Free Screenings Bring Movie Lovers Together
AARP Movies for Grownups reaches 100,000 audience members across the U.S. in 2018
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AARP’s Movies for Grownups (MFG) advocates for the 50-plus audience by fighting ageism in the entertainment industry and encouraging films that resonate with older viewers. Through its nationwide screening program, Movies for Grownups offers attendees opportunities to connect and create a community of film fans both in-person and online. This includes screenings of classic movies to exclusive showings of films not yet in theaters, but all titles have a particular appeal to grownup audiences. All MFG screenings are free and take place both virtually and in theaters in communities across the country.
The Movies for Grownups Screening Program premiered in 2012 with 20 screenings of Hope Springs, starring Meryl Streep. It has since grown to a nationwide program reaching hundreds of thousands of movie fans each year. In 2020, Movies for Grownups began a virtual screening program, offering a new way for the 50-plus community to watch and connect with others from the comfort of home. In 2021, over 46 online screenings reached more than 200,000 audience members across the country. To learn about upcoming screenings, visit aarp.org/freemovies.
Movies for Grownups’ films are selected by AARP’s entertainment critics to spotlight actors, directors and writers 50 and older who create stories that showcase grownup experiences. From history-making blockbusters like Black Panther to popular dramas such as the movie adaption of Downton Abbey, Movies for Grownups films appeal to a wide range of interests and tastes. Screenings have included movies such as Being the Ricardos with Nicole Kidman and Javier Bardem and King Richard starring Will Smith, award-winning documentary Summer of Soul and classic favorite Forrest Gump.