The best outdoor cinemas in Sydney for open-air movies

From November 22, 2024, Moonlight Cinema is back in action at Centennial Parklands for its 29th 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 30, 2025.

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 and on-site activations flogging free samples, to boot. 

If picnic rugs, deckcharis and beanbags aren't for you, Mov’in Bed just might be. This open-air, beach-style cinema pop up is home to 160 queen and king sized beds, complete with noise cancelling headphones and bedside food delivery options. The screen is set against Baragaroo harbourfront, so you can expect spectacular sunset views before the opening credits roll and it's time to get tucked in.

If you’re on a budget, The Rocks’ free Laneway Cinema is back this summer – bringing magical alfresco film screenings to an historic sandstone laneway every Wednesday evening. Tickets are free, and are available to book on the Monday before the screening. 

Veteran outdoor cinema producer Sunset Cinema (also responsible for this North Sydney outpost) will be bringing four weeks of outdoor movie screenings to Bondi Pavilion this summer. Sunset Cinema Bondi will screen six nights a week (from November 22 through to December 21) at the beautiful Dolphin Court. You can soak up the alfresco atmosphere while they take care of all the outdoor cinema must-haves: comfy bean bags, a fully licensed bar, food truck options, and movie snacks like freshly popped popcorn.

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

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.