Paramount Announces Summer Classic Film Series Kickoff and Spy Kids Anniversary Screening

The biggest cinema in Austin may be going dark for a while, but the projector bulb is still glowing for a little longer as the Paramount Theatre has announced the first wave of films for this year’s Summer Classic Film Series.

The Paramount will close mid-June fora huge renovation and restoration project, but they’ll be showing films right up to that temporary closure date – and, management has promised, at other venues throughout the summer.

The season kicks off on Friday, May 22 with Casablanca, as is tradition. And it’s going to be twice the Bogart as it screens on a double bill of the Nazi-smashing classic and a special 85th anniversary viewing of one of the greatest films noir ever made, John Huston’s The Maltese Falcon. To continue the classic moviegoing experience, both will be screened in 35mm.

They’re not the only films getting the celluloid treatment that weekend, as Sunday promises 35mm screenings of two more landmark movies, both psychosexual classics: Alfred Hitchcock’s Rear Window and David Lynch’s Mulholland Drive.

So that’s Friday and Sunday. What’s happening Saturday? Well, this year marks the 25th anniversary of the release of Spy Kids, the movie that launched a multigenerational franchise and changed Hollywood’s idea of Robert Rodriguez from being “just” an action/horror guy to being, well, a family guy. The film already received the Star of Texas award at this year’s Texas Film Awards, and now Rodriguez is keeping the party going with a special family-friendly screening and celebration, including a performance by Robert Rodriguez’s Family Spy Band.

But before that packed weekend, there’ll be a sneak peek at the rest of the lineup on April 25 with a matinee screening of Star Wars: Episode VI – Return of the Jedi. However, you won’t just get to see the defeat of the Empire and Luke Skywalker finally becoming a Jedi knight, as there’ll be a special preview of the rest of the lineup, where those films will be screening while the Paramount’s under repairs, and more on that upcoming $55 million renovation of both the Old Lady of Congress and the neighboring State Theatre.

For more on the Summer Classic Film Series, visit austintheatre.org/events/2026-summer-classic-film-series.

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