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A nighttime photo of a movie audience sitting on the grass in a park, watching a film on a large screen (at right side of the photo). There are trees in the background, with concession booths to the left of the movie screen.
A nighttime photo of a movie audience sitting on the grass in a park, watching a film on a large screen (at right side of the photo). There are trees in the background, with concession booths to the left of the movie screen.

Free open-air cinema Free open-air cinema

inviting us to reflect on the journeys that shape us.

Home Events Art Toronto Outdoor Picture Show presents: Going Places

Toronto Outdoor Picture Show presents: Going Places

From Friday, June 26 to Sunday, August 23, 2026 – Toronto Outdoor Picture Show (TOPS) presents their 16th season of open-air cinema programming. Screenings take place throughout the summer at three parks across Toronto: Christie Pits Park, Corktown Common and Bell Manor Park. This year, TOPS invites you on a summer-long odyssey with their new programme titled Going Places.

Adventures found outside the everyday

All summer long, you can look forward to stories about the journeys we find ourselves on and the new people and places we discover along the way. These films explore everything from travel within cities, across countries, and into the wilderness to voyages made across land, sea, space and time. All TOPS events are open to the public and free to all, made possible by charitable donations. Bring your own blankets and chairs.

Opening Weekend at Christie Pits

What do Toronto, Los Angeles and Mexico City have in common? Not only are they all iconic cities that will be hosting soccer matches on the world stage this summer, but they also figure prominently as sites for urban adventures in TOPS’s three Opening Weekend films (June 26 – 28 at Christie Pits). The festival opens with Toronto-set time travel comedy Nirvanna the Band the Show the Movie on Friday, June 26, followed by the L.A.-set comedy One of Them Days on Saturday, June 27 and, to round out the weekend, the Toronto premiere of the coming-of-age, Mexico City-set movie Güeros on Sunday, June 28. Each Opening Weekend feature film is accompanied by a Canadian short film that expands on TOPS’s 2026 journey-themed programme.

The Going Places programme is curated by Artistic & Executive Director Emily Reid, Manager of Programme Admin Isabella Brown, and programme contributors Rachel Barclay, Tika Francis, Felan Parker, Jon Petrychyn, Julia Rawson and Delphine Winton.

“There is something very special about sitting in a park with hundreds of strangers, watching a movie as one large collective. The audible laughter, gasps and clapping; the shared snacks and blankets; the feeling of togetherness. Whenever I attend TOPS I am reminded that there is community in the city of Toronto.”

– TOPS attendee

2026 Spotlight Filmmaker

Etuijijaqmijuinu (Two-Spirit) L’nu (Mi’kmaw) filmmaker bretten hannam is featured as this year’s Spotlight Filmmaker. Hannam’s feature film Wildhood screens on Thursday, July 9 at Corktown Common. Read more about bretten’s work and their inspirations here.

About Toronto Outdoor Picture Show (TOPS)

TOPS is a charitable organization dedicated to bringing high-quality, diverse and engaging outdoor film programming to communities across the City of Toronto. For the past decade, TOPS has presented programming cross Toronto each summer, welcoming over 36,000 attendees in 2025. Their carefully curated programmes include a combination of popular and critically acclaimed feature films from around the world alongside local and Canadian short and feature films, giving audiences the opportunity to celebrate excellent homegrown talent.

Detail of a nighttime photo of a movie audience sitting on the grass in a park, watching a film on a large screen (at right side of the photo). There are trees in the background, with concession booths to the left of the movie screen.

(Photo credits: Toronto Outdoor Picture Show.)

 

Event details

Hosted by: Toronto Outdoor Picture Show 

Type of event: outdoor film screenings

Dates & times: Films run from Friday, June 26 – Sunday, August 23, 2026 with showtime at sundown (timing shifts, depending on when in the summer). Please refer to the schedule for specific screening dates & times. The general screening dates, including locations for those dates, are as follows (for Location details, see below):

  • Opening Weekend Friday, June 26 – Sunday, June 28 @ Christie Pits
  • Sundays from July 5 – August 23 @ Christie Pits
  • Thursdays from July 2 – 30 @ Corktown Common
  • Thursday, August 13 – Saturday, August 15 @ Bell Manor Park

Duration: Please refer to the individual screenings.

Cost: All events are free to the public – no tickets or advanced registration are required to attend. Snacks are available for purchase.

Charitable donations help to make this annual event possible. You can make a donation here. This year, every person who makes a charitable donation of C$25.00 or more on the TOPS website will be invited to vote on the festival’s Closing Night film (August 23 at Christie Pits), which will be an audience choice screening.

FAQ page: Find info on attending here.

Locations: Each location will present screenings within a set series of dates (see dates & times above):

  • Christie Pits Park: 750 Bloor St. West, Toronto, ON, M6G 3B1
  • Corktown Common: Event entrance at 155 Bayview Ave. (Bayview Ave. & Mill St.), Toronto, ON, M5A 0M4
  • Bell Manor Park: 1 Bayside Lane, Toronto, ON, M8Y 1Y9

Contact details: Toronto Outdoor Picture Show, info@topictureshow.com, topictureshow.com

 

Content warning: Please refer to the individual film descriptions.

Accessibility:

Toronto Outdoor Picture Show (TOPS) strives to make all of its screenings accessible to community members, and is committed to training all staff and volunteers in accessible customer service, other Ontario’s accessibility standards and aspects of the Ontario Human Rights Code that relate to persons with disabilities.

All short and feature films with dialogue are screened with open captions, unless specifically noted. At select screenings, TOPS will offer optional Audio Description (AD). At this time, they cannot provide attendant care or ASL interpretation for opening remarks and announcements. Pertinent information about the film programme (including content advisories) will appear on screen before showtime and is detailed aloud during the programmer’s introduction.

All current TOPS venues offer well-lit entrances from street access, ensuring that audiences feel safe arriving and leaving the venues (though please remember that the parks become quiet shortly after the screenings conclude). A limited number of chairs are set up for patrons needing seating, but please note that TOPS events are attended beyond capacity and all seating reaches capacity long before showtime. All venues accommodate mobility devices and strollers. They count on community members to be kind and attentive to one another.

If you would like to inquire with the TOPS production team about how they can support you, please email them at accessibility@topictureshow.com (please allow 24-72 hours during business days for a response within the programming season). All feedback will be reviewed by a member of the festival production management team. More details on TOPS accessibility features, as well as venue accessibility, can be found here.