There may not be another Barbenheimer on the horizon, but rest assured that there are still plenty of buzzy new films—hotly anticipated sequels, skin-crawling horror movies, and swoon-worthy rom-coms—heading to big and small screens to keep you entertained this summer. These are the 18 you need to see.
Bring Her Back (in theaters May 30)
If you’re still having nightmares from Danny and Michael Philippou’s supernatural horror Talk to Me—the Sophie Wilde-led tale of a group of teens who make viral videos with a cursed, embalmed hand—the trailer alone for their follow-up, a family drama starring Sally Hawkins, might just be enough to send you over the edge. Surreal, beautiful, and then truly shocking, this is a classic conceptual A24 horror, with all the hallucinatory imagery, and head-spinning, hairpin bends that entails.
Mountainhead (on HBO May 31)
Jesse Armstrong’s first post-Succession project is this satire, which also marks his feature directorial debut: the tale of a raucous crew of billionaires (Steve Carell, Jason Schwartzman, Cory Michael Smith, and Ramy Youssef) who head to a snowy mountain lodge to decompress against the backdrop of a rolling international crisis. Expect the one-liners to be as devastating as their impact on the global economy.
From the World of John Wick: Ballerina (in theaters June 6)
Former Bond girl Ana de Armas turns action hero herself as a ruthless assassin on a quest to avenge her late father in Len Wiseman’s franchise spin-off—kicking ass, racing cars, and firing on all cylinders—that is, until Anjelica Huston’s chain-smoking crime syndicate head dispatches Keanu Reeves himself to take her on. Let the bloodbath commence.
Echo Valley (on Apple TV+ June 13)
Julianne Moore and Sydney Sweeney anchor this psychological thriller, following a mother, still reeling from a recent tragedy, who is shocked when her wayward daughter turns up at her door, drenched in someone else’s blood. Also lending support are Domhnall Gleeson, Kyle MacLachlan, and Fiona Shaw, while Beast’s Michael Pearce directs, and Mare of Easttown creator Brad Inglesby pens the original screenplay—so you never know what could be around the corner.
Materialists (in theaters June 13)
Dakota Johnson’s New York City matchmaker falls hard for Pedro Pascal’s enigmatic billionaire in Celine Song’s sun-dappled next big-screen outing after the immense success of Past Lives—but then, our heroine’s more turbulent former flame (Chris Evans) re-enters the fold and turns everything on its head. Watch it for the pared-back fashion, the ravishingly beautiful cinematography, the quietly insightful script, sizzling chemistry, and an ending that is sure to leave you in a puddle of tears.
28 Years Later (in theaters June 20)
More than two decades after 28 Days Later, Danny Boyle and Alex Garland reunite for this nerve-jangling return to a virus-ravaged Britain, featuring red-eyed zombies, jaw-dropping set pieces, and Jodie Comer, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, and Ralph Fiennes as world-weary survivors battling the wave of flesh-eating monsters. Hot on its heels will be a sequel, the Nia DaCosta-helmed 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple.
F1 (in theaters June 27)
Brad Pitt as a mercurial racing driver in pursuit of glory, death-defying contests, an ensemble cast which includes Damson Idris, Javier Bardem, Kerry Condon, and Tobias Menzies, and none other than Top Gun: Maverick’s Joseph Kosinski behind the camera? This heart-pounding romp has crowdpleasing summer blockbuster written all over it.
Hot Milk (in theaters June 27)
Deborah Levy’s heady summer novel of the same name becomes a painterly onscreen treat in the hands of Rebecca Lenkiewicz, who enlists Fiona Shaw and Emma Mackey to play a troubled mother and daughter holidaying in Spain, and Vicky Krieps as an enchanting free spirit who turns the latter’s head. It’s the gentle, ruminative antidote to this season’s glut of splashy reboots.
M3gan 2.0 (in theaters June 27)
Rejoice! My favorite killer robot—the one who eerily croons Sia’s “Titanium” and performs deranged dances before murdering her enemies—is finally back for Gerard Johnstone and Akela Cooper’s sequel. The premise: the technology used to develop the original M3GAN has been stolen and used to create Amelia, a military-grade weapon that’s going rogue. The only solution? Allison Williams’s pioneering roboticist must resurrect her preppy android and give her a few upgrades with which to take on this new adversary, naturally. No notes.
Jurassic World Rebirth (in theaters July 2)
A fresh cast—a feisty Scarlett Johansson, a bespectacled Jonathan Bailey, a steely Rupert Friend, and a charming Mahershala Ali—breathes new life into the seventh installment of this rip-roaring series. And with Godzilla’s Gareth Edwards directing, and Jurassic Park and The Lost World’s David Koepp behind the screenplay, we should be in for an unforgettable ride.
The Old Guard 2 (on Netflix July 2)
Get ready to see Charlize Theron fly through the air (and throw punches, sword fight, hang off helicopters, fire machine guns, and generally be a badass) as the relentless, raven-haired squadron leader in Victoria Mahoney’s blood-soaked sequel to Gina Prince-Bythewood’s electrifying action epic. The likes of KiKi Layne, Matthias Schoenaerts, and Chiwetel Ejiofor also return for round two, with the welcome addition of Uma Thurman and Henry Golding. When it comes to immortal(ish) warriors tasked with saving the world, the more the merrier.
Superman (in theaters July 11)
There is a new take on the Man of Steel incoming, with The Politician and Twisters’s David Corenswet inheriting the cape from Henry Cavill, alongside Rachel Brosnahan as Lois Lane and Nicholas Hoult as Lex Luthor. A sweeping origin story as conceived by James Gunn, this should be Clark Kent at his high-flying, ultra-strong, entirely wholesome best.
Eddington (in theaters July 18)
The supremely unsettling, doom-scrolling first teaser says it all: Ari Aster’s latest mind bender is a head-first dive into the abyss that was mid-2020, as a power-hungry, small-town New Mexico sheriff (Joaquin Phoenix) flouts pandemic health regulations and takes on the community’s incumbent mayor (Pedro Pascal) in a brutal election. Cue a literal conspiracy theory hellscape with Emma Stone, Austin Butler, and Micheal Ward also joining in on all the increasingly unhinged shenanigans.
I Know What You Did Last Summer (in theaters July 18)
Sarah Michelle Gellar’s Helen and Ryan Phillippe’s Barry are most definitely still dead—sorry!—but Freddie Prinze Jr. and Jennifer Love Hewitt are, thankfully, returning to face the masked, hook-wielding killer once more in Jennifer Kaytin Robinson’s franchise revival, which features a squad of rising stars—Outer Banks’s Madelyn Cline, Bodies Bodies Bodies’s Chase Sui Wonders, The Little Mermaid’s Jonah Hauer-King, The Summer I Turned Pretty’s Lola Tung, Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story’s Nicholas Alexander Chavez, Vogue favorite Gabbriette, soon-to-be Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy Sarah Pidgeon—as the new generation being tormented by their past.
The Fantastic Four: First Steps (in theaters July 25)
Pedro Pascal as the stretchy Mister Fantastic, The Crown’s Vanessa Kirby as the force field-generating Invisible Woman, Gladiator II’s Joseph Quinn as the soaring Human Torch, The Bear’s Ebon Moss-Bachrach as the orange-skinned colossus The Thing, Ralph Ineson as the villainous Galactus, and Julia Garner as the retina-searing Silver Surfer—Matt Shakman’s retro-futurist superhero saga is as gloriously starry as it is thrilling.
Freakier Friday (in theaters August 8)
Break out your Pink Slip band tee—the long wait for this endlessly discussed reunion is now almost over, and yes, Lindsay Lohan, Jamie Lee Curtis, Chad Michael Murray, Christina Vidal, Haley Hudson, Stephen Tobolowsky, Mark Harmon, Lucille Soong, and Rosalind Chao will all be in attendance. Add new blood in the form of Never Have I Ever’s Maitreyi Ramakrishnan and Once Upon a Time in Hollywood’s Julia Butters, Late Night’s Nisha Ganatra in the director’s chair, and many a madcap set piece, and you have a potent shot of pure nostalgia.
The Thursday Murder Club (on Netflix August 28)
Helen Mirren, Pierce Brosnan, Ben Kingsley, and Celia Imrie form the central quartet of this Chris Columbus-directed, Katy Brand-penned adaptation of Richard Osman’s bestselling potboiler tracking a team of retirees who moonlight as armchair sleuths and find themselves embroiled in a living, breathing case. Naomi Ackie, Jonathan Pryce, David Tennant, and Richard E. Grant get in on the fun, too, in what might be the most deeply British release of the summer.
Caught Stealing (in theaters August 29)
Darren Aronofsky’s latest portrait of a misunderstood outsider is this rollicking crime caper, which chases Austin Butler’s down-on-his-luck bartender through the gritty streets of ’90s New York, after a misunderstanding involving his punk rock neighbor (a mohawked Matt Smith) makes him a target for a host of unsavory characters. Look out for Zoë Kravitz, Regina King, Bad Bunny, Liev Schreiber, and D’Pharaoh Woon-A-Tai in supporting parts, and a glimpse at the city’s now largely forgotten wild and seedy past.
