Outdoor or drive-in movie night

Outdoor: weather matters

A film on a big outdoor screen at the school field or club grounds, sold per car or per family, with food stalls.

Typically raises

$3,000

$1,000–5,000 per eventest.

About $92 per organiser hour

Based on 150 vehicles at $40

Is it right for us?

Money: $2,000–10,000
Work: Weeks, part-time
Helpers: 7–15 people
Lead time: 1–2 months
Red tape: A fair bit

Fairly common: a summer favourite at schools that have the gear

People: 10-20
Organiser time: 25-40 (estimate)
Lead time: 6-10 weeks
Up-front cost: $0–$2,500. Revenue-share: no upfront fee. Custom hire: you pay a quoted fee and keep all tickets (Firefly).
Risk: Low on revenue share; medium on custom hire if weather or sales disappoint.

Suits: Primary or intermediate school

Less usual for: Kindy or early learning, High school, Sports club or team, Church, Community group, marae or service club

When: Summer (Dec–Feb), Autumn (Mar–May), Christmas, School holidays

How big a job: Several weeks, part-time, 7–15 people

How it works

The money, as an example sum

Sell at $40 a car, keep about $20 of each, so 225 cars = $4,500, or about $3,000 after about $1,500 of costs. That’s about the typical result.

Using the figures on this page. Your prices and costs will differ.

Where the money figure comes from

Firefly Cinemas (NZ operator) guide: a revenue-share night of 150 vehicles at $40 nets the organisation $3,000+, plus 100% of its own food stalls. Low and high are estimates.

Last checked October 2026. Ran this? Tell us what you raised and we’ll use real results to improve the figures.

Step by step

Choose revenue-share or custom hire with an operator.
Pick a family film and a date with a weather backup.
Sell tickets per car or per family online.
Plan parking, lighting, toilets and first aid.
Set up food stalls run by your volunteers.
Brief marshals on traffic and pedestrian safety.
Run the night and clear the site.
Reconcile tickets and stalls.

Getting the word out

Even a well-run plan fails if nobody hears about it. There are two asks, and the first one goes out first.

Ask for help: Helpers for the day or night, and local businesses for prizes.
Ask people to buy: People to book tickets or tables, and turn up.
When to start: Ask for helpers first, as soon as the date is set. Start the public ask about 3–4 weeks out, and book newsletter and paper notices before that: small newsletters close early.

Where to put it

School, club and church newslettersYour own newsletter is free and read by the families most likely to say yes. Check when it closes.
Local Facebook pages and community groupsPost in your town’s community page and local groups (check their rules), and share from your group’s own page.
Facebook events and what’s-on listingsMake a Facebook event people can say they’re going to, and list it on your council’s or town’s what’s-on page.
Community newsletters and magazinesResidents’ newsletters, village magazines and other churches’ bulletins often run community notices free. Small ones close early.
Other groups sharing itAsk the school, kindy, church, sports club or marae down the road to share it in their newsletter or page. Offer to share theirs back.

The full guide to getting the word out: every channel from flyers to the evening news, with lead times and costs.

What you’ll need

Place: NeededYour own grounds or hall
Landowner’s permission: Not needed
Council permit: CheckCheck with your council
Food rules: CheckNo registration if you sell food to fundraise for a good cause up to 20 times a calendar year. It must still be safe and suitable, and your council may need a stall permit
Alcohol: Not neededNo alcohol sold
Gambling rules: NeededClass 2: prizes up to $5,000 and all tickets printed worth up to $25,000. Run by a club or society, with the money going to community or charitable purposes. Prizes at least 20% of ticket value; sold in person only, every ticket numbered (our rule: on paper). Prizes over $5,000 need a Class 3 licence
Health and safety: CheckA simple risk check and briefing
First aid: NeededA first aider and kit on site (recommended)
Insurance: NeededPublic liability cover (councils often require it)

On your own school or club field no council event permit is usually needed; a council park needs one. Confirm the screen operator holds the public performance licence. Plan parking marshals.

Make more from it

Sausage sizzle or food stall
often $200-800 (estimate)
people on site for hours get hungry
Raffle on the night
often $300-1,500 (estimate)
the crowd is already there with cash or cards out
Glow sticks and blanket hire
often $100-300 (estimate)
kids want them once it is dark
Sponsor's ad before the film
often $200-500 (estimate)
a captive family audience

Stack it: on its own, about $3,000. With the 4 priced add-ons above, roughly

$5,000est.

What you can get donated

Food stall stock, sausages and bread, volunteers for parking.

Tips

You keep 100% of your own food stalls on Firefly's revenue share; that is where the upside is.

Watch out for

No wet-weather plan.
Under-estimating parking marshals.

Also pairs with: Food stalls and sausage sizzle, Raffle, Glow-stick sales

Free tools for this

Event budget and break-evenCover hire, food and prizes before you set the ticket price.
Volunteer roster plannerPrefilled with the usual roles (gate / tickets, parking marshal, food stall, screen / sound tech and first aider) in 4-hour shifts.
Cash float and takings counterDoor and food-stall cash, counted in pairs and banked the next day.
Event run sheetOne timed plan for set-up, the event and pack-down.
Checklist for any ideaBefore, on the day and after, built from this idea’s own steps and rules.

Typical rules

Food: community groups selling food for fundraising fewer than 20 times a year are exempt from Food Act registration (MPI), but councils may still require a stall or fundraising permit in public places.
Alcohol: selling or supplying alcohol (including alcohol included in the ticket price) at a venue without its own licence needs a special licence from the District Licensing Committee, applied for at least 20 working days ahead; late applications cost more and may not be considered. Fees scale with event size (Wellington: $103.50 / $341 / $948.50; Auckland treats 400+ attendees as a large event).
Venue and council: events on council land or roads usually need a council event permit, traffic management plan and public liability insurance; rules differ by council.
Screening a film to the public needs a public performance licence; the screen operator usually supplies it. Confirm.

Check the details

Sources

Researched October 2026. All fundraising ideas

* General fundraising information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Money figures are examples and estimates, not promises. Check current official requirements before you commit. About this guide