Garfield is right: Mondays suck. But popular Midtown watering hole Axelrad has the cure for what ails you after the sun sets. Grab a drink from the bar and a slice from Luigi’s Pizza, and settle in for movie night. You won’t know what you’re watching unless you can figure out the teasers Axelrad posts to Instagram, though. If you’re lucky, you may even win a special prize for guessing it right.

Discovery Green’s Screen on the Green series offers free, family-friendly movies on the stage on the north side of the Downtown park. Programming runs once or twice a month and usually features recent blockbusters, beloved classics, and seasonally appropriate selections. Guests can bring food, chairs, and blankets to stay fed and comfy. Glass bottles and BYOB alcohol are not allowed, and you can pick up additional grab-and-go snacks and drinks at the Grove Market and Park Provisions.

Bring the pup out to one of Houston’s favorite patios for a relaxing meal, drink, and movie. Usually based on seasonal selections (horror around Halloween, Christmas movies in December…you get the idea), the restaurant regularly posts upcoming showings on Instagram and offers suggestions on which drinks and dishes pair best with what’s on screen.

Given the events offered at the Medical Center’s double helix–shaped park, which celebrate intersections between the arts and sciences, it’s no surprise that monthly movie nights have made their way onto the calendar. Plus, doctors and medical researchers need a way to relax just as much as the rest of us. Film events at Helix Park are always free and run the gamut from kid-friendly Disney and Pixar favorites to nostalgic classics to holiday-themed selections.

This Downtown park holds alfresco movie nights suitable for all ages. Its regular Movies Under the Stars series, which also serves double duty as outdoor entertainment at Trebly Park, highlights both new and established family-friendly classics like Ratatouille and Barbie. Bring your own lawn chairs, cozy blankets, snacks, and nonalcoholic beverages for a perfect night.

For the art house crowd, the Menil Collection offers something different. While it doesn’t host a regular film series, the museum occasionally projects movies onto the side of its main building, with food trucks on hand to feed visitors spread across the front lawn. True to its mission, every screening is free and curated to connect with one of the Menil’s permanent or rotating exhibitions. Each April, the museum partners with Aurora Picture Show for the annual Bring Your Own Beamer event, which puts a twist on the typical movie night by inviting Houstonians to share their own cinematic works with the crowd.

This drive-in movie theater mainstay offers up a classic cinematic experience with a little more privacy, whether sitting inside or outside your car. Perching on top of a vehicle, leaving the headlights on, and bringing in food are prohibited, but the on-site concession sells snacks, and food trucks sometimes show up during special events. Feel free to bring your pet along as long as they’re properly leashed. This venue also hosts comedy shows, concerts, and film festivals alongside its slate of first-run blockbusters.

Bring the family and watch movies together with the Cullen Sculpture Garden as the backdrop. MFAH’s Moonlight Movies series offers a selection of titles based around a specific theme. More recently, its Time Travel series featured Back to the Future, Time Bandits, and 13 Going on 30. All visitors receive individual headsets so they can listen at the volume most comfortable for them. MFAH doesn’t allow outside food or drinks, but they do offer complimentary bags of popcorn with admission and themed cocktails for sale. Both the MFAH’s Café Leonelli and Le Jardinier stay open late to feed peckish cinephiles.

Transform your movie experience with a scenic city skyline, dreamy sunsets, adult beverages, pre-movie lawn games, and traditional concession refreshments at Rooftop Cinema. This open-air theater and its two screens invite moviegoers for first-run blockbusters, indies, classics, and themed special events like singalongs, movie parties, and holiday film festivals. 

Show up early to the Skylawn for one of its family-friendly movie nights. This five-acre park sits on the roof of POST and also includes a farm, a mobile bar, and open spaces for performing, lounging, exercising, and taking in a beautiful view of the downtown skyline. Tickets are free, but you’re still required to RSVP beforehand to secure your seats.

Along with Market Square Park, Trebly Park is also home to the family-friendly Movies Under the Stars film series, which includes older titles like Coco and School of Rock, as well as more recent releases like Wicked: For Good. Visitors are encouraged to bring their own blankets and food, or purchase a snack at Tout Suite.