One of my favorite things to do in the summer is hit the movies with the kids — for FREE (or very low cost)!  We love to get outdoors in the summer, but sometimes the weather doesn’t cooperate (either too hot or too rainy). When that happens, we love to hit the movies. Each year the selection of days, locations, and shows seems to grow — and we are the winners!

While we love to escape the weather with an indoor movie — we’ve also discovered a new fun thing to do — an outdoor theater! These are not the traditional “drive-in” theaters. Rather, these are theaters where you bring a low back lawn chair and watch a movie in your local neighborhood.

It is super easy to find movies near you. Just search for “Free Summer Movies” with your city (such as: Free Summer Movies Seattle) or “Outdoor Movies” with your city (e.g. “Outdoor Movies Seattle”).  

See you at The Movies!

  • Regal Entertainment Group has their annual Free Family Film Festival with selected G or PG movies starting at 10:00am every Tuesday and Wednesday during the festival. Tickets and seating are first-come, first-served and are limited to theatre capacity.
  • AMC Entertainment offers their AMC Summer Movie Camp at 10 a.m. each Tuesday morning this summer at participating theatres, from June 15 through August 10.  At only $1 admission, it’s an affordable option for summer fun for families and groups. All admission and concession proceeds will benefit two AMC charities, Variety – The Children’s Charity and the Will Rogers Institute.
  • National Amusements Bookworm Wednesdays. Wednesdays at 10 starting July 7 for 6 weeks. A fun and rewarding summer reading program developed to encourage young children to read during the summer months. BOOKWORM WEDNESDAYS entitles kids to free admission to a select children’s film when they present a book report at a participating Showcase Cinemas, Multiplex Cinemas or Cinema de Lux box office.

In the Seattle area, we have some great summer outdoor movie choices:

  • The Fremont “Almost Free” Outdoor Cinema.  This quirky and fun venue is not about the kids — its for the kid in all of us. Going national and even international, their website says, “The original idea was to have fun and watch movies in an unstructured atmosphere of irreverent, laid-back, good humor. It became a zany, community-spirited celebration of big screen cult classics spiced with interactive audience games and contests.”  $5.00 suggested donation. Titles include Twilight: New Moon, The Hangover, and Pretty in Pink.  Don’t miss it.
  • Outdoor Theaters abound in the Seattle Area — not all of these are free, but worth the ticket for a chance to enjoy the experience of watching outdoors. Check out this great listing of outdoor movies from MyNorthwest.com.