Nine fridays of free movies return to Campus Martius, starting July 3

Free outdoor movies are returning to Campus Martius Park this summer, with nine Friday evening screenings from July 3 through August 28. The Downtown Detroit Partnership hosts the series, Movie Nights in the D, at no cost to attendees.

This year's lineup covers a range of recent and familiar titles. The 2025 live-action Lilo and Stitch screens July 17. A Minecraft Movie follows on July 24. Zootopia 2, the Disney sequel, fills out early August, and Superman shows August 14. The series closes August 28 with High School Musical.

The full 2026 schedule:

• July 3: National Treasure, 7-9 p.m.
• July 10: Cars, 6-9 p.m.
• July 17: Lilo and Stitch (2025), 6-9 p.m.
• July 24: A Minecraft Movie, 6-9 p.m.
• July 31: Anaconda, 7-9 p.m.
• August 7: Zootopia 2, 6-9 p.m.
• August 14: Superman, 6-9 p.m.
• August 21: KPop Demon Hunters, 7-9 p.m.
• August 28: High School Musical, 7-9 p.m.

The series has run for several years at Campus Martius and carries the qualities that tend to make downtown public events work in Detroit: it's free, it's easy, and it gives people a reason to be downtown on a Friday night without needing to plan far ahead.

Campus Martius Park is at 800 Woodward Ave. in downtown Detroit. The Downtown Detroit Partnership manages 18 parks and public spaces across downtown, and Movie Nights in the D has made Campus Martius a reliable gathering point through the warmer months. The park has been named the top public square in the United States, and free summer programming like this is part of what makes it function as a genuine public space.

Attendees are welcome to bring lawn chairs and blankets and settle in on the grass before the film starts. Popcorn is available from Jetta's Popcorn at the park. No registration is required.

Start times vary by date and are listed in the schedule above. For updates and other summer events at Downtown Detroit parks, visit downtowndetroit.org.