Best outdoor film screenings, London 2022

Pop Up Screens

Pop Up Screens celebrates its 10th birthday this summer, selling tickets for only £10 a head. This year, their outdoor cinemas unfold over three months across seven London parks and open spaces including Holborn, Hammersmith and Greenwich Peninsula.

The venues boast a ‘relaxed atmosphere’ in which to enjoy many crowdpleasers including No Time to Die, Grease, and The Greatest Showman. There's also something of an 80s vibe with films like The Breakfast Club, Dirty Dancing, The Goonies and Back to the Future filling the schedules.

Photo: Strike Media

Rooftop Film Club

Rooftop Film Club has cooked up another season of outdoor venues in two picturesque London locations. With hot food and alcohol, of course.

In Stratford and Peckham, you'll find screenings throughout July: featuring both timeless classics (True Romance, Do the Right Thing) and contemporary offerings (Elvis, Good Luck to You, Leo Grande, Everything Everywhere All At Once). Rooftop also provides height-adjustable deckchairs and state-of-the-art wireless headphones to enhance your immersive comfort.

Photo: EPK/Paramount

Luna Cinema

Luna Cinema has a near-ubiquitous presence across the country, and this year comes to 40 locations in the UK. They're even returning the venue to Sandringham Estate, the Queen's Norfolk home. The London locations include Westminster Abbey, Clapham Common, Kew Gardens, and Greenwich Old Royal Naval College.

There are plenty of excellent titles rolling out this year, from sing-along hits like West Side Story and Moulin Rouge! to sci-fi/fantasy epics like Dune and Harry Potter. And Little Moons are also providing their mochi ice cream balls to make your screening even more delicious.

Photo: Cow

Barbican Outdoor Cinema

Fancy something more high-brow? Well, the Barbican will sort you out with their succinct selection of intelligent films – shown in the architecturally amazing Sculpture Court.

Coexisting with their recent ecological exhibition Our Time On Earth, this year’s programme aims to reignite a passion for the planet. This includes the famous Pink Floyd concert Live in Pompeii (1972), the lauded Studio Ghibli film Princess Mononoke (1997) and Julie Dash’s magic-realist drama Daughters of the Dust (1991), which was the first movie directed by a Black woman to receive a nationwide release in the US.

There’s also a double-bill of animations by the French writer-director René Laloux: La Planète Sauvage (1973) followed by his earlier short film Les Escargots (1966).

Photo: PR

Backyard Cinema: Miami Beach

Okay, this isn't technically outside, but Backyard Cinema has created the convincing illusion of a sun-sprinkled Miami. Pull up a beanbag on the sand, taste a Backyard Pizza, and savour an exotic cocktail amid the bohemian beachscape. And if you’re up for it, there’s also a dancefloor.

Backyard has prepared a dazzling line-up of buzzy movies to enjoy – whether for a romantic night out, a day trip with the kids or a party with friends. Dirty Dancing, Lightyear, Thor: Love and Thunder, and Top Gun: Maverick are all showing.