Westpac Openair Cinema Has Announced the First Three Movies You'll Be Watching by the Harbour in 2024
Michael Mann's 'Ferrari', 'Next Goal Wins' from Taika Waititi and the Emma Stone-starring 'Poor Things' are all headed to Mrs Macquaries Point.
The fact that Westpac Openair Cinema plays films is right there in its name, but movies aren't the only reason to stop by. Almost anything can grace the towering screen at Mrs Macquaries Point each summer, backdropped by spectacular panoramic views, and it'd be worth a visit. But this outdoor spot to see a flick doesn't ever slouch when it comes to its movie picks.
Fresh from announcing its 2024 dates — aka Wednesday, January 10—Tuesday, February 20 — Westpac Openair Cinema has now revealed the first three films that are on the program for its upcoming season. The full lineup will be unveiled on Monday, November 27, but for now an impressive trio of titles has been locked in: Ferrari, Next Goal Wins and Poor Things.
Michael Mann hasn't had a movie flicker across the big screen since 2015's Blackhat, so the fact that that's changing with a picture that also gives the world Adam Driver (65) as a race car driver-turned-sports car entrepreneur — that'd be Ferrari — is big news. At Westpac Openair Cinema, you'll be able to see it on a particularly hefty screen.
With Next Goal Wins, audiences can check out Taika Waititi's new movie, which is a comedy based on the 2014 documentary of the same name. The details might ring a bell if you're a fan of soccer and you remember the American Samoan team's big 2001 defeat. Competing against Australia in a qualifying match two decades back, the squad lost 31–0. Cue the hiring of Dutch American coach Thomas Rongen, who Michael Fassbender (The Killer) plays in Waititi's movie.
As for Poor Things, it gets Emma Stone (Cruella) reuniting with Greek Weird Wave director Yorgos Lanthimos after 2018's excellent The Favourite, all for a spin on Frankenstein. The film adapts Alasdair Grey's 1992 award-winning novel, but the parallels with Mary Shelley's mother-of-all horror greats are as obvious as a bolt of lightning. The focus: Bella Baxter, a woman resurrected by an unorthodox scientist, distinctive in her mannerisms afterwards and eager to learn about a world that isn't quite sure how to react.
As for what else might pop up at the beloved openair picture palace with a vista over the city, the Opera House and the Harbour Bridge, the team behind the event has posted on social media about Barbie, Oppenheimer and Past Lives, so fingers crossed that they make the cut when the complete lineup drops. Cross your toes as well if you'd love a Barbenheimer double.
The Westpac Openair Cinema crew has also mentioned a few titles that it's still thinking about from its 2023 run, which you could take as a hint. On the list: Tár, Elvis, Jackie Brown and the OG Top Gun.
Westpac OpenAir Sydney
The event's array of dining experiences hasn't been announced as yet, including whether if Kitchen by Mike will be behind the cinema's meals again.
As happens every year, tickets are likely to go quickly when they go on sale on Monday, December 11. Across the summer of 2018–19, more than 40,000 tickets sold within the first two days of pre-sale, for instance — so put it in your diary ASAP.
Fiora Sacco
Westpac Openair 2024 runs from Wednesday, January 10—Tuesday, February 20. The program will be announced on Monday, November 27, with tickets on sale on Monday, December 11 — check back here then for further details.
Top image: Andrew Maccoll.
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