Summer Cinema Under the Stars

Things To Do

Updated July 10, 2025.

Barcelona hosts an array of annual film festivals, all of which aim to nurture local and international filmmaking talent. The city’s summer film festivals invite viewers to spend a balmy evening on the beach or in a courtyard watching an assortment of classic and contemporary flicks. They provide the perfect excuse to spend an afternoon out of the heat or a night enjoying a film under the stars.

Open-Air Cinema at the Palace

May 18 to the end of September, 2025, Hotel Palace, Gran Via de les Corts Catalanes 668, 08010 Barcelona

The outdoor cinema returns to the rooftop of El Palace Barcelona, offering movies every night of the week. As the sun sets over the Barcelona skyline, guests can enjoy a selection of movies that will change each month. Admission includes popcorn and a Grey Goose cocktail for €36 per person in a sunbed or €45 per person for a lounge chair. All films will be shown in their original version with Spanish subtitles. Screenings start at 21:00. hotelpalacebarcelona.com

Sala Montjuïc 

June 27 to August 6, 2025 (Wednesdays, Fridays & Saturdays), Les Tres Xemeneies, Carrer d'Eduard Maristany 106, 08930 Sant Adrià de Besòs

Sala Montjuïc is one of the city’s favorite summertime festivals featuring a range of classic and contemporary films preceded by live music and a short film screening. This year the festival has moved from Montjuïc castle to Les Tres Xemeneies in Sant Adrià de Besòs.

The 2025 lineup includes A Complete Unknown, James Mangold (USA, 2024); Conclave, Edward Berger (UK, 2024);  Todo sobre mi madre (All About My Mother), Pedro Almodóvar (Spain, 1999); The Substance, Coralie Fargeat (UK, 2024); Wicked, Jon M. Chu (USA, 2024); Juror No. 2, Clint Eastwood (USA, 2024); A Real Pain, Jesse Eisenberg (USA, 2024); También esto pasará (This Too Shall Pass), Maria Ripoll (Spain, 2025); Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, Tim Burton (USA, 2024); Forrest Gump, Robert Zemeckis (USA, 1994); Emilia Pérez, Jacques Audiard (France, 2024) and many more!

Showings are on Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays. All films are projected in original version, with Spanish subtitles. Doors open at 20:30 and the music starts at 20:45 to get your evening grooving. Standard tickets are available for €8.50, tickets with deck chairs are €11.50. Tickets must be purchased in advance via the website. You are welcome to bring your own picnic and there is a bar on site as well. salamontjuic.org

Pantalla Pavelló Film Series

July 7, August 4, September 1, 2025, Pavelló Mies van der Rohe, Avenida de Francesc Ferrer i Guàrdia 7, 08038 Barcelona

Pantalla Pavelló delves into the relationship between the built environment, its limits and its borders, the people who inhabit it, and how this relationship is accentuated and revealed in its maximum expression. Directly projected on the travertine wall of the beautiful Mies van der Rohe Pavilion, this annual summer cinema series features films and documentaries that challenge the way we think about architecture and promote critical thinking. They are inspiring and engaging, and seek to raise public awareness of how architecture and urbanism shape our lives and the world, and vice versa: how our cultures, ideologies and immaterial practices affect space. Tickets haven't been released for the 2025 edition, but will soon be available on the foundation's website. miesbcn.com

Cinema Lliure a la Platja 

July 17 to August 7, 2025 (Thursdays, + one Sunday), Platja de Sant Sebastià, Passeig Marítim de la Barceloneta 2, 08003 Barcelona

Cinema Lliure a la Platja is an independent film festival offering free film screenings on the beach. Now in its 14th year, the festival offers screenings on beaches all along Catalunya's coast. Hundreds of film aficionados gather at sunset to enjoy a selection of alternative and avant-garde films not available at conventional cinemas, reflecting the urban and contemporary spirit of the festival.

This year's program features Salve Maria, (Spain, 2025), Mar Col's the drama thriller that explores the dark side of motherhood; Gints Zilbalodis' breathtakingly unique animated film Flow (Latvia, 2024); Pedro Freire's Malu (Brazil, 2024) a profoundly felt study of a woman with an all-consuming, unstable love; and Paola Cortellesi's Siempre nos quedará mañana (Italy, 2023), a moving comedic drama set in postwar Rome in which a working-class wife and mother dreams of a better future. Before each feature film, a short film selected by FILMETS Badalona Film Festival will be shown. Films are usually screened in original language with Spanish subtitles.

In Barcelona, screenings are held on Thursday on San Sebastián Beach. Keep in mind that food and chairs will not be provided, so make sure to pack something tasty and a blanket for a lovely beach picnic under the stars. You are encouraged to arrive early for a good seat closest to the screen! Admission is free, films start after sunset, some time between 21:30 and 22:00. cinemalliure.com

Mecal Air

July 11-September 14, 2025 (Fridays), Museo Can Framis, Carrer Roc Boronat 116-126, 08018 Barcelona

The arrival of summer means the kids get their long-awaited holidays, the tourists wear flip-flops even when it is raining and Mecal Air returns to screen a selection of the best recently-released short films. It's a wonderful way to kick-off the weekend and enjoy a summer evening to the fullest.

Mecal Air has been organizing outdoor summer film screenings for over ten years and it's back again this year with a striking compilation of short films. Friday nights will dazzle with evenings devoted to universal themes such as comedy, horror, sci-fi and animation, to name a few. Films are screened at the Can Framis Museum; make sure you get there in plenty of time to get a good spot!

Admission is free. Doors open at 20:00; films start at 21:30. No food or beverages can be brought in, but there will be a designated area with bar service. mecalbcn.org

Gandules

July 29-August 14, 2025 (Tuesday, Wednesday & Thursday), Pati de les Dones, CCCB, Carrer de Montalegre 5, 08001 Barcelona

After a three-year hiatus the CCCB 's summer film session Gandules is back, inviting film lovers to view a diverse assortment of films under the night sky. Previous years have have focused on the themes femmes fatales, the seven deadly sins, immigration and love. This year's program returns in celebration of the 15th anniversary of the D’A Film Festival featuring a selection of the emblematic titles that have been screened during the festival’s 15-year history. Often surrealist and always entertaining, it’s a lineup not to be missed. Films are usually screened in original version with Catalan subtitles.

Screenings take place midweek, from Tuesday to Thursday in the CCCB’s Pati de les Dones courtyard, general admission is €4.00. Doors open and bar service begins at 21:00, screenings begin at 22:00. cccb.org