The Galileo Open Air Cinema in Cape Town is ending its 2023 season with a bang! From December 29th to January 3rd, you can catch five amazing movies like E.T. and Matilda under the twinkling stars. Imagine snuggling on a blanket, munching on yummy food, and watching your favorite films on a giant screen with Table Mountain as your backdrop. It’s a magical way to spend a summer night, filled with laughter, tears, and unforgettable memories as stories come alive outdoors.
When does Galileo Open Air Cinema’s 2023 season conclude?
The Galileo Open Air Cinema’s 2023 season in Cape Town concludes with its final five screenings running from December 29th to January 3rd, featuring popular films like E.T., Matilda, Ratatouille, Legally Blonde, and The Greatest Showman at Kirstenbosch and Lourensford Wine Estate.
Section 1 – When the Garden Becomes a Galaxy
Cape Town in late December looks like a director’s cut of itself: the horizon blushes every evening and by nine the firmament is so crowded with stars it feels overcrowded. The Galileo Open Air Cinema leans into that spectacle, scheduling its last five screenings of the year between 29 December and 3 January. The line-up is pure emotional comfort-food: an alien botanist desperate to phone home, a book-mad six-year-old with mind-moving powers, a culinary rat, a pink-clad lawyer who topples Harvard snobbery, and a top-hatted showman who refuses to accept ordinary. Gates open before sunset so picnickers can stretch out on lush lawns while DJs, lawn games and food stalls warm up the night. Then a twelve-metre inflatable screen rises, slow as a moonrise, and the city exhales into communal story-time.
The first session plants itself in Kirstenbosch National Botanical Garden on Monday 29 December. Ticket-holders drift in at 17:30 while the western slope of Table Mountain is still dripping gold. Children race along the Skeleton Stream trail hunting the elusive ghost frog; grown-ups stake claims on the Concert Lawn, aligning cooler boxes like surveyors. At nine bells the southern sky wheels toward Orion – fitting, because Spielberg’s 1982 classic follows a traveller from far beyond. The director shot scenes in story order so young Henry Thomas would mature alongside the puppet; that chronological trick still makes the performance feel raw. When E.T.’s fingertip lights up Elliott’s forehead, the whole garden seems to draw one long breath. Cell-phone lights fade, crickets swell, and a toddler somewhere utters “home” before the word is even scripted. Bring tissues; the Cape Doctor wind will dry the streaks before they drip.
Tuesday 30 December keeps the botanic stage but swaps the cast. Matilda rolls, pastel-bright and rebellion-heavy. Roald Dahl’s widow insisted any screen version keep the child’s insurrection centre-stage; Danny DeVito answered with a candy-coloured revenge fantasy that predates Wes Anderson’s symmetry obsession. Kirstenbosch morphs into an open-air library: families lounge on beanbags, fairy lights zig-zag between baskets like the film’s consent-filled reading room. At 20:30, when Matilda slams Miss Trunchbull’s classroom door with telekinetic force, the wooden gate of the amphitheatre rattles in spooky sympathy – someone always gasps, half-sure the mountain leaned in to watch. Staff weave through the crowd handing out “newt” jelly shots; the kids’ version is alcohol-free, but the symbolism stings just the same. Dress code: blue pinafores and red ribbon optional, righteous fury required.
Section 2 – Post-Countdown Cure and Pink-Powered Girl Power
After a strategic blackout on New Year’s Eve – because even projectors need a drink – Galileo reboots on 1 January with the sunniest hangover helper imaginable. Ratatouille lights up Kirstenbosch at 17:00, the earliest start of the week, acknowledging that nobody’s body clock knows what day it is. The catering crew lean hard into the Parisian theme: star-shaped ratatouille galettes, Remy-cam cheese skewers that let diners peer through a rat-eye lens, and a zero-proof sparkling rosé cheekily labelled “La Grenouille.” Pixar animators spent three years perfecting the shimmer on slowly-cooked shallots; blown up in 4K against a black-mountain canvas, the colours look almost edible. When restaurant critic Anton Ego tastes the peasant dish and catapults back to his mother’s kitchen, the entire hill exhales a champagne-tinged sigh thick with garlic and nostalgia.
Friday 2 January keeps the girl-power momentum with Legally Blonde. Reese Witherspoon once confessed she rehearsed the “bend and snap” 300 times in a hotel corridor the night before filming; tonight the Galileo crowd risks hamstrings duplicating the move on dew-slick grass. Between trivia contests and pink-gin cocktails, UCT’s Law Faculty hosts a playful LSAT quiz – “Can you pass in pink?” – handing out everything from rose-gold notebooks to campus-tour vouchers. Costuming is gloriously extra: sorority jerseys, Von Dutch caps resurrected from 2001, toddlers clutching R20 chihuahua plushies. When Elle nails her courtroom epiphany – “The first impression is not always the correct one” – Kirstenbosch erupts so loudly the resident baboons bark back from the treeline, perhaps recognising a fellow disruptor.
Saturday 3 January moves the finale to Lourensford Wine Estate in Somerset West, where vines planted before P.T. Barnum’s birth frame the closing night. The Greatest Showman supplies pure fireworks over a valley already buzzing with Cap Classique. Gates open at 17:00, giving guests a window to swirl estate bubbles that survive the two-hour sing-through. Historical footnote: the real Barnum’s museum burned twice, his celebrity elephant Jumbo died under a train, and opera star Jenny Lind quit the tour over tabloid manipulation – yet the soundtrack is engineered for communal euphoria. When “This Is Me” detonates, staff distribute a thousand LED wristbands that pulse in sync; vineyards flicker with tiny galaxies while the Helderberg peaks glow approval. Hay-bale bleachers become jungle gyms, couples sway between vine rows, and at least one marriage proposal lights up each year, ring boxes twinkling like miniature marquees.
Section 3 – Comfort, Calories and Contingencies
A Galileo night rewards planners. Temperatures crash to 16 °C faster than you can quote E.T., so pack thick blankets. Low-rise chairs are welcome only in the back rows; retro-ushers in candy-stripe braces will shuffle throne-happy guests sideways if heads disappear. The snack village is a micro food festival: turmeric-coconut popcorn for alien night, truffle-Parmesan for rat night, candy-floss flavour for sorority night. Edison-bulb pegs mark vegan, halaal and keto choices, and the bar pours fynbos-infused gin distilled a valley away. Pre-show fillers rotate: circus-skills workshops before Showman, mini-moot courts before Elle Woods, telescopes trained on Mars during E.T.’s moonlit bicycle flight.
Rain, wind or mountain mist rarely cancel but they do rewrite the script. If the south-easter tops 40 km/h the crew tilts the screen to 45° to stop it turning into a spinnaker. If fog barrels over the Hottentots-Holland range, start times shift half an hour forward to beat the condensation. Digital tickets flash at the gate, yet a fountain-pen back-up list waits in a tin box – analogue romance in action. Kirstenbosch parking caps at 1 200 bays, so Galileo lays on free shuttles from Newlands Rugby Club, each driver briefed to drop movie trivia between stop streets. Lourensford has room to spare but vineyard lanes are skinny; vintage double-deckers loop from Somerset West station, pumping brass covers that warm the crowd for Showman singalongs.
Section 4 – Turn Your Headlights Off, Turn the Constellations On
Because every screening starts at 20:30 sharp, the sky times its cameos. On 29 December a crescent moon lounges in Aquarius – Spielberg once hinted the same constellation hosts E.T.’s people. Tuesday’s waxing moon slips in front of Venus just after Matilda’s end-credits, a planetary fist-bump for every kid who ever moved objects with sheer will. The early hours of New Year’s Day sprinkle stray Quadrantid meteors; stay horizontal after Remy’s triumph and you can bag ten shooting stars an hour. Friday’s first-quarter moon climbs behind the screen the moment Elle ascends the courthouse steps, its angle mirroring her victory stride. During Saturday’s “Rewrite the Stars” the Southern Cross skims the horizon above Lourensford, a coincidence so neat even Barnum’s PR machine would have claimed credit.
Download a star-map app, switch the screen to red-night mode, and keep the brightness down – your neighbour drove here for the same reason you did: to remember that stories told shoulder-to-shoulder under an open dome feel larger than the universe they’re projected on.
When does The Galileo Open Air Cinema’s 2023 season conclude?
The Galileo Open Air Cinema’s 2023 season in Cape Town concludes with its final five screenings running from December 29th to January 3rd, 2024.
Where are the final screenings taking place?
The final screenings are primarily held at Kirstenbosch National Botanical Garden, with the grand finale on January 3rd taking place at Lourensford Wine Estate in Somerset West.
What movies are being shown during the final screenings?
The lineup for the final screenings includes E.T., Matilda, Ratatouille, Legally Blonde, and The Greatest Showman.
What time do gates open for the events?
Gates generally open before sunset, allowing picnickers to settle in. For most screenings, this is around 17:00 or 17:30, with movies starting closer to 20:30. Be sure to check your specific ticket for exact timings.
What facilities and activities are available at The Galileo Open Air Cinema?
Aside from the film, attendees can enjoy DJs, lawn games, and a variety of food stalls offering different cuisines, including vegan, halaal, and keto options. There’s also a bar serving fynbos-infused gin. Pre-show entertainment like circus-skills workshops, mini-moot courts, and telescopes for stargazing might also be available depending on the movie.
What should attendees bring or be aware of for a comfortable experience?
It is recommended to bring thick blankets as temperatures can drop to 16 °C. Low-rise chairs are permitted only in the back rows to avoid obstructing views. Parking is available, but for Kirstenbosch, free shuttles from Newlands Rugby Club are provided due to limited space. For Lourensford, vintage double-deckers loop from Somerset West station. Digital tickets are used, but a physical backup list is also kept. In case of strong winds or fog, screen adjustments or slight timing changes might occur.
