screens in each section, with food trucks offering eats from lobster rolls to smoothies.
January 20-February 2
ausopen.com/visit/event-info/parents
CINEMA AT THE ’G
This two-night-only affair will be back just in time for Valentine’s Day – showing Elton John musical Rocketman, then Ride Like a Girl on the big screen. After that centre square proposal during the AFL season, the ’G is officially Melbourne’s home of romance!
February 14-15
DO IT OUTDOORS… IN THE CAR!
LUNAR DRIVE-IN
The largest drive-in cinema in Australia has four screens and a diner, and prides itself on providing an affordable family night out. Each evening offers multiple sessions (from sundown to 11.30pm) with all new releases. This week you can catch Knives Out, Frozen II, crime thriller 21 Bridges and Last Christmas.
115 South Gippsland Hwy, Dandenong, nightly from 8pm (except Christmas Day)
VILLAGE CINEMAS COBURG DRIVE-IN
Jump in the DeLorean and head Back to the Future this coming Friday – the Coburg Drive-in is hosting a special event screening of the ’80s classic. And what better way to catch Ford v Ferrari than in your own set of wheels? Kids under 12 free
155 Newlands Rd, Coburg
villagecinemas.com.au/cinemas/coburg-drive-in
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