Summer 2024 is right around the corner and with that comes the summer movie season, one of the most exciting times of the year for movies. Last year, the big summer story was Barbenheimer, which saw Greta Gerwig’s Barbie and Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer be released on the same day and dominate the box office with rave reviews, with Oppenheimer eventually winning Best Picture at the Academy Awards. But beyond Barbenheimer, summer 2023 was a bit of a letdown overall, with more flops and disappointments than hits and surprises.
While there might not be a Barbenheimer this year, summer 2024 has the potential to be a great summer at the movies. It is loaded with movie stars like Ryan Gosling, Ryan Reynolds, Will Smith, and Emma Stone, high-profile directors like George Miller, Yorgos Lanthimos, M. Night Shyamalan, and Kevin Costner, has a great slate of big blockbusters as well as smaller, indie-focused films. We have action, comedy, animation, horror, and sci-fi. We have plenty of sequels, prequels, and a slew of original films. We also have a nice mix of films for kids and adults, and some that bridge the gap between the two. The one thing this summer doesn’t have compared to previous summers is a barrage of superhero movies. There is only one major one coming out this summer, with potentially another one coming out at the very end of the season, though I’m unsure how good that one will be. It might be a refreshing change of pace not to be bombarded with superhero films.
Still, this summer’s movie slate is as exciting as it has been in years. Here are twenty films you should keep an eye out for.
The Fall Guy (May 3)
Ryan Gosling and Emily Blunt kick off the summer in director David Leitch’s comedic action romance about a stuntman (Gosling) who is tasked with finding the missing star of his ex-girlfriend’s (Emily Blunt) blockbuster movie. The film got raves out of SXSW and feels like the perfect film to kick off an exciting summer.
I Saw the TV Glow (May 3)
Arguably the most talked about title coming out of this year’s Sundance Film Festival was Jane Schoenbrun’s hypnotic thriller about two teenagers (Justice Smith, Bridgette Lundy-Paine) who become obsessed with a supernatural TV show, which has them question their life and reality. This is unlike any movie you will see in 2024 and one of the best films of the year so far.
Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes (May 10)
The latest entry in the Planet of the Apes franchise takes place years after the reign of Caesar and finds a young ape questioning everything he’s been taught and must decide on what will be best for the apes and the planet. Based on the spectacular trailers, Kingdom looks like it will be another sensational film in an iconic franchise.
IF (May 17)
Written and directed by John Krasinski, IF follows a young girl (Cailey Fleming) who starts to see all the imaginary friends who have been left behind as their real-life friends grow up. The film also stars Ryan Reynolds and features a who’s who of voice actors including Steve Carrell, Matt Damon, Emily Blunt, Sam Rockwell, Richard Jenkins, Maya Rudolph, Awkwafina, and the late Louis Gossett Jr. We don’t get a lot of live-action films for kids at this scale with this cast, so it will be interesting to see what Krasinski can do in this genre.
The Strangers: Chapter 1 (May 17)
Along with several sequels that we’ve come to expect from the summer movie season, summer 2024 also has a few prequels coming out, the first of them being The Strangers: Chapter 1, a prequel to the 2008 terrifying horror hit. The Strangers: Chapter 1 has a very similar plot to the original film, which finds a young couple staying in a small, abandoned cabin only to be terrorized by three masked strangers. The film looks to be one of the big horror hits in a potentially great summer for horror movies.
Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga (May 24)
Director George Miller returns to the post-apocalyptic land of sand and cars in this action prequel that tells the story of renegade warrior Furiosa (Anya Taylor-Joy) before her encounter with Mad Max. Miller is one of our great visual storytellers and Furiosa looks like another spectacle from the Oscar-nominated director. This is my most anticipated movie of the summer.
Bad Boys: Ride or Die (June 7)
Will Smith and Martin Lawrence return as Detectives Mike Lowery and Marcus Burnett for the fourth installment of the Bad Boys franchise. Mike and Marcus find themselves on the other side of the law, as they are being framed for crimes they didn’t commit and must clear their names. Smith and Lawrence are an uproarious team, and I can’t wait to see them together again.
Inside Out 2 (June 14)
Joy, Sadness, Anger, Disgust, and Fear are back for another adventure inside the mind of teenage Riley in the latest film from Disney and Pixar. The five emotions are joined by four new emotions, Anxiety, Envy, Ennui, and Embarrassment in this sequel to the 2015 Oscar-winning blockbuster. It’s been a while since Pixar had a truly great film, so here’s hoping Inside Out 2 can mirror the success and excellence of the first film.
The Bikeriders (June 21)
The Bikeriders was originally slated to come out in December 2023, but the film was pushed to this year due to the writer’s and actor’s strike. Jeff Nichols’ motorcycle drama stars Austin Butler and Tom Hardy as two members of a motorcycle gang who begin to descend into violent terrain as their crew gets bigger. It’s a hot cast on motorcycles with a great director behind the camera. What’s not to be excited about?
Kinds of Kindness (June 21)
Yorgos Lanthimos and Emma Stone follow up their Oscar-winning Poor Things with their third collaboration in Kinds of Kindness. Though the plot and trailers have been vague, Lanthimos has established himself as one of the best directors working today and once brings along a stellar cast featuring Stone, Jesse Plemons, Willem Dafoe, and Margaret Qualley, among others.
A Quiet Place: Day One (June 28)
The Quiet Place franchise moves from farm country to New York City to show us the chaos and mayhem that ensued the first time the blind, strong-hearing monsters invaded Earth, something that was briefly touched on at the beginning of A Quiet Place: Part II. Michael Sarnoski, who directed 2021’s sensational Pig, replaces John Krasinski as director and the cast includes Lupita Nyong’o, Djimon Hounsou, Alex Wolff, and Josephy Quinn among others.
Horizon: An American Saga (Part 1: June 28, Part 2: August 16)
Kevin Costner co-wrote, directed, and stars in this American epic about the growth and expansion of the American West during the Civil War Era. It’s exciting to see Costner behind the camera for the first time since 2003’s Open Range and the fact the film is split into two chapters (with Costner wanting to make two more), this is bound to be an epic western unlike anything we’ve seen in a long time.
Despicable Me 4 (July 4)
The sixth entry in the incredibly successful Despicable Me franchise finds Gru (once again voiced by Steve Carrell) and his family, including the rambunctious Gru Jr., having to go on the run following the arrival of a new nemesis in Maxime Le Mal (voiced by Will Ferrell). With only a handful of kid-focused films coming out this summer, don’t be surprised if this is one of the season’s biggest hits.
MaXXXine (July 5)
Ti West’s latest entry in his X film series takes place in 1980s Hollywood and finds adult film star and aspiring actress Maxine (Mia Goth) getting her big break while a serial killer makes his way through town. If Maxxxine is anything like the previous films in the X series, X and Pearl, it’s going to be a twisted, bloody good time.
Sing Sing (July 12)
Colman Domingo has been earning rave reviews for his performance in Greg Kwedar’s drama that finds Domingo playing John ‘Davine G’ Whitfield, a man incarcerated for a crime he didn’t commit who finds purpose by acting in a theater group alongside other incarcerated men. Sing Sing has been earning rave reviews throughout its film festival run and Domingo looks to be on track for his second Oscar nomination in a row.
Twisters (July 19)
I’m not sure I ever thought we’d be getting a sequel to 1996’s Twister, but we are, and it looks awesome. Directed by the Oscar-nominated director of Minari Lee Isaac Chung and featuring an exciting cast led by Glen Powell, Twisters looks as silly and fun as the original summer classic.
Deadpool & Wolverine (July 26)
The summer movie season is usually when we get bombarded with comic book movies, but 2024 is surprisingly light on superheroes but the biggest one, and maybe the biggest movie of the summer is Deadpool & Wolverine. Ryan Reynolds returns as the Merc with the Mouth and he somehow convinced Hugh Jackman to return as Wolverine as Deadpool tries to straighten out the messiness of the multiverse.
Trap (August 9)
Director M. Night Shyamalan’s latest film finds a father and daughter at a pop concert only to find themselves in the middle of something more sinister. Vague? Sure. Intriguing? Definitely. But Shyamalan has been on a tear as of late with Old and Knock at the Cabin and cast Josh Hartnett in a role unlike anything we’ve seen from him before.
Alien: Romulus (August 16)
Rumored to be set between Alien and Aliens, Alien: Romulus once again finds a group of young space colonizers coming face-to-face with the Xenomorph as they search the deep ends of space. The Alien franchise is a personal favorite of mine and even though Ridley Scott isn’t in the director’s chair for this one, the excellent teaser trailer, the use of practical effects, and horror maestro Fede Alvarez at the reigns, this could be one of the summer’s biggest surprises.
Kraven the Hunter (August 30)
The first trailer for Kraven the Hunter premiered in June 2023. Since then, it’s been radio silent on anything about this movie. The latest film following the origins of a Spider-Man villain stars Aaron Taylor-Johnson as the titular Kraven and finds director J.C. Chandor, a director I like a lot, at the helm. But following the abysmal showing critically and financially from Madam Web earlier this year, is Sony panicking? Will this movie even be released this summer? Coming in as the last major summer release, if the film is bad, it could end the promising season on a bad note. But if it’s good, we could end with a pleasant surprise.
Make sure to follow Film Obsessive’s coverage of these films and many more throughout the summer.
