PRESS RELEASE
Westpac OpenAir, the world’s most beautiful cinema, has today unveiled its sizzling summer program, carefully curated with some of the most anticipated films of 2025, the biggest hits of 2024 and a hand-crafted selection of cinema classics.
The celebrated outdoor cinema’s 41-night Festival of Film and Food is set to transform Sydney Harbour yet again with an unrivalled entertainment experience from 9 January – 18 February at Mrs Macquaries Point. Tickets go on sale at 9am (AEDT) on Monday 9 December.
The 2025 program will open with the first Australian screening of the enthralling A Complete Unknown, starring Timothée Chalamet as a young Bob Dylan. Critics are already ecstatic about director James Mangold’s (Walk The Line) latest perspective on a musical great. Chalamet’s portrayal of Dylan is utterly seductive, and wonderfully supported by Elle Fanning, Edward Norton and Monica Barbaro.
Nicole Kidman’s erotic thriller Babygirlwill also screen first to Australian audiences at Westpac OpenAir, with the actress delivering a fearless performance, for which she received the Best Actress Award at the Venice Film Festival earlier this year, alongside Triangle of Sadness star Harris Dickinson. From director Halina Reijn, Babygirl is a raw and unflinching exploration of intimacy, power and control, offering a gripping and challenging portrayal of a woman caught between societal expectations and personal desires.
Also featuring as Australian premieres are Call Me By Your Name director Luca Guadagnino’s mesmerizing Queer, starring Daniel Craig as an American expatriate living an isolated life in Mexico City whose world changes when he encounters a vibrant young student; and, direct from Cannes Film Festival where it screened in official competition, Alexandre Dumas’ epic The Count Of Monte Cristo,presented in association with the Alliance Française French Film Festival.
Other films previewing at Westpac OpenAir include the hugely romantic We Live in Time starring Florence Pugh and Andrew Garfield; Academy Award®-winner Angelina Jolie’s show-stopping turn as Maria Callas, one of the most iconic performers of the 20th century, in Pablo Larraín's operatic Maria; and one of the New Year’s most anticipated films, September 5, set against the backdrop of the 1972 Munich Olympics, where a hostage crisis shook the world.
Westpac OpenAir will also host a preview of the hotly anticipated final chapter in Bridget Jones’s adventures, Bridget Jones: Mad About The Boy. And, for those who want to fall in love with Renee Zellweger’s iconic character all over again, don’t miss a screening of the classic and hilarious commentary on modern womanhood, Bridget Jones’s Diary, which is screening on 31 January as a warm-up.
The return of two cult Aussie classics will also delight audiences in 2025, with the first Australian screening of Crocodile Dundee: The 4K Encore Cut, with the great Paul Hogan flying in to introduce the film in person on 23 January; and on 18 February, more red carpet action when the Sydney premiere of Spit, the highly anticipated sequel to the 2003 comedy crime thriller Gettin’ Square, with David Wenham returning as Johnny ‘Spit’ Spitteri, takes over the world’s most beautiful cinema on Closing Night.
Sydneysiders will be treated to two one-off Sydney Exclusives this season with Elton John: Never Too Late, the heartfelt insight into the life and music of the great Elton John co-directed by RJ Cutler (The September Issue) and Elton’s husband, David Furnish; and Amy Adams’ knock-out performance in the genre-bending Nightbitch based on the bestselling, cult novel by Rachel Yoder.
Some of the hottest films of the Christmas and New Year period will make for a big night out on the harbour, including the mesmerising Robbie Williams biopic Better Man; critically acclaimed Oscar contender Anora; Pedro Almodovar’s The Room Next Door starring Julianne Moore and Tilda Swinton; Jesse Eisenberg’s family drama A Real Pain; Parthenope from Italian maestro Paolo Sorrentino (The Great Beauty, Youth, Loro, The Hand Of God); Conclave, based on Robert Harris’ 2016 bestseller, and starring acting greats Ralph Fiennes, Stanley Tucci and John Lithgow; and Cannes winner Emilia Pérez.
Hugely popular recent releases not-to-be-missed against the Sydney skyline include Ridley Scott’s return to Rome in Gladiator II and the musical phenomenon Wicked starringCynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande in career-defining performances.
For those that missed the best and biggest films of 2024, look out for Kate Winslet in Lee; the utterly hilarious, unruly Sundance Audience Award winner Kneecap; and award-winning, Italian breakout hit There’s Still Tomorrow, perhaps our favourite film of the past year, which has had Italians pouring into cinemas like it was 1946.
With summer lovin’ top of mind, Westpac OpenAir has your Friday night sorted with a series of five rom-coms kicking off with Aubrey Plaza’s completely fabulous My Old Ass; followed by the definitive Julia Roberts-Hugh Grant romcom Notting Hill; the beloved, electrifying classic Dirty Dancing; Bridget Jones’s Diary and borderline romcom Kneecap. Spreading the love, General Admission tickets for these feel-good films will be on offer for just $30.
With the Sydney Opera House and Sydney Harbour Bridge providing the backdrop for Westpac OpenAir’s iconic three-storey-high screen that rises dramatically out of the water each night, guests will also indulge in an exciting new summer dining experience curated by three of Sydney’s most renowned chefs - Luke Nguyen (Culinary Director at Botanic House, guest chef on MasterChef Australia), Danielle Alvarez (chef and culinary director of the Opera House event venues, former Head Chef at Fred’s) and Scott McComas-Williams (Group Executive Chef of Love Tilly Group, serving Fabbrica’s pastas and snacks). The 2025 ‘Festival of Food’ seeks to elevate the pre-screening experience to delicious heights, offering a diverse range of dining options to suit all tastes - from casual bites to refined, full-service meals across three unique culinary offerings: ‘Summer House Dining by Danielle Alvarez’, ‘Fabbrica at Chandon Garden’ and 'Luke Nguyen at The Point’.
You can browse the full program and dining packages now, to plan ahead with friends, first dates or long-term lovers ... or get a head start on Christmas gift ideas, with tickets going on sale at 9am AEDT, on 9 December.
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