Where to watch free outdoor movies in Chicago this summer

Sometimes, capping the perfect summer day in Chicago after checking out a street festival involves a movie in one of the city's many beautiful public parks. With free screenings all summer long, there's no better reason to pack up the blankets, lawn chairs and picnic baskets for an evening under the stars. The Chicago Park District's Movies in the Parks series features dozens of different films across neighborhoods from Rogers Park to South Shore, and runs at some top destinations like Belmont Harbor and Osterman Beach. But that's not all—you can also catch free showings outside Wrigley Field at Gallagher Way and during the Millennium Park Summer Film Series.

There's plenty to chose from in the scheduled selection. Missed seeing Wonka in theaters? You have plenty of chances to see it this summer (15 chances, to be exact). Want to dabble in French cinema to elevate upcoming dinner party conversation? Check out a few of the more lowkey, international flicks this summer. And, of course, there's a chance to see Ferris Bueller's Day Off like never before.  Check out our guide for the full lineup and pick a night that suits your tastes and schedule.

Movies at the Parks screenings begin at dusk. Movies at Gallagher Way screenings begin at 7:30pm. Movies at Millennium Park begin at 6:30pm.

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JUNE

The Great Gatsby (1974) (June 11 at Belmont Harbor)

Best in Show (June 12 at Bartelme Park)

Wonka (June 12 at Gallagher Way)

Wonka (June 12 at Hamilton Park)

Wonka (June 13 at Tuley Park)

Vivo (June 13 at Scottsdale Park)

Migration (June 13 at Chopin Park)

Trolls Band Together (June 14 at Washington Park Refectory)

Wish (June 14 at Riis Park)

Wonka (June 14 at Chase Park)

Wonka (June 15 at Kosciuszko Park)

Elemental (June 15 at Wang Park)

Barbie (June 15 at Lake Shore Park)

Elemental (June 18 at Jefferson Memorial Park)

Barbie (June 18 Ward Park)

Wish (June 18 at Garfield Park)

Kung Fu Panda 4 (June 20 at Fuller Park)

Migration (June 20 at Hollywood Park)

Barbie (June 20 at Wicker Park)

Sonic the Hedgehog (June 21 at Mandrake Park)

Trolls Band Together (June 21 at Donahue Park)

Trolls Band Together (June 21 at Brooks Park)

Chevalier (June 22 at Homan Square Community Center Park)

Trolls (June 22 at Jonquil Park)

Le Grand Bain (Sink or Swim) (June 22 at Osterman Beach)

Spy Kids (June 25 at Jackson Fieldhouse)

Rear Window (June 25 at Bartelme Park)

Trolls Band Together (June 25 at Kells Park)

Barbie (June 26 at Gallagher Way)

Les Vacances de Monsieur Hulot (Monsieur Hulot's Holiday) (June 26 at Walsh Park)

Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom (June 26 at Mozart Park)

Migration (June 26 at Eckhart Park)

The Rookie (June 27 at Clark Park)

Rookie of the Year (June 27 at Wentworth Park)

Elemental (June 27 at Augusta Park)

Parenthood (June 28 at Oz Park)

Wonka (June 28 at Archer Park)

Kung Fun Panda 4 (June 28 at Haas Park)

Candy Cane Lane (June 29 at Lindblom Park)

Elemental (June 29 at Loyola Park)

Ferris Bueller's Day Off (June 29 at Churchill Field Park)

JULY

Toni Morrison: The Pieces I Am (July 1 at Chicago History Museum)

Migration (July 2 at Ridge Park)

Migration (July 2 at Edgebrook Park)

My Donkey, My Lover and Me (July 2 at Ward Park)

Barbie (July 9 at Normandy Park)

The Outsiders (July 9 at Washington Park)

Wonka (July 9 at Lake Shore Park)

School of Rock (July 10 at Gallagher Way)

Elemental (July 10 at Marquette Park)

Otra Boda En Castaner (Another Wedding in Castaner) (July 10 at Riis Park)

The Little Mermaid (July 10 at Moore Park)

Transformers: Rise of the Beats (July 11 at Taylor Park)

The Little Mermaid (July 11 at LeClaire-Hearst Park)

Roll Bounce (July 11 at Oakdale Park)

Roll Bounce (July 12 at Amundsen Park)

Migration (July 12 at Dvorak Park)

Madame Webb (July 12 at Fernwood Park)

Barbie (July 13 at Churchill Field Park)

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem (July 13 at Hoyne Park)

The Boys in the Boat (July 13 at Lake Shore Park)

E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial/Jurassic Park (6pm, July 16 at Millennium Park)

Transformers: Rise of the Beasts (July 16 at Kedvale Park)

My Big Fat Greek Wedding 3 (July 16 at Ward Park)

Death Becomes Her (July 16 at Osterman Beach)

Angels in the Outfield (July 17 at Gallagher Way)

Haut et Fort (Casablanca Beats) (July 17 at Belmont Harbor)

Amores Incompletos (Incomplete Lovers) (July 17 at Loyola Park)

Crazy Rich Asians (July 17 at Bartelme Park)

A Million Miles Away (July 18 at Margate Park)

Wonka (July 18 at Wicker Park)

Fast X (July 18 at West Pullman Park)

Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom (July 19 at Rowan Park)

Wonka (July 19 at Holstein Park)

Top Gun Maverick (July 19 at Athletic Field Park)

Barbie (July 19 at Commercial Club Playground of Chicago)

Migration (July 20 at Humboldt Park)

Ferris Bueller's Day Off (July 20 at Jonquil Park)

The Greatest Showman (July 20 at Eckhart Park)

Coco (July 23 at Millennium Park)

Aladdin (1992) (July 23 at Calumet Park)

The Pride of the Yankees (July 23 at Beverly Park)

Trolls Band Together (July 23 at Eugene Field Park)

Barbie (July 24 at Bosley Park)

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem (July 24 at Palmer Park)

Croma Kid (July 24 at Piotrowski Park)

Barbie (July 25 at Bartelme Park)

The Little Mermaid (July 25 at Grand Crossing Park)

Back to the Future (July 25 at Juneway Beach Park)

Paw Patrol: The Might Movie  (July 26 at Ping Tom Memorial Park)

The Marvels (July 26 at Douglass Park)

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem (July 26 at Simons Park)

Kung Fu Panda 4 (July 27 at La Follette Park)

A Dog's Journey (July 27 at Lake Shore Park)

Trolls Band Together (July 27 at Ken-Well Park)

Barbie (July 30 at Millennium Park)

The Color Purple (2023) (July 30 at Rosenblum Park)

The Wiz (July 30 at Trumball Park)

The Notebook (July 30 at Belmont Harbor)

Soul (July 31 at Gallagher Way)

Trolls Band Together (July 31 at Wilson Park)

La Sagrada Familia (The Sacred Family) (July 31 at Kilbourn Park)

The Wiz (July 31 at South Shore Cultural Center)

AUGUST

Wonka (August 1 at Gross Park)

The Sandlot (August 1 at Park No. 571/Eleanor Boathouse)

Honey, I Shrunk the Kids (August 1 at Cornell Square Park)

The Sandlot (August 1 at Maplewood Park)

Wish (August 2 at Eillis Park)

Godzilla: King of Monsters (August 2 at Brighton Park Community Campus)

Space Jam (1996) (August 2 at Mayfair Park)

The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes (August 3 at Lake Shore Park)

Wonka (August 3 at Loyola Park)

Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom (August 3 at Cooper Park)

Back to the Future (August 3 at Washington Park)

American Fiction (August 6 at Millennium Park)

Paw Patrol: The Might Movie (August 6 at West Lawn Park)

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem (August 6 at Smith Park)

Wish (August 7 at Shreiber Park)

Mummies (August 7 at Sherwood Park)

Amores Incompletos (Incomplete Lovers) (August 7 at Harrison Park)

Space Jam: A New Legacy (August 8 at Skinner Park)

Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (August 8 at Jackson Fieldhouse)

Bye Bye Birdie (August 8 at Indian Boundary Park)

Heroes of the Golden Mask (August 9 at Lincoln Park)

Paw Patrol: The Might Movie (August 9 at Calumet Park)

Migration (August 9 at Sauganash Park)

Trolls Band Together (August 10 at Churchill Field Park)

Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom (August 10 at Dawes Park)

Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom (August 10 at Lowe Park)

Wonka (August 13 at Millennium Park)

The Wiz (August 13 at Burnham Park/Promontory Point)

Wonka (August 13 at Ward Park)

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (August 14 at Gallagher Way)

Apollo 13 (August 14 at Bartelme Park)

Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny (August 14 at Berger Park)

Migration (August 14 at Chippewa Park)

Soul (August 14 at Murrary Park)

The Princess Bride (August 15 at The Princess Bride)

The Marvels (August 15 at Hasan Park)

Wonka (August 15 at Edgebrook Park)

The Color Purple (2023) (August 16 at Austin Town Hall Park)

Barbie (August 16 at Athletic Field Park)

The Marvels (August 16 at Bessemer Park)

Elemental (August 15 at Cole Park)

Trouble With The Curve (August 17 at Oz Park)

Wish (August 17 at Holstein Park)

Wish (August 17 at Kosciuzsko Park)

Ferris Bueller's Day Off (August 20 at Millennium Park)

Barbie (August 20 at River Park)

Mamma Mia! (August 20 at Osterman Beach)

Matilda (August 20 at Eckhart Park)

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem (August 21 at Wildwood Park)

The Marvels (August 21 at Euclid Park)

Dark Waters (August 21 at Piotrowski Park)

Dungeon and Dragons: Honor Among Thieves (August 22 at Commercial Club Playground of Chicago)

Black Adam (August 22 at Tilton Park)

Transformers: Rise of the Beasts (August 22 at Rogers Park)

Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom (August 23 at Franklin Park)

Wish (August 23 at Gately Park)

Wish (August 23 at Pottawattomie Park)

Frozen (August 23 at Jonquil Park)

The Wizard of Oz (August 24 at Oz Park)

Mission Impossible: Dead Reckoning (August 24 at Lake Shore Park)

Star Wars: A New Hope (August 28 at Gallagher Way)

SEPTEMBER

Kusama: Inifinity (September 3 at Chicago History Museum)

Kung Fu Panda 4 (September 4 at Hamlin Park)

The Bad Guys (September 5 at Oz Park)

Raiders of the Lost Ark (September 7 at Jonquil Park)

Top Gun: Maverick (September 7 at Holstein Park)

Twilight (September 11 at Gallagher Way)

Wonka (September 13 at Athletic Field Park)