Moonlight Cinema Melbourne 2023–24

Overview

Come on Barbie fans, let's go party — under the stars, in costume, while watching the biggest movie of 2023 and not thinking about dying. Moonlight Cinema is returning for 2023–24, with its November–December lineup celebrating Greta Gerwig and Margot Robbie's pink-hued big-screen comedy. The openair cinema season is throwing Barbie-themed shindigs where wearing pink, rose or similar shades is encouraged while watching the film beneath the evening sky.

That's just one of the highlights of this summer's (and late spring and early autumn's) date with Moonlight Cinema, which kicks off in Melbourne on Friday, December 1, 2023 and runs till Saturday, March 30, 2023 in the Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria. Also worth getting excited about: festive flicks ('tis the season), nostalgic sessions of Jurassic Park and The Mighty Ducks, The Hunger Games prequel Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes and Sydney-shot Sydney Sweeney (Euphoria)-starring rom-com Anyone But You.

If nothing says Christmas to you like catching a festive film under the heavens, ideally while kicking back on bean beds and eating a picnic, then you're in luck as usual. When the beloved Australian outdoor movie-viewing setup returns, it'll again show some of the merriest pictures that it can find. On the list: Love Actually, National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation, Die Hard, Home Alone, How the Grinch Stole Christmas and Elf — so, the usual selection, not that these jolly pictures ever get old.

Movie lovers can also look forward to seeing preview screenings of Taika Waititi's Next Goal Wins, plus the Natalie Portman- (Thor: Love and Thunder) and Julianne Moore (Sharper)-led May December. Throw in the animated Trolls Band Together, plus everything from Dumb Money and Mission: Impossible — Dead Reckoning Part One to Asteroid City, and there's already a heap of titles on the bill.

If you're wondering what else Moonlight will screen across its full season, it now drops its program month by month.

The films and the setting are just two parts of the Moonlight Cinema experience. Also on offer: an official Aperol spritz bar, which is new for 2023–24. Nosh-wise, the event will again let you BYO movie snacks and drinks, but the unorganised can enjoy a plethora of bites to eat onsite while reclining on bean beds. A beauty cart will be handing out samples, too. And, dogs are welcome — there's even special doggo bean beds, and a snack menu for pooches.