Sundown Cinema featuring 7 classic movies in S.F. parks

Alien duplicates of our loved ones are once again set to prowl at Alamo Square Park. “Top Gun: Maverick” is geared for a flyover of the Presidio Civil War Parade Ground. And how about singing along with “Mamma Mia” at Dolores Park?

Sundown Cinema, the popular free outdoor movie series that takes place in San Francisco parks, returns for a fifth year with a seven-film schedule, the San Francisco Parks Alliance announced earlier this month.

The schedule, co-sponsored by Alamo Drafthouse Cinema and Waymo, is bookended with spooky selections, beginning June 8 at Alamo Square Park with “Invasion of the Body Snatchers,” Philip Kaufman’s 1978 horror film shot in San Francisco, and ending Oct. 20 at Jerry Garcia Amphitheater in McLaren Park with a Halloween costume contest and screening of the original 1984 “Ghostbusters.”

The series is also scheduled to take place at the Ferry Building for the first time, on Sept. 29, with a screening of “Legally Blonde” (2001).

“Sundown Cinema is a way for everyone to celebrate their parks, so it was important to us to bring an even wider range of

films than we have in previous years,” Alliance CEO Drew Becher said in a statement. “There are movies in everyone’s neighborhood, but these will be worth traveling for, too.”

All screenings begin shortly after sunset. Each event will feature local food trucks and themed pre-show entertainment. Admission is free and seating is first-come, firstserved, although reserved seating is available for San Francisco Parks Alliance members.

For more details on the series and how to become a member of the nonprofit, go to sanfranciscoparksalliance.org.

June 8: “Invasion of the Body Snatchers” (1978) — Alamo Square Park

June 30: “Top Gun: Maverick” (2022) — Presidio Civil War Parade Ground

July 21: “Moana” (2016) — Crane Cove Park

Aug. 18: “Mamma Mia” (2008) sing-along — Dolores Park

Sept. 8: “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” (2022) — India Basin Shoreline Park

Sept. 29: “Legally Blonde” (2001) — Ferry Building

Oct. 20: “Ghostbusters” (1984) — Jerry Garcia Amphitheater, McLaren

SFIFF Veronica Cartwright in a scene from the 1978 version of “Invasion of the Body Snatchers.”