As the Perth summer heat settles in, there’s only one place the city’s film lovers want to be: sprawled on a deckchair in the fairy-lit courtyard garden of Luna Palace Cinemas in Leederville, cocktail in one hand, cheeseboard in the other, waiting for the sky to go dark and the projector to flicker to life.
Luna Outdoor is back – bigger, tastier and more star-studded than ever – running from Thursday 4 December 2025 right through to February 2026. We’re also happy to announce that OutLoudCulture! are back for another year as sponsors!
This isn’t just outdoor cinema. It’s a proper Perth institution: a fully licensed garden oasis where Rocky Ridge beers are ice-cold, Idle Hands cocktails flow freely, choc bombs (yes, including vegan ones) melt in your hand, and the lineup is a perfect mix of festival darlings, future classics, cult midnight madness and a few genuine blockbusters.
Opening Night: Rental Family (4 December)
The season explodes into life with one of the most warmly received films of the international festival circuit. Academy Award-winner Brendan Fraser leads Rental Family, the luminous debut feature from Japanese-American director HIKARI. A heartfelt, funny and deeply moving story about a struggling actor hired to play members of strangers’ families in Tokyo, it’s already being called a crowd-pleasing gem.
Opening night is a party: RTRFM’s Nicole Filev on the decks, complimentary sushi from Tsuke-ba, Japanese beer specials, cocktail tastings from Idle Hands Drinks Co. and Frudi frozen raspberry choc samples. Doors 7pm, film 8pm. Get in early – this one will sell out.
The Heavy Hitters
Paul Mescal and Josh O’Connor smoulder in the sweeping queer romance The History of Sound (three screenings with live jazz from Swing Theory and Scotch & soda deals). Timothée Chalamet serves ping-pong realness in Josh Safdie’s Marty Supreme – opening night features actual ping-pong tables, $12 Tom Collins cocktails and Grill’d burgers. Park Chan-wook (Oldboy, Decision to Leave) brings his new thriller No Other Choice with Korean cup-noodle snacks. Stellan Skarsgård headlines the Cannes Grand Prix winner Sentimental Value, and Ariana Grande’ defies gravity (literally) in Wicked: For Good with Ozmopolitan cocktails on offer.
Local Heroes & Special Events
Perth director Zak Hilditch (These Final Hours) unveils his zombie apocalypse drama We Bury The Dead with in-person Q&As and $5 Rocky Ridge lagers. Mamoru Hosoda’s breathtaking anime Scarlet gets the Japanese dub treatment complete with fresh Tsuke-ba sushi and sake specials. And yes, The Room is back for its 15th year of spoons, footballs and “Oh hai Mark!” – hosted across the summer by James Palm, Tristan Fidler and exciting new host Alice Finnegan.
Festive Favourites
Love Actually gets two pre-Christmas screenings complete with a visit from Father Christmas himself, carols and gifts for the crowd. Close the year with Rental Family again on New Year’s Eve (prosecco specials flowing) and welcome 2026 with more Sentimental Value and The Choral.
The Full Luna Outdoor Experience
Every night the courtyard bar is stocked with local Rocky Ridge beers, premium wines, Idle Hands cocktails, luxe cheeseboards and those now-legendary hot choc bombs. Many screenings throw in complimentary pizza slices from Siena’s, Asahi on arrival, or themed bites – check the program because “while stocks last” is real.
Summer in Perth doesn’t get more magical than this. Grab a blanket, rally your friends, and let Luna Outdoor 2025–26 remind you why we fell in love with cinema in the first place.
- Email: neill@outloudculture.com
- Socials: @frazer.live
- @neill.outloud
