Somehow someway, the beginning of the summer movie season is imminent. What Hollywood has lined up for the next four months is frankly absurd and should have theater owners doing cartwheels. Starting this week with The Devil Wears Prada 2 and running up until roughly the beginning of August when Spider-Man: Brand New Day debuts , there's a near constant stream of huge titles on the docket that should inspire many a "Is the box office back to pre-pandemic levels?!?" pieces in the trades.
Beyond this lengthy hit parade, there's still a lot of intrigue to be found including a deep slate of horror titles (Hokum, Obsession, Passenger, Backrooms, Leviticus, Evil Dead Burn, Ice Cream Man, Insidious: Out of the Further), Jason Statham's latest massacre of human traffickers (Mutiny), Will Gluck's attempt to replicate the success of Anyone But You with another R-rated romcom led by a pair of rising stars (One Night Only), audacious indies from some of Hollywood's favorite weirdo filmmakers (I Love Boosters, Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma, I Want Your Sex) and of course, a family comedy about a group of sheep trying to solve the murder of their shepherd (The Sheep Detectives).
Here are the 10 movies currently set to release from May-August that I'm most excited to see. Hope you enjoy.
Already seen and really enjoyed: Obsession (May 15)
10.Spider-Man: Brand New Day (July 31):
The ending of No Way Home left MCU Peter Parker in a dark, lonely place and with Destin Daniel Cretton taking over the directorial duties from Jon Watts, I'm cautiously optimistic that he'll be able to pull off the big tonal shift that accompanies this stage of Parker's journey and make the best Tom Holland-era Spider-Man movie yet.
9.Tuner (May 22):
Documentarian Daniel Roher's narrative feature debut quietly drew strong reviews on the festival circuit last fall, and its plot surrounding a piano tuner with hypersensitive hearing (Leo Woodall) who inadvertently discovers he has a gift for cracking safes sounds like a really unique spin on the heist/ crime thriller genre.
8.Carolina Caroline (June 5):
We've seen quite a few Bonnie and Clyde-style crime romances over the years, but Carolina Caroline is the first one to be led by the perpetually underrated Samara Weaving and Kyle Gallner and helmed by soulful indie filmmaker Adam Carter Rehmeier. If all of the ingredients are blended together properly, this could be one of the season's most endearing gems.
7.Hokum (May 1):
Kicking off May's particularly busy horror slate is this Irish folk horror flick from Damian Mc Carthy, whose profile raised significantly after the release of his last feature Oddity in the summer of 2024. Hokum has picked up a good amount of buzz since it premiered to strong reviews at SXSW last month and the trailer has an eerie atmosphere that gives off the vibe of a good old fashioned campfire ghost story.
6.Toy Story 5 (June 19):
Oddly enough, I feel like Toy Story 5 is a more "necessary" sequel than Toy Story 4 as it confronts the very timely issue of technology infringing on the space that toys used to occupy and what impact that can have on a child's capacity to use their imagination, find joy through play, etc. Plus, Pixar legend Andrew Stanton finally getting to direct an entry in the franchise that he helped build as a writer and animator just feels right.
5.Supergirl (June 26):
A moody space western about Superman's cousin (Mily Alcock) embarking on an intergalactic mission to save her beloved dog Krypto from dying is precisely the kind of big swing James Gunn promised he would take when he was hired as the creative head of DC Studios in the fall of 2022. Alcock looks to be very well-cast as the cynical hero who's tortured by witnessing the death of her home planet, the action scenes teased in the trailers look really cool and getting to see Jason Momoa take on the role of Lobo after actively campaigning for it for so long should be a real treat.
4.Jackass: Best and Last (June 26):
While I felt that Jackass Forever was kind of the perfect sendoff for the crew, I'm never going to be anything less than thrilled to spend 90 or so minutes watching these reckless goofballs inflict harm on themselves in the name of making an audience laugh.
3.The Invite (June 26):
Olivia Wilde was in desperate need of a bounceback directorial effort after the drama-filled rollout of Don't Worry Darling and all indications are that that she was able to pull it off with The Invite. This intimate dramedy starring Seth Rogen, Edward Norton, Penelope Cruz and Wilde herself inspired an old school frenzied bidding war following its rowdy Sundance premiere in January and the victor in that battle (A24) made it one of the cornerstones of their summer release slate, which is a really encouraging sign of just how much confidence they have in its ability to succeed as a counterprogramming option in this titan-filled portion of the calendar.
2.Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma (August 7):
I Saw the TV Glow is a completely singular piece of filmmaking that provided a clear window into what it feels like when a person has to grapple with their gender identity. Whatever Jane Schoenbrun cooked up next was going to land in a prime spot on my most anticipated movies of the year list and their take on the slasher genre that features an absolutely insane collection of actors (Hannah Einbinder, Gillan Anderson, Eva Victor, Jack Haven, Sarah Sherman, Zach Cherry, Patrick Fischler, Jasmin Savoy Brown, Quintessa Swindell, Dylan Baker) sounds it like could be another mesmerizing face-melter.
1.The Furious (June 12):
Action movie buffs have been starved of the experience of seeing a pure martial arts spectacle on the big screen for far too long. That all changes with The Furious. Japanese director Kenji Tanigaki was able to assemble a cast featuring a number of virtuoso martial artists from all over the world (Mo Tse, Joe Taslim, Brian Le, Yayan Ruhian, Jeeja Yanin) for this project and unsurprisingly given the pedigree of these folks, the early word is that the fight choreography here is some of the most insane ever committed to film. If The Furious can match or exceed the quality of The Raid movies, there's a real chance that I'll levitate out of the theater.
Also Plan on Seeing:
Deep Water (May 1)
The Devil Wears Prada 2 (May 1)
One Spoon of Chocolate (May 1)
Mortal Kombat II (May 8)
The Sheep Detectives (May 8)
In the Grey (May 15)
Is God Is (May 15)
I Love Boosters (May 22)
Passenger (May 22)
Saccharine (May 22)
Backrooms (May 29)
Power Ballad (May 29)
Masters of the Universe (June 5)
Scary Movie (June 5)
Disclosure Day (June 12)
Maddie's Secret (June 12)
The Death of Robin Hood (June 19)
Leviticus (June 19)
Voicemails for Isabelle (June 19)
Little Brother (June 26)
Evil Dead Burn (July 10)
Gail Daughtry and the Celebrity Sex Pass (July 10)
The Odyssey (July 17)
72 Hours (July 24)
Motor City (July 24)
I Want Your Sex (July 31)
The Last House (August 7)
One Night Only (August 7)
Super Troopers 3 (August 7)
The End of Oak Street (August 14)
The Rivals of Amziah King (August 14)
The Wrong Girls (August 14)
Mutiny (August 21)
Spa Weekend (August 21)
Coyote vs. Acme (August 28)
The Dog Stars (August 28)
Idiots (August 28)
The Whisper Man (August 28)
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