McHenry Outdoor Theater opens April 3; patrons can win galactic gaming opportunity

When McHenry Outdoor Theater opens on April 3, patrons will have a chance to watch the new “Super Mario Galaxy Movie” and a shot at playing some Mario Bros. games on the theater’s 100-foot-wide, 5-story-tall screen.

Scott Dehn, owner of the theater at 1510 N. Chapel Hill Road in Lakemoor, and Joe Cicero, president of marketing and promotions, said pairing the rare, giant-screen gaming opportunity with the latest Mario movie installment is the perfect kickoff to the drive-in theater’s 2026 season.

“To sit there and play games on a screen as big as what we have at the Outdoor, it’s like being a little kid again,” Cicero said.

It’s a treat previously experienced only by a handful of employees and close friends, the duo said.

To become eligible, customers visiting during the weekends “The Super Mario Galaxy Movie” is playing should look for a QR code on-site. Follow the code link to a form and sign up. Winners’ names will be drawn two at a time in 10- or 15-minute game-play intervals after the movie, now scheduled as a solo feature for April 3-4, 10-11 and 17-18.

“There’s nothing like taking the controls after seeing one of your favorite games projected onto that huge screen,” Dehn said. “To share that with customers is going to be a really cool experience — even for those who simply stay to watch.”

The 2026 season includes showings of the Michael Jackson biopic, “Michael,” the latest Star Wars installment, “The Mandalorian and Grogu,” and “Toy Story 5.”

This July’s features include the Marvel Comics franchise “Spider-Man: Brand New Day,” “Minions & Monsters,” “Masters of the Universe” and Christopher Nolan’s “The Odyssey.”

“This is by far the most stacked season I’ve ever seen,” Dehn said. “The summer movie season always has its tent-pole features. But very rarely do you get this much in the way of back-to-back, name-recognition intellectual properties. It’s unprecedented — one right after another.”

Tickets prices are $15 per adult and $10 per child 4-12, with free admission for kids 3 and younger. Season passes are available at goldenagecinemas.com.

Once the seven-days-a-week portion of the season resumes after Memorial Day, $15-per-carload specials will be back on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

Dogs are allowed as long as they are leashed.