It wouldn't be summer in London without an onslaught of pop-up outdoor cinemas and rooftop film screenings. Whether you're into classic flicks or the newest releases, check out where you can get your al fresco film fix in summer 2024.
Rooftop Film Club London 2024: Peckham and Stratford
King of the summer cinema scene Rooftop Film Club brings screenings to rooftops in Peckham (Bussey Building) and Stratford (Roof East) again this year.
RFC's winning formula involves mixing classics and perennial favourites (10 Things I Hate About You, Pulp Fiction, Jurassic Park, Fight Club, When Harry Met Sally, Pretty Woman) with new releases (Barbie, Oppenheimer).
Food and drink is available from well-stocked bars and carefully-selected food vendors (Share a Slice pizza along with traditional cinema snacks in Peckham, and a selection of traders at Roof East in Stratford). No rustling, please.
The Peckham venue offers an LED screen, meaning films can be shown during the day as well as at sundown. This means more family-friendly daytime screenings at weekends and during school holidays — Wonka, Ratatouille, and Elemental are on the first wave announced this year. Speaking of family, Peckham is a dog-friendly venue, with (well-behaved) canine companions welcome at all screenings (note that only assistance dogs are allowed at Roof East though).
Both venues have a limited number of wheelchair spaces available, so make sure you book yours in advance if you need one. There are also selected open captions screenings, where captions are shown throughout the film for the benefit of Deaf or hard of hearing cinemagoers.
Our recommendation? Head for the Bussey Building in Peckham for seriously impressive views over the London skyline at sunset.
Rooftop Film Club 2024. From 19 April at Roof East (Stratford) and from 25 April at Bussey Building (Peckham). Schedules and tickets are released around a month at a time.
Adventure Cinema 2024: Charlton House and Osterley Park
Touring outdoor movie screen Adventure Cinema rattles around the UK at a whiplash-inducing rate, swinging from Perth to Plymouth and, thankfully for us, making a couple of pitstops in London — at rather beautiful venues to boot.
It's a fairly standard outdoor cinema set-up — bring your own picnic chair or blanket (unless you've splashed out for VIP tickets) to watch classic films (Grease, Back to the Future, Dirty Dancing) in stately surroundings.
Most venues have food and drink stalls on-site, but you can bring your own picnic/snacks if you prefer. Alcohol rules vary between venues so check before you pack the vino.
Adventure Cinema 2024. UK tour begins 10 May, London dates are Charlton House & Gardens (7-9 June) and Osterley Park and House (8-11 August). No Ham House screenings this year.
Embassy Gardens Drive-In Cinema
Beep beep! For one day only, a rather special drive-in cinema pulls up at Embassy Gardens in Nine Elms. Focus is very much on classic cars, and you can hire one — or a supercar — to sit in and watch a film, or cruise up in your own set of wheels. Deckchairs are available to hire too.
It's an all-dayer, with a programme of blockbuster films shown 10am-10pm: The Lion King (1994), Star Wars: A New Hope, Mamma Mia, and From Russia With Love are projected onto the big screen. Flatbreads, burgers, snacks, and ice cream plus summery cocktails, mocktails, juices, beers, and wines are available to buy on-site from The Alchemist, with popcorn and other cinema snacks also available.
Embassy Gardens Drive-In Cinema, 11 May 2024.
Summer Screen in Vauxhall Pleasure Gardens 2024
For the 11th year, pop-up outdoor cinema Summer Screen comes to Vauxhall Pleasure Gardens, showing four films across four Tuesday evenings — and the screenings are free (though you'll need to book tickets). Pack a picnic and blanket to watch Encanto (9 July), Barbie (16 July), Men in Black (23 July), and Moulin Rouge (30 July).
Summer Screen in Vauxhall Pleasure Gardens, 9-30 July 2024.
Also keep an eye on:
- The Luna Cinema brings outdoor cinema to spectacular venues in London and beyond — summer programme announcement due soon;
- Merchant Square in Paddington usually offers free outdoor film screenings through the summer;
- Lower Marsh in Waterloo has held free film screenings on summer evenings in previous years;
- Screen on the Canal normally pitches up at Granary Square in King's Cross offering free screenings of classic films;
- Canary Wharf upped its game for free outdoor movie screenings in summer 2023, and we hope to see the same this year;
- Kew the Movies usually pitches up for family-friendly film screenings towards the end of the summer holidays.
We'll update this page with details of the above as soon as 2024 details are announced.
Weather not on your side but still fancy a film? Check out London's best independent cinemas. And keep an eye out for these London buildings which all used to be cinemas.
