Classics and current blockbusters dominate the film selection at Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk – Santa Cruz Sentinel

The Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk's free beachfront movies will be available again June 14 through August. 9. (Shmuel Thaler – Santa Cruz Sentinel file)

SANTA CRUZ – Going to the movies can be an expensive experience, especially with the average ticket price rising to $11.53, but sometimes people could use a little break from browsing various streaming sites to watch a movie at home to watch.

As always, the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk offered the right compromise this summer, moving the cinema experience from a theater hall to the sands of Main Beach, presenting another classic or a recent Hollywood hit and, most importantly, nailing it has everything for free.

Free Movies on the Beach returns for nine weeks from June 14th with a range of cult classics and current blockbusters. Everything starts as usual with a screening of a local classic: “The Lost Boys”. Joel Schumacher's 1987 film follows the Emerson brothers as they attempt to settle in their new town of Santa Carla – the self-proclaimed “Murder Capital of the World” – and soon discover that many of the town's residents are vampires. Santa Carla may look familiar to residents as the film was filmed in Santa Cruz and many scenes take place on the Boardwalk, making it the best place to watch this cult classic.

On June 21, the 2014 animated film “The Book of Life,” about a bullfighter who goes on an afterlife adventure on the Day of the Dead, will be shown. The film features the voice actors of Diego Luna, Zoe Saldana, Channing Tatum and others.

The fun continues June 28 with “Barbie,” last year's hit starring Margot Robbie as the titular Mattel doll who tries to navigate the real world after experiencing an existential crisis in her home of Barbieland. The film was the highest-grossing of 2023 and won an Oscar for Best Original Song for Billie Eilish's “What Was I Made For?”

Just in time for the aftermath of Independence Day comes a film that celebrates one of America's favorite pastimes: youth baseball. July 5 will screen the 1993 cult classic “The Sandlot,” about a group of young baseball players growing up in the San Fernando Valley in the summer of 1962.

Speaking of sports culture in the 60s, next week's film will show exactly that, just with a different summer sport. On July 12, Bruce Brown's 1966 documentary “The Endless Summer,” which follows surfers Robert August and Mike Hynson as they travel the world catching waves while creating a time capsule of the surfing culture of the time, will be screened . Of course, given the many surf spots they visit, some scenes were filmed on Steamer Lane.

“Wonka” will be shown on July 19th. In the third live-action adaptation of Roald Dahl's “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory”, Timothée Chalamet plays the role of Willy Wonka in his early days as a chocolate maker. Like previous adaptations, it is a film that takes audiences into a colorful world of pure fantasy.

While you enjoy the summer off, take the opportunity to vicariously experience a character who famously took a day off from school. The featured film on July 26 is “Ferris Bueller's Day Off,” John Hughes' 1986 cult hit starring Matthew Broderick as the title character, who fakes an illness to skip school and then hooks up with his best friend and girlfriend Girlfriend goes on a trip to Chicago.

Another film based on a popular toy line will be in the spotlight on August 2nd: Trolls. The 2016 Dreamworks animated film, which spawned two sequels, centers on the titular characters who must save their village from giants called Bergens. Anna Kendrick and Justin Timberlake lead an all-star voice cast.

The summer of movies comes to an end on August 9th, but things come full circle with the screening of another '80s cult phenomenon: The Goonies. Produced by Steven Spielberg, the film follows a group of Oregon children as they search for the long-lost treasure of the 17th century pirate One-Eyed Willy.

All performances begin at 9 p.m. Friday evenings in front of the Colonnade, 400 Beach St. Families are encouraged to bring blankets or low-back chairs and purchase Boardwalk treats such as kettle corn, saltwater taffy, corn dogs and turkey legs. Admission is free and seating is allocated on a first come, first served basis. Each film includes a 15-minute break. With the exception of “The Lost Boys,” which is rated R, all films are rated PG-13 or lower. Smoking, alcohol and glass are prohibited on the beach. A limited number of assisted hearing aids are available at the mini golf kiosk at Neptune's Kingdom Family Entertainment Center. Anyone requesting closed captioning or other special arrangements must call the duty manager at 831-423-5590 at least 48 hours prior to the screening.

For more information, visit SantaCruzBeachBoardwalk.com.