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Free Outdoor Movies in NYC This October

Jack Skellington gives a new meaning to Christmas Spirit in The Nightmare Before Christmas, which is one of the free outdoor movies streaming in NYC this October.
Jack Skellington gives a new meaning to Christmas Spirit in The Nightmare Before Christmas, which is one of the free outdoor movies streaming in NYC this October.
10/8/21 - By Drew Kristofik

New York City's FREE summer movie season is anticipated annually, but in 2021 New Yorkers are in for a special treat! The FREE outdoor movies are extending well into the fall. There are enough FREE outdoor movies playing in October, they warrant a list of their own. Our list of FREE outdoor movies playing this October includes the SHOCKTOBERFEST series in Brooklyn, which offers screenings in some of our favorite parks and playgrounds. 

Movies usually begin when evening falls, so take note of the earlier showtimes this season. Plan to arrive early to stake out a good viewing spot. Even if your local park is screening a flick you've watched a dozen times before, it's a totally different experience viewing it in the open air alongside other fans. It's a thrilling, communal event, and a rite of passage for New Yorkers of all ages. Plan to practice social distancing and bring your masks; they're required for the unvaccinated.

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OUR LATEST VIDEOS

Free Outdoor Movies in Manhattan in October 2021

Movies Under the Stars: Coco (PG)

Washington Heights
Friday, October 8
Aspiring musician Miguel, confronted with his family's ancestral ban on music, enters the Land of the Dead to find his great-great-grandfather, a legendary musician. READ MORE

Movies Under the Stars: The Little Mermaid (G)

Lower East Side
Friday, October 8
In Disney's classic animated version of the Hans Christian Andersen tale, a young mermaid strikes a deal with a sea witch to become human in order to land the man of her dreams, even though her father has forbidden her to swim to the surface. READ MORE

Movies Under the Stars: Johnny English Strikes Again (PG)

Chelsea
Saturday, October 9
After a cyber-attack reveals the identity of all of the active undercover agents in Britain, Johnny English is forced to come out of retirement to find the mastermind hacker. READ MORE

Movies Under the Stars: Forbidden Planet (G)

Midtown East
Thursday, October 14
A starship crew goes to investigate the silence of a planet's colony only to find two survivors and a deadly secret that one of them has. Bring a blanket and a picnic to an outdoor screening of the sci-fi classic. READ MORE

Movie Under the Arch: Grease (PG)

Greenwich Village
Thursday, October 14
The NYU Office of Alumni Relations and NYU Center for Student Life host Movie Night Under the Arch in Washington Square Park. Indulge in an evening of old-school fun featuring Olivia Newton-John and John Travolta in Grease. READ MORE

Movies Under the Stars: In the Heights (PG-13)

Washington Heights
Friday, October 15
Indulge in the film version of Lin-Manuel Miranda's first Broadway musical, in which Usnavi, a sympathetic New York bodega owner, saves every penny every day as he imagines and sings about a better life. READ MORE

Movies Under the Stars: The Nightmare Before Christmas (PG)

Washington Heights
Friday, October 22
Jack Skellington, king of Halloween Town, discovers Christmas Town, but his attempts to bring Christmas to his home causes confusion. READ MORE

Movies Under the Stars: Mary Poppins (G)

Inwood
Saturday, October 23
Disney won 5 Academy Awards for this classic pic, starring Julie Andrews and shown on a big outdoor screen. Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious! READ MORE
Emma Stone stars in Cruella, which tells the origin story for the 101 Dalmatians villain.
Emma Stone stars in Cruella, which tells the origin story for the 101 Dalmatians villain.

Free Outdoor Movies in Brooklyn in October 2021

SHOCKTOBERFEST: Love and Monsters (PG-13)

Carroll Gardens
Friday, October 8
In a monster-infested world, Joel learns his girlfriend is just 80 miles away. To make the dangerous journey, Joel discovers his inner hero to be with the girl of his dreams. READ MORE

Movies Under the Stars: Scoob! (PG)

Bensonhurst
Saturday, October 9
This hilarious origin story reveals how lifelong friends Scooby and Shaggy first met and how they joined with young detectives Fred, Velma, and Daphne to form the famous Mystery Inc. READ MORE

Movies Under the Stars: Cruella (PG-13)

Cypress Hills
Sunday, October 10
Emma Stone stars in Disney’s Cruella, a live-action feature film about the rebellious early days of one of cinema’s most notorious – and notoriously fashionable – villains, the legendary Cruella de Vil. READ MORE

SHOCKTOBERFEST: Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark (PG-13)

Greenpoint
Friday, October 15
Follow Stella and her two friends as they discover a notebook of sinister stories by Sarah Bellows, a tortured teen. These terrifying tales become too real, though, when a group of unsuspecting teens stumbles upon Sarah's spooky home. READ MORE

Movies Under the Stars: Coco (PG)

Sunset Park
Saturday, October 16
This Oscar-winning animated feature follows Miguel, an aspiring young musician, as he embarks on an extraordinary journey to the magical land of his ancestors to unlock the real story behind his family’s ban on music. READ MORE

SHOCKTOBERFEST: A Quiet Place Part II (PG-13)

Williamsburg
Sunday, October 17
In this highly praised sequel to A Quiet Place, the Abbott family is forced to venture into the unknown, where it quickly realizes the creatures that hunt by sound are not the only threats that lurk beyond the sand path. READ MORE

SHOCKTOBERFEST: The Craft: Legacy (PG-13)

Bushwick
Friday, October 22
In this sequel to the cult hit The Craft, an eclectic foursome of aspiring teenage witches get more than they bargained for as they lean into their newfound powers. READ MORE

SHOCKTOBERFEST: The Addams Family (2019) (PG)

Downtown
Saturday, October 23
Dark hilarity ensues after the Addams family—and their macabre traditions—relocate to suburbia, 21st century New Jersey. READ MORE

CANCELED: Movies Under the Stars - Shocktoberfest: The Addams Family(PG)

Brownsville
Friday, October 29
Dark hilarity ensues after the Addams family—and their macabre traditions—relocate to suburbia, 21st century New Jersey. READ MORE

SHOCKTOBERFEST: Twitches (G)

Bed Stuy
Saturday, October 30
Destiny brings twin witches, separated at birth, back together on their 21st birthday to fight a dark force that is threatening their long-lost birth mother. READ MORE
Get up close with the Gremlins during a free outdoor movie screening in Bayside.
Get up close with the Gremlins during a free outdoor movie screening in Bayside.

Free Outdoor Movies in Queens in October 2021

Movies Under the Stars: Monster House (PG)

Middle Village
Friday, October 8
This animated tale follows the misadventures of three teens who believe that an old ramshackle dwelling in their neighborhood houses a man-eating entity that is feasting on the locals. READ MORE

Movies Under the Stars: Jurassic Park (PG-13)

Astoria
Saturday, October 9
Genetically engineered dinosaurs run amok on a remote island in this special-effects extravaganza. READ MORE

Movies Under the Stars: Bill & Ted Face the Music (PG-13)

Ozone Park
Friday, October 15
Aspiring 1990s high school musicians Bill S. Preston and Ted Logan are now middle-aged dads. When the Great Leader visits them to ask about the song they were supposed to compose to save all of humanity, the two time-travel into the future to retrieve the song from the people who have it—their future selves. READ MORE

Movies Under the Stars: Batman (1989) (PG-13)

Astoria
Saturday, October 16
Batman meets his most dangerous foe, the Joker, who is wreaking havoc throughout Gotham City and ultimately posing a threat of worldwide destruction. READ MORE

Movies Under the Stars: Poltergeist (PG)

College Point
Friday, October 22
This classic Steven Spielberg ghost story comes with a surprisingly kid-friendly rating. Be prepared for plenty of frights. READ MORE

Movies Under the Stars: Beetlejuice (PG)

Astoria
Saturday, October 23
A happy couple with a lovely country house dies in a car accident and must haunt their old home while waiting to be processed into heaven. Too nice to be scary, they befriend the new tenant's daughter. When they fail to prevent the girl's parents from ruining the house, they ask a devilish spirit for help. READ MORE

Movies Under the Stars: Gremlins (PG)

Bayside
Friday, October 29
A boy receives an unusual pet that leads to incredible trouble when he fails to take care of it properly. READ MORE

Movies Under the Stars: Men In Black (PG-13)

Corona
Saturday, October 30
In this classic humans-against-aliens saga, a secret-agent duo tracks extraterrestrials living on Earth. READ MORE
Abbott & Costello battle monsters in their classic flick. Naturally, hilarity ensues.
Abbott & Costello battle monsters in their classic flick. Naturally, hilarity ensues.

Free Outdoor Movies in Staten Island in October 2021

Movies Under the Stars: The Boss Baby (PG)

Grasmere
Friday, October 8
A 7-year-old boy has his life turned upside down by his new brother, an infant known as the Boss Baby who wears a suit and has the brusque manner of a businessman. However, the two are soon forced to work together on a mission of espionage involving the rivalry between babies and puppies. READ MORE

Movies Under the Stars: Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein (NR)

West Brighton/Sunnyside
Saturday, October 9
Introduce the kids to some classic howls with Bud and Lou, and scary stuff involving Frankenstein, Dracula, the Wolf Man, and a femme fatale. With its chilling score, this flick is one of the best in the Abbott and Costello series. READ MORE

Movies Under the Stars: Cruella (PG-13)

South Beach
Friday, October 22
Emma Stone stars in Disney’s live-action feature film about the rebellious early days of one of cinema’s most notorious—and notoriously fashionable—villains, the legendary Cruella de Vil. READ MORE

Movies Under the Stars: Lords of Dogtown (PG-13)

Port Richmond
Saturday, October 23
Skaters can appreciate this based-on-a-true-story take on the rise of the Zephyr skateboarding team, a club that gained fame in the 1970s in Venice, California. READ MORE

Movies Under the Stars: Twitches (PG)

Brighton Heights
Wednesday, October 27
Destiny brings twin witches, separated at birth, back together on their 21st birthday to fight a dark force that is threatening their long-lost birth mother. READ MORE

Movies Under the Stars: Halloweentown (G)

Randall Manor
Friday, October 29
Debbie Reynolds stars in this 1998 film about a benevolent witch who must save her peaceful hometown from an invading dark force, with some help from her granddaughter. READ MORE

Movies Under the Stars: Coco (PG)

Tottenville
Saturday, October 30
A boy named Miguel dreams of becoming a famous guitar player, despite the misgivings of his close-knit family. When his lofty ambitions cause him to run afoul of a curse, he must journey into the Land of the Dead to seek forgiveness from his ancestors. READ MORE
Fall under the spell of the Hocus Pocus cast during a free movie screening in Joyce Kilmer Park.
Fall under the spell of the Hocus Pocus cast during a free movie screening in Joyce Kilmer Park.

Free Outdoor Movies in the Bronx in October 2021

Movies under the Stars: The Goonies (PG)

Bronx Park
Friday, October 8
A group of teenagers finds a map leading to a hidden treasure. They must overcome booby traps, natural obstructions, and a gang of desperate thieves in their race for the loot. READ MORE

Movies Under the Stars: Hocus Pocus (PG)

Melrose
Friday, October 15
Halloween is coming, and Bette Midler, Sarah Jessica Parker and Kathy Najimy chomp scenery with gusto in this witchy comedy from 1993. READ MORE

Places featured in this article:

Washington Square Park
Col David Marcus Playground
Brownsville Recreation Center in Brownsville Playground
Athens Square
Joseph P Addabbo Memorial Park
Athens Square
Unisphere in Flushing Meadows Corona Park
Bronx Park Amphitheatre