Trade in your Netflix queue for popcorn in the park! Brooklyn’s parks and gardens will light up with outdoor movies all summer long — and there is something for everyone, with classic films, indie flicks, and big-name blockbusters in the line-up. So consult our list, get a blanket, and invite your family and friends to experience cinema under the stars!
Grave start
The Rooftop Films summer film series season has added a new location this year: Green-Wood Cemetery! The movies will be projected onto three different screens near the graveyard’s Sylvan Water pond, with chairs set up nearby. The group’s artistic director said that they carefully considered the appropriateness of the venue when choosing films for the cemetery screenings.
“We have programmed a diverse batch of movies, but have paid particular attention to showing films that respect death, dying and the departed,” said Dan Nuxoll. “None of the films that we are screening take death lightly.”
Among the films screenings at Green-Wood this summer will be the Western comedy “Damsel,” on June 2; “Exit Music,” a documentary about the final creative act of a dying young artist, on June 16; and the dramatic comedy “Wild Nights with Emily,” about the poet Emily Dickinson, on July 7.
Rooftop will also screen a mix of feature-length movies and short film collections at other locations all over Brooklyn, including the William Vale in Williamsburg, Industry City and the Brooklyn Army Terminal in Sunset Park, and MetroTech Commons Downtown, with some free and some ticketed screenings.
Rooftop Films at Green-Wood Cemetery [500 25th St. at Fifth Avenue in Greenwood Heights, (718) 210–3080, www.green
Narrows escape
Escape the urban life with a visit to Bay Ridge’s botanical oasis! On Friday evenings starting in June, the Narrows Botanical Gardens will screen a mix of musicals, comedies, and a sci-fi classic.
June 22: “Grease”
July 13: “The Lion King”
July 27: “Vertigo”
Aug. 10: “My Big Fat Greek Wedding”
Aug. 24: “The Day the Earth Stood Still”
Narrows Botanical Garden (enter on Shore Road between Bay Ridge Avenue and 72nd Street in Bay Ridge). Movies start at sundown (about 8:30 pm). Free.
Under the Starz
In Greenpoint, the Summer Starz Movie series offers six family-friendly movies on Friday nights in July and August. The free screenings start at 8 pm.
July 6: “Lego Batman”
July 13: “Inside Out”
July 20: “Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle”
July 27: “Coco”
Aug. 3: “Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol. 2”
Aug. 10: “Black Panther”
Transmitter Park (Greenpoint Avenue between West Street and the water in Greenpoint, www.towns
Shows in the Sand
Enjoy a movie with the sand between your toes! Coney Island’s “Flicks on the Beach” series offers a family-friendly movie, every other Monday in July and August. Music starts at 7:30 pm, and the movie begins at 8:30 pm.
July 9: “The Greatest Showman”
July 23: “Back to the Future”
Aug. 9: “Coco”
Aug. 20: “Black Panther”
Flicks on the Beach (West 12th Street and Riegelmann Boardwalk in Coney Island, www.coney
On the Hook
The Red Hook Flicks summer movie festival offers eight weeks of classics and kids’ films, every Tuesday night on a pier jutting out into the Hudson Bay.
July 10: “Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle”
July 17: “Creed”
July 24: “Captain Underpants”
July 31: “Roadhouse”
Aug. 7: “Hairspray”
Aug. 14: “Silence of the Lambs”
Aug. 21: “Coco”
Aug. 29: “Dr. Strangelove”
Valentino Pier (Coffey Street between Ferris Street at the water in Red Hook, www.redho
Summer break
The SummerScreen series of films will present a free, outdoor film in Williamsburg’s McCarren Park every Wednesday night in July and August. Food trucks will set up around the space, and live music will start every Wednesday at 7:30 pm, with the movie starting at sundown.
July 11: “Jawbreaker”
July 18: “When Harry Met Sally”
July 25: “Love & Basketball”
Aug. 1: “Hackers”
Aug. 8: “Fantastic Mr. Fox”
Aug. 15: “Die Hard”
Aug. 22: “This is Spinal Tap”
Aug. 29: Audience Choice.
McCarren Park (N. 12th Street between Bedford and Berry avenues in Williamsburg, www.summe
Park it
The city skyline sits as the backdrop for the movies screened at Brooklyn Bridge Park’s “Movies with a View” series, starting on July 12. This year, the eight-week film series celebrates the theme “She Directs!” showcasing films directed by women.
“There are a lot of important conversations happening right now about women’s rights and gender equality — particularity in the film industry,” said Devin Mathis, the park’s director of programming. “We wanted ‘Movies With A View’ to celebrate women creators in a traditionally male-dominated industry, and to amplify the voices of female-identifying directors.”
The films include a deliberately broad set of genres, including goofy comedies, coming-of-age dramas, and action-packed superheroics, she said.
July 12: “Desperately Seeking Susan”
July 19: “Kung Fu Panda 2”
July 26: “Paris is Burning”
Aug. 2: “Bend It Like Beckham”
Aug. 9: “Wayne’s World”
Aug. 16: “Love & Basketball”
Aug. 23: “Wonder Woman”
Aug. 30: Public vote between “Dance, Girl, Dance,” “Big,” “Point Break,” and “The Matrix.”
Brooklyn Bridge Park’s Pier 1 (enter at Furman Street at Old Fulton Street in Dumbo, www.brook
Prospect lights
Outdoor movies and live music make the perfect pair in Brooklyn’s Back Yard, for four Wednesday nights starting on July 18. Nitehawk Cinema has selected family-friendly films from the ’30s, ’50s, ’60s and ’90s for the “Summer Movies Under the Stars” series, each of which follows a live musical performances from a local band, including Morricone Youth on July 25.
July 18: “The Wizard of Oz”
July 25: “Alice in Wonderland”
Aug. 1: “West Side Story”
Aug. 8: “Space Jam”
Prospect Park’s Long Meadow North (enter at Grand Army Plaza at Eastern Parkway, www.prosp
