It’s late April, which means summer movies are about to be unleashed onto audiences, young and old, from the first week of May through the last week of August.
The summer slate this year feels uneven once you strip away the prestige titles that did the festival rounds last year. Films like Ildikó Enyedi‘s “Silent Friend,” Curry Barker’s “Obsession,” Daniel Roher’s “Tuner,” and Mark Jenkins’ “Rose of Nevada” are part of the conversation, but they’ve already screened. I’ve seen them, and they’re all worth your time. That said, they don’t really belong in the “preview” category anymore so much as the “go catch up” category.
One area I will not tackle is “straight-to-streaming” — looking at you, Netflix (“Fall 2”). If it bypasses theaters entirely, it shouldn’t really be part of this summer conversation. It’s not like Netflix will have any enticing titles anyway; I couldn’t find any.
There are also lingering question marks around a few projects that are on the schedule. Jonah Hill’s “Cut Off” is still technically on the calendar, dated for July, but there’s been radio silence on the part of Warner Bros.—no real promotional push, nothing that suggests it’s coming. Then there’s Jaume Collet-Serra’s “Cliffhanger” reboot, which has its August date currently in limbo amid ongoing financial turbulence at Row K.
On the franchise front, of course, the summer is doing what it always does: leaning hard on familiar IP. Expect a wave of sequels and reboots to dominate the multiplex landscape, including “The Devil Wears Prada 2,” “Mortal Kombat 2,” “Scary Movie 6,” “Minions and Monsters,” a live-action “Moana,” and “Insidious: Out of the Further.” These are all positioned, unsurprisingly, for major box office returns.
Speaking of blockbusters, “Spider-Man: Brand New Day” is destined to hit the billion-dollar mark—but will it be any good? This will be the ninth live-action Spidey movie released since 2002. The peak remains “Spider-Man 2,” but will newly installed director Destin Daniel Cretton give us something special in ‘Brand New Day’?
As for the Disney/Star Wars machine, enthusiasm is muted for “The Mandalorian and Grogu,” which isn’t exactly inspiring excitement. Personally, I also reserve the same skepticism for Craig Gillespie’s “Supergirl.” Meanwhile, Travis Knight’s “Masters of the Universe” is the wildcard: early word suggests strong test screenings, which may or may not translate into actual good reviews.
In short, it’s a summer defined less by breakout originality and more by recognizable branding cycles—interrupted, occasionally, by a few intriguing titles that have already done the hard work of proving themselves elsewhere.
After careful inspection, I’ve narrowed it down to ten titles that have the highest potential. Only one sequel, two if you count “Jackass,” which is obviously on my list (why wouldn’t it be?).
The Odyssey
The big one. Every studio slate eventually bends toward one “event” film. This is it. Christopher Nolan’s adaptation of Homer that’s a rarity this summer: long-form cinematic ambition. The risk is obvious. This is a rare big-budget literary epic that could either restore faith in serious studio filmmaking or collapse under its own scale, depending on execution. We couldn’t be more intrigued.
Disclosure Day
The trailers might have so far underwhelmed, but never bet against Spielberg. His tightly guarded UFO thriller, a return to the alien genre that made him a household name, is a movie event too good to miss. Emily Blunt, Josh O’Connor, and Colman Domingo star in Spielberg’s first summer blockbuster in over 18 years.
Toy Story 5
Fine, I’ll include one sequel. They should have stopped after the third one, but “Toy Story 5” is real, and I’ll admit I’ve heard very positive things about this sequel, which is coming out June 19. This time the toys encounter Lilypad, “a high-tech, frog-shaped smart tablet that turns playtime into chaos for Buzz, Woody, Jessie, and the gang.”
Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma
After “I Saw TV Glow,” here comes Jane Schoenbrun with another Lynch-inspired nightmare. This one stars Gillian Anderson and Hannah Einbinder and tackles a director who develops an intense fixation on the enigmatic actress who originally portrayed the “final girl” in a slasher franchise. As the obsession deepens, the two women descend into a frenzy of psychosexual mania.
The End of Oak Street
Mitchell, whose last film was “Under the Silver Lake” (2018), sets his return with “The End of Oak Street,” which stars Ewan McGregor and Anne Hathaway and has a family waking up to find themselves “transported back in time to the prehistoric era, surrounded by dinosaurs and other wild creatures.” It’s been described as an “’80s-set thrill ride,” shot on “IMAX,” and with a budget of around $85M.
Backrooms
A24 and Kane Parsons’s high-risk adaptation of his viral YouTube horror concept. This one will be leaning hard on unsettling atmosphere rather than conventional plot-driven studio horror. That’s a good thing. It certainly helps that Chiwetel Ejiofor and Renate Reinsve are the two leads.
The Death of Robin Hood
Jackman, Jodie Comer, and Bill Skarsgård star in Michael Sarnoski’s “The Death of Robin Hood,” which was shot on 35mm film and is coming to us from A24. This is said to be a dark reimagining of the classic tale of Robin Hood. Sarnoski directed the acclaimed “Pig” and has been wanting to make “Robin Hood” for many years now. Here’s hoping he delivers.
The Dog Stars
Very hard not to include Ridley Scott here — he’s earned a spot. His latest stars Jacob Elordi, Margaret Qualley, Josh Brolin, Guy Pearce, and Benedict Wong. Elordi stars as Hig, a widowed pilot navigating a world ravaged by pandemic. This film follows Scott’s “House of Gucci,” “Napoleon,” and “Gladiator II,” which failed with critics and audiences.
The Invite
Olivia Wilde’s directorial comeback stars herself, Seth Rogen, Edward Norton, Penélope Cruz, and centers on a married couple who invite their neighbors over for an evening that ignites unexpected twists and turns. Sundance loved it, but will it be able to break out to the mainstream?
Jackass Best and Last
Johnny Knoxville, 54, is still a punk at heart, and he’s apparently completed a new “Jackass” movie that will be released wide in theaters on June 26 via Paramount. You can mock these movies all you want, but they are not boring. In fact, shoot me, “Jackass” is art — a modern version of the physical-comedy tradition of Charlie Chaplin and Buster Keaton, built on bodies in motion, timing, and real physical risk. It’s pure spectacle of pain and endurance.
“Primetime” doesn’t really go beyond being a good movie. For all of its outrageous entertainment value, it ultimately feels like a stylishly conceived riff on a ridiculous show and its even more ridiculous host.