Free and Nearly Free Movies All Summer Long Around Ventura County 2026

Stay cool this summer of 2026 with several hundred free and nearly free ($1 to $6) movies in and around Ventura County and surrounding areas!

Rancho Simi Rec & Park District Movies in the Park at Rancho Madera Community Park, 556 Lake Park Drive. Pre-movie activities start at 6:30 p.m.

• June 12: A Minecraft Movie

• August 7: The LEGO Batman Movie

Also, Dive-In Movie “Rango” at the Rancho Pool at 1765 Royal Ave, Simi Valley, on Sat, July 11th. $7 admission.

Oak Park Movie at Oak Canyon Community Park on Friday, June 19th featuring The Greatest Showman.

City of Moorpark Movies in the Park on Saturday nights at Arroyo Vista Community Park.

• June 13: The Goonies

• July 11: Cars

• August 8: The Princess and the Frog

• September 12: Super 8

• October 10: ParaNorman

City of Agoura Hills Summer Movies in the Park on Saturday nights at Reyes Adobe Park.

• June 20: Surf’s Up

  July 11: Guardians of the Galaxy

  August 15: How to Train Your Dragon

Studio Movie Grill at the Simi Valley Town Center is offering $6 Children's Summer Movies (includes small popcorn and small drink) Mondays through Thursdays from June 23 to August 7.

• June 8-11: The Wild Robot (PG)

• June 15-18: The Secret Life of Pets (PG)

• June 22-25: The Land Before Time (G)

• June 29 - July 2: How to Train Your Dragon (PG)

• July 6-9: The Bad Guys 2 (PG)

• July 13-16: Shrek 2 (PG)

• July 20-23: Kung Fun Panda (PG)

• July 27-30: Dog Man (PG)

• August 3-6: Trolls (PG)

CineMalibu Summer Movies at Malibu Bluffs Park on Saturday evenings:

• Sat, July 11: Kicking & Screaming

  Sat, Aug 22: The Sandlot

AMC Dine-In Thousand Oaks 14 hosts Summer Movie Camp - $3 family movies for 8 weeks - Mondays and Wednesdays at 11am and 2pm, from June 23 to August 13.

• June 22 and 24: Paddington in Peru

• June 29 and July 1: David

• July 6 and 8: How to Train Your Dragon

• July 13 and 15: The LEGO Movie

• July 20 and 22: Sonic the Hedgehog 3

• July 27 and 29: The Bad Guys 2

• August 3 and 5: The Spongebob Movie: Search for Squarepants

• August 10 and 12: Muppet Treasure Island

Regal Theaters in Thousand Oaks, Camarillo, and Simi Valley present the Regal Summer Movie Express - $1 family movies Mondays through Thursdays from June 1 to August 13. Times vary by theater. www.regmovies.com/promotions/summer-movie-express

• June 1-4: Sing and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem

• June 8-11: David and Kung Fu Panda 4

• June 15-18: KPop Demon Hunters and The Wild Robot

• June 22-25: The Bad Guys 2 and The Garfield Movie

• June 29-July 2: A Minecraft Movie and Sonic the Hedgehog 2

• July 6-9: How to Train Your Dragon and Sonic the Hedgehog 3

• July 13-16: Scoob!

• July 20-23: Animal Farm and The Spongebob Movie: Search for Squarepants

• July 27-30: Dog Man and Paddington in Peru

• August 3-6: Charlie the Wonderdog and Despicable Me 4

• August 10-13: The Sandlot and Muppets: Treasure Island

The Ojai Film Society presents a series of free summer films at Libbey Bowl on designated nights in July and the 2nd half of August.

• Thu, July 2: Hunt for the Wilderpeople

• Fri, July 10: Selena Y Los Dinos

• Fri, July 17: Cookie Queens

• Fri, July 24: Best in Show

• Thu, August 20: Arrival

• Thu, August 27: Jurassic Park

Simi Valley Town Center Summer Movie Nights

• Fri, June 12: Finding Nemo (starts at 8pm)

City of Port Hueneme Free Movies in the Park

• Sat, June 27 at 8:15PM: Lilo & Stitch (Hueneme Beach Park)

• Sat, July 25 at 8:15PM: Mulan (Hueneme Beach Park)

• Sat, August 15 at 8PM: Zootopia 2 (Bolker Park)

• Sat, September 12 at 7:15PM: Pirates of the Caribbean (Hueneme Beach Park)

Movies/dates subject to change. Contact organizers to confirm.

AND HOW ABOUT FREE CONCERTS IN AND AROUND VENTURA COUNTY

Drive-In Movie Theaters That Once Were Located in Ventura County

Once upon a time there were drive-in theaters around Ventura County, providing family entertainment combined with fresh air.

The Simi Drive-In was located at 361 Tierra Rejada Road. It opened in 1963 and closed in 1997, for a 34 year run.

The Pacific 101 Drive-In in Ventura was located at 4826 E. Telephone Road (at the 101). This theater opened in 1948 and closed in 1998. Fifty years!

Sky View Drive-In in Oxnard at 1250 S. Oxnard Blvd opened in 1955 and closed in 1988.

The Santa Paula Drive-In Theatre was located on Harvard Blvd at Barkla (which I believe today is Palm Ave). It opened on Thursday, May 18, 1950 and closed in the 1978 time frame.

Pacific’s Thousand Oaks Drive-In Grand Opening in August 1967

The Thousand Oaks Drive-In was located at Kelley Road and Newbury Road in Newbury Park (now Kohl's) It opened in 1967 and closed in 1983.

The West Wind All Digital Drive-In in Goleta closed in September 2022 after operating from 1966 to 1991, then 2010 to 2019, then once again from 2020 to 2022.

MOVIE THEATERS IN VENTURA COUNTY AND ADJACENT AREAS

Special Needs Screenings at Studio Movie Grill on Designated Saturday Mornings

Studio Movie Grill, including our local Simi Valley location at the Simi Valley Town Center, offers Special Needs Screenings on designated Saturdays at 11am.

Special Needs Screenings are shown with the lights on and volume lowered. Children are free to move around, talk, even dance in the aisles during the movie.

These special sensory friendly screenings are free of charge for children with special needs, as well as their siblings. Accompanying parents pay the “before-noon” price.

For upcoming shows, visit studiomoviegrill.com/movie/film-series/special-needs-screenings.

Filmed at Apricot Lane Farms in Moorpark, "The Biggest Little Farm" Documentary Is a Must See

My kids had no idea what the film was about. I had heard good things about “The Biggest Little Farm,” and on a hot Sunday afternoon we headed over to the Regency Westlake Village to catch the 1 pm screening.

The Biggest Little Farm is a documentary that follows the dreams of John and Molly Chester and their dog, Todd., as they achieve their dream of creating a certified biodynamic farm. This farm happens to be Apricot Lane Farms, located right here in Moorpark (10700 Broadway Road).

Prior to pursuing the farm, Molly was a private chef and food blogger, while John was a career documentary filmmaker.

The film was truly an engaging tale of how these farmers found the inspiration to create their dream, enlist the help of many others - investors and support team - build the farm and sustain it, encounter numerous obstacles and challenges, and find creative solutions to these challenges.

It was a wonderful film to bring the kids to see. The film brought a lump to my throat many a time. The farm animals played a large part in the film and led us through emotions of joy to sadness, cheerfulness and grief. The story flowed nicely and the hour and a half brought not a dull moment.

While most of us would never entertain the thought of opening a farm, the lessons of perseverance and finding clever solutions in the film is of value to all. I’m glad I brought my teenage sons to the film.

Visit www.thebiggestlittlefarmmovie.com for showtimes at local theaters. Highly recommended!

Learn more about Apricot Lane Farms at www.apricotlanefarms.com. Their produce, meat, eggs and products are available at the Thousand Oaks Farmers’ Market and Calabasas Farmers’ Market, as well as at the Erewhon store in Calabasas.

Muvico Brand is No More in Thousand Oaks After Placement of AMC Signs

Muvico Theater at The Oaks Shopping Mall in Thousand Oaks opened its doors on February 27, 2009.

Four and a half years later, Carmike Cinemas purchased nine Muvico theaters in Florida, Illinois and California, including the Thousand Oaks Muvico. However, Carmike did not re-brand the Conejo Valley based Muvico as it continued to operate as Muvico.

On November 15, 2016, Carmike announced it was purchased by AMC Theatres. The merger was completed on December 20, 2016. 

While the theatre promptly changed its online branding to AMC Dine-In Thousand Oaks 14, the iconic Muvico sign continued to be prominently displayed. Until now.

The Muvico signs are finally gone.

Studio Movie Grill at the Simi Valley Town Center Makes a Great First Impression

Studio Movie Grill Simi Valley opened its doors to the public tonight at the Simi Valley Town Center and I got to check it out!

The theater is located on the east side of the mall behind the new Buffalo Wild Wings. It is beautiful both inside and out.

There are nine screens in the facility with varying sizes and over 950 seats in total.

The stadium style seats look a bit airline-ish but were surprisingly comfortable and supportive and the serving trays pivot for comfort. Tons of leg room too!

When I first saw the seats I thought they didn't look very comfortable. But when I sat down, I realized I was wrong.  I usually squirm in movie chairs with my aging hamstrings, but these chairs were very supportive. I also noticed they don't seem to recline too much, but that was also a non-issue for me during the movie.

Each of the stadium style seats have trays and buttons to press for food service. Pretty darn efficient. I ordered a blended margarita and it was excellent.  A movie with a margarita, chicken nachos, tasty flatbread, burgers and more.  Everything we tried tasted great!

There's a special deal on the menu; $25 for 1 appetizer and two entrees. The price seemed pretty fair to me for the solid quality.

Enjoying a blended Cadillac margarita at the show. Plenty of mixed drinks, beer and wine available at the press of a button.

The trays can be maneuvered around to be closer or farther away from you, which was a nice convenience you don't find on, say airline seats. I was also impressed by the extraordinary leg room/distance between rows, allowing for attendants to scoot by without you having to scrunch up into your chair.

There's also a full bar and eating area in the front of the theater. A bit on the loud side in there but it was really buzzing!

My initial assessment is that the Studio Movie Grill Simi Valley will be very successful. Reasonably priced, great service, tasty food, full bar, nicely appointed and comfortable. Larn more and buy tickets at www.studiomoviegrill.com.

There are some special offers next week highlighted HERE.

Beach Scene in McFarland, U.S.A. Filmed at Sycamore Cove Beach, Point Mugu State Park

McFarland U.S.A. is a great "feel good" movie about a coach who leads the cross country team from McFarland High School to win the inaugural California state championship in 1987. The film, starring Kevin Costner as coach Jim White, is based on a true story. The film premiered on February 20th. My kids and I saw the movie today in Thousand Oaks and we unanimously agreed it was outstanding.

McFarland is a small town in Kern County, 25 miles north of Bakersfield (and 145 miles north of the Conejo Valley). There is a scene in the film where Coach White surprises the kids by diverting them to a beach after a successful cross country meet. This was a special moment for the kids, because none of them had ever seen the ocean. The first several minutes of the following video shows some behind the scenes footage from that scene.

If the beach scene looks familiar, it should be. It was filmed at Sycamore Cove Beach at Point Mugu State Park. The Sycamore Cove PCH bridge crossing seen in the background made this quite clear. Sycamore Cove is only an eight mile walk, ride or hike from Newbury Park via Sycamore Canyon. According to this website, the actual beach visited by the team was near Morro Bay.

Sycamore Cove Beach looking west towards PCH and the bridge

The PCH bridge that connects Sycamore Cove Beach with Sycamore Canyon Campground

The Pacific Ocean, seen from Sycamore Cove Beach

Learn more about McFarland, U.S.A. at movies.disney.com/mcfarland-usa.