Outdoor Summer Movies

Every summer there are free outdoor movies at venues like Stanley Park, downtown Vancouver, on the North Shore, and across the Lower Mainland.

To learn about the above shows as well as others on other dates at venues throughout the Lower Mainland, continue reading!

Outdoor movies often take place at the following locations:

Click on any of the above links to jump to movie information for a specific part of town, or continue reading to learn about all Metro Vancouver outdoor movie locations.

Note: If you want a list of movies in chronological order instead, click Free Outdoor Movies.

Free Outdoor Movies in the Lower Mainland

At each outdoor movie location spectators are encouraged to bring their own blankets and lawn chairs, plus snacks and picnics for those who want them. The exceptions are any drive-in movies, where the organizers might want people to stay in their vehicles.

Below are locations showing movies in 2025, along with others that have showed them in the past. As of mid-May, details about some events are to be confirmed.

Stanley Park Summer Cinema

Stanley Park Summer Cinema is a series of free outdoor movie showings that take place at Second Beach in Stanley Park from early July until late August.

The movies all start about 15 minutes after sunset on Tuesday evenings on one of the largest outdoor screens in the Lower Mainland. In 2025 the series started on July 8th and concluded on August 26th.

Free seating is available on a first-come, first-served basis. Premium VIP seating is also available with advance reservations starting at about $30 per person.

The 2025 schedule was below.

8th of July, 2025 – The Princess Bride
15th of July, 2025 – The Land Before Time
22nd of July, 2025 – Legally Blonde
29th of July, 2025 – Ferris Bueller’s Day Off
5th of August, 2025 – the public chooses between Grease, Hairspray and Mamma Mia!
12th of August, 2025 – Top Gun
19th of August, 2025 – My Best Friend’s Wedding
26th of August, 2025 – Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone

Click Stanley Park Outdoor Cinema for more information.

TIP: Make a day of the experience – Stanley Park’s seawall is wonderful to walk or cycle around beforehand, and the Second Beach outdoor swimming pool is usually open until around dusk in July and August.

Burnaby Free Outdoor Movies

Summer Cinema movie nights in Burnaby take place at both Civic Square and Confederation Park. The events run on select Fridays and Saturdays in August. There are roving entertainers prior to each screening as well.

Below was the outdoor movie lineup for 2025:

15th of August, 2025 – A Minecraft Movie (Civic Square at 8:30 pm)
16th of August, 2025 – Dog Man (Confederation Park at 8:15 pm)
22nd of August, 2025 – The Tiger’s Apprentice (Civic Square at 8:30 pm)
23rd of August, 2025 – Moana 2 (Confederation Park at 8:15 pm)
29th of August, 2025 – If (Civic Square at 8:30 pm)

Click Burnaby Summer Cinema for further details about these events.

North Vancouver Outdoor Movies

Free outdoor movies show at various locations around North Vancouver most summers.

North Vancouver’s Cates Deck

The Deckchair Cinema series takes place on Cates Deck on Thursday evenings in North Vancouver’s Shipyards District. The movies are free to attend.

The 2025 schedule was below. This year’s lineup was full of sci-fi films.

3rd of July, 2025 – Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders From Mars
10th of July, 2025 – Universal Language
17th of July, 2025 – Gravity
24th of July, 2025 – Spaceballs
31st of July, 2025 – The Fifth Element
7th of August, 2025 – Flash Gordon
14th of August, 2025 – Star Trek 2: The Wrath of Khan
21st of August, 2025 – Starman
28th of August, 2025 – Wicked

To learn more about the above movies and their venue see our article about Deckchair Cinema.

Sunset Cinema at the Shipyards

Free outdoor movies take place on Wednesdays at Shipyards Commons (which is the large covered open plaza in the Shipyards District just a five-minute walk from Lonsdale Quay). The 2025 schedule was listed below.

30th of July, 2025 – Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle
6th of August, 2025 – The Devil Wears Prada
13th of August, 2025 – The Fast and the Furious
20th of August, 2025 – Twilight
27th of August, 2025 – Wicked

For full details about the outdoor movies go to the City of North Vancouver‘s website.

North Vancouver Movies at Civic Plaza

Free movies show in the plaza outside the North Vancouver City Library at 120 West 14th Street. The screen size is smaller here than at Stanley Park and some other outdoor movie locations, but it has a slightly cozier atmosphere with only a couple of hundred North Shore spectators most nights.

Movie nights at the plaza took place on the days below in 2025.

25th of July, 2025 – Paddington 2

For the latest information about this event see the City of North Vancouver‘s website.

Reel Magic at Ray Perrault Park

Inside Out 2 showed at Ray Perrault Park on Friday, July 18th in 2025. The film played on a 24-foot screen and there were various games to play at the park before settling in for the movie.

To learn more about this and other events visit the City of North Vancouver‘s website.

Grouse Mountain’s Movies on the Mountain

There were outdoor movies shown at Grouse Mountain on Thursday evenings in 2025. These movies were only free if you had an annual pass. Otherwise they cost $25 to attend last year.

The movies began at sunset, so around 9:00 pm at the beginning of August and around 8:00 pm at the end of August. The schedule for 2025 was as follows:

31st of July, 2025 – The Parent Trap
7th of August, 2025 – Shrek
14th of August, 2025 – Mission Impossible: Fallout
21st of August, 2025 – The Lion King
28th of August, 2025 – Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

For more details check out the Grouse Mountain website.

Surrey Outdoor Movies

Movies Under the Stars is another series of outdoor movies that takes place at Surrey’s Holland Park at 13428 Old Yale Road not far from Central City mall on Saturday evenings. Popcorn and hot dogs are normally available on site. This year, admission was by donation and proceeds went to charity. Entertainment each evening started at 6:00 pm and the films began at dusk (just after 9:00 pm).

2025 films at Holland Park included the following:

9th of August, 2025 – Moana 2
16th of August, 2025 – Mufasa: The Lion King

For more information about this series, see our article about Movies Under the Stars.

Outdoor Movie Night at Holland Park — Movies at Holland Park

Tsawwassen Outdoor Movies

The Tsawwassen Sun Festival is a three-day community festival that ran from August 2nd to 4th in 2025. This year’s festival featured a free outdoor screening of Trolls: Let’s Band Together at Southlands Grange on August 2nd at dusk.

Vancouver Art Gallery Outdoor Movies

Summer Movie Nights in the Square take place at the šxʷƛ̓ənəq Xwtl’e7énḵ Square in front of the Vancouver Art Gallery on the 800 block of Georgia Street.

In 2025, pre-show activities such as live music, games and more started at around 5:00 pm. The films began at sundown. Below was the lineup for 2025. The movies ran on Thursdays between July 3rd and August 14th.

3rd of July, 2025 – Bring It On
10th of July, 2025 – The Wild Robot
17th of July, 2025 – Little Women
24th of July, 2025 – Scott Pilgrim vs. The World
31st of July, 2025 – The Wizard of Oz
7th of August, 2025 – Wicked
14th of August, 2025 – Inception

For more information check out Downtown Vancouver Movie Nights.

Sunset Cinema at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre Plaza

Free outdoor movies show in the plaza outside the Queen Elizabeth Theatre at 650 Hamilton Street, now named šxʷƛ̓exən Xwtl’a7shn Plaza.

2025 dates and films were the following (with all screenings at dusk):

6th of August, 2025 – Shrek
13th of August, 2025 – The Wild Robot
20th of August, 2025 – Indiana Jones: Raiders of the Lost Ark
27th of August, 2025 – Mean Girls

See our article about Sunset Cinema for more information.

Richmond Movies

Drive-in movies usually take place in the Lansdowne Centre parking lot at 5300 No. 3 Road in Richmond. However, this isn’t the case in 2025. Instead of outdoor movies, Lansdowne Centre hosts indoor movies at the building’s Centre Court. This year’s movie nights take place on Thursdays in August. Admission is free and popcorn is available by donation.

The 2025 full schedule was listed below.

7th of August, 2025 – Top Gun: Maverick
14th of August, 2025 – Wild Robot
21st of August, 2025 – High School Musical
28th of August, 2025 – Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl

For more details click Lansdowne Mall Movies.