After a near-death 2025, SF's free outdoor movie series returns for a full five-date season — starting Friday, June 12, with The Princess Bride on the grass at Dolores Park.

Friday, June 12, Mission Dolores Park (Dolores & 19th). Sundown Cinema, SF's free outdoor movie night, opens its 2026 season with The Princess Bride. It's free, all-ages, no ticket required — the lawn starts filling in the early evening and the film rolls at sundown, which in mid-June means roughly 8:30pm. Bring a blanket; low-back chairs are fine, tall ones block the people behind you. Outside food and drink are generally allowed, subject to park rules.

The reason this is a story and not just a movie: the series nearly didn't come back. After running two decades, Sundown Cinema went dark, returned in a scaled-back 2025, and only now has a full season restored — five dates, June through October, presented by Amazon and hosted by The San Francisco Standard. So this Friday is the actual reopening of a thing the city almost lost.

The rest of the slate, all Fridays: Inside Out at the Presidio's Civil War Parade Ground (July 24), The Parent Trap (1998) at Marina Green (Aug. 21), School of Rock at the Ferry Building (Sept. 25), and Beetlejuice at Crane Cove Park (Oct. 16).

The insider move: Dolores fills fast on movie nights. Get there by 7 to claim flat grass near the bottom — the slope looks tempting but you'll be craning all night. Skip the car; it's the J-Church to 18th & Church, or BART to 16th St. Mission and walk five blocks up. RSVP at the listing for a shot at the reserved section near the screen.

If you've got two hours: show up at 7:30 with a blanket and a burrito from the Mission, stake out flat ground, and let the fog hold off.