Fairfax Media has bought Australian Openair Cinema, started at Sydney's Bondi Beach in 2003, for an undisclosed sum. 
Australian Openair Cinema now also runs in Melbourne, Perth, Adelaide, Brisbane and Canberra and will start on the Gold Coast in two weeks, and screening movies in some of Australia's most iconic outdoor settings.
The acquisition, believed to be a multimillion-dollar purchase, was made by Fairfax's Life Media and Events division, which encompasses, among other things, Spectrum Now, Good Food Month - including the night noodle markets - the NSW Food & Wine festival and City2Surf.
"Our plan is to build on the remarkable success the events have had to date, further improving the experience and finding new Australian and international sites to grow the events," Fairfax Life & Events Media managing director Andrew McEvoy said.
"We genuinely believe in the experience economy and Ben & Jerry's Openair Cinemas perfectly complements our other events in areas such as food, health and fitness, parenting, sports and the arts."
Australian Openair Cinema founder and managing director Alexander Khadra said he was grateful for all the help he's had since starting the business in 2003.
"It's been a fascinating few years building the events from humble beginnings to a national event series, creating a much-loved summer experience for so many Australians. We could not have wished for a better partner than Fairfax to take Ben & Jerry's Openair Cinemas even further."
Fairfax Media is the publisher of The Australian Financial Review and BusinessDay.