Imagine lounging outside on a balmy summer evening, surrounded by bars and art museums. Now add in a free movie on a big screen: you’ve got the Frameout experience.
- Open-air cinema in Vienna’s Museumsquartier (MQ)
- Free entry & an eclectic mix of movies on a theme
- Films mostly in original English or with English subtitles
- 2026 dates: TBA (was Fridays & Saturdays, Jul 18 – Sept 6 in 2025)
- Book a VR experience* in Vienna
- See also:
- Vienna in July, August & September
- Film festivals
- English-language cinemas
Movies and the MQ
(An evening viewing with the mumok museum behind; press photo © Christoph Storn)
The Museumsquartier has a dynamic cultural vibe to it throughout the year, what with all the art, dance and other events going on in the complex.
But the MQ really comes alive in summer, when the main courtyards fill with people there to soak up the warmth and chat over a glass of something cold from the many open-air bars that pop up for the season.
One of the highlights of the MQ summer is the Frameout digital film festival, with outdoor screenings of a mix of films that seem to mirror the eclectic artistic surroundings.
Anything is possible: national & international movies, shorts, documentaries, science fiction, video art, action films, past classics, experimental films…anything.
Although the selection always follows a theme that changes each year. The 2025 edition, for example, had a “disobedience” thread running through it.
(At home in the MQ)
2026 dates, tickets & tips
I await 2026 dates at the time of writing, but to give you an idea of what to expect…the previous Frameout ran on Friday and Saturday evenings from July 18th until September 6th.
Find the programme at the festival website, once details becomes available.
Entry is free (yay!), and you can normally borrow a wireless audio headset on site for a returnable deposit (typically around €20 or use photo ID).
The Viennese summer fills with open-air screenings, so check out the film festival listings and the guides to July, August and September for other cinematic possibilities.
How to get to Frameout
See the main Museumsquartier article for directions to the MQ complex. The screenings take place in Courtyard 8, which is between the mumok museum and the Architecture Centre.
Basically, you go into the MQ through the main entrance, turn right and walk past the giant grey mumok building on your left.
If the weather is bad (rarely in a Vienna summer), then the Frameout showings shift indoors at the same MuseumsQuartier location.
Address: Museumsquartier, Museumsplatz 1, 1070 Vienna