Summer is fast approaching and after the massive summer we had last year thanks to the cultural phenomenon that was Barbenheimer. The film going public may have already had its movie moment of the year with Dune: Part Two. That may be so, but I’m here to help highlight the movies you should clear your schedule and get to your favorite movie theater this summer.
End of April 2024
Challengers
Release Date: April 26th
The Luca Guadagnino romantic sports drama that was delayed to 2024 due to the SAG strike will finally be released wide with Zendaya, Josh O’Connor and Mike Faist in the starring roles. This is Zendaya’s follow-up to Dune: Part Two which should help the film immensely at the box office with a young cast and a seductive premise that revolves around tennis and a complex love triangle as depicted heavily in previews. I’m excited to see Zendaya in a clear staring role and finally get an answer to what is behind her sinister grin in the trailer. With a relatively light slate at the end of April, this one is worth the trip to the theater.
May 2024
The Fall Guy
Release Date: May 3rd
Yes, yes and yes. The Fall Guy starring charisma machine Ryan Gosling and Emily Blunt is set to jump-start the summer box office. With Gosling and Blunt both coming off Oscar nominations for the aforementioned “Barbenheimer” films, I think this movie is going to be huge. Director David Leitch’s love letter to stunt teams should offer big exciting stunts and explosions that should be experienced on the biggest screen possible. Unlike earlier in the year where I couldn’t stand the extensive marketing for Argylle, I can’t get enough of the trailer and it gets me more excited for the film’s release. This will be a fantastic date movie that offers comedy, romance and a whole lot of action! If you want to see it in IMAX, make sure to see it in the opening week as the very next big release is scheduled for the week after The Fall Guy is released wide.
Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes
Release Date: May 10th
One of the most bulletproof franchises over the years has been the Planet of the Apes. After the completion of the The Rise Trilogy, it was thought that the Planet of the Apes franchise had reached its conclusion. But after a few years of development, we are getting the fourth installment of the rebooted series set in the same universe as Rise of the Planet of the Apes. Set to be released in IMAX, this looks like an epic story that was made for the big screen. If the original trilogy is any indication this movie will please both the critics and general audiences.
Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga
Release Date: May 24
We return to the sun baked world of George Miller in Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga. Staring the electric Anya Taylor-Joy as Imperator Furiosa taking up the role made famous by Charlize Theron in Mad Max: Fury Road. Similar to Zendaya in Challengers I’m excited to see Taylor-Joy really step up and be front and center which I think she is going to blast past expectations. Chris Hemsworth will also star as Warlord Dementus and will play presumably the main adversary to Furiosa. A good indication that this film is set to be a monster, Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes moved up their release date so that they wouldn’t have to compete for IMAX screens against Furiosa.
June 2024
Bad Boys 4: Ride or Die
Release Date: June 7th
In the fourth installment of the Bad Boys franchise, Will Smith and Martin Lawrence are back in the 305 ready to tackle another case. This time it involves their old captain who was set up for a crime he didn’t commit. As with most Bad Boys films the plot is entirely secondary to the comedy and over-the-top action set pieces. Die-hards of the franchise will surely show up, but the test will be for the younger audiences who are not familiar with the first two widely successful films.
Hitman
Select Theater Release Date: May 24th
Wide Release Date: June 7th on Netflix
One of the lone Netflix releases that I will cover here is Hitman. This film should get an earlier limited release in May, but as of this article, it has not been announced. Glen Powell stars in this action/comedy on the heels of the success of Anyone But You. This film has been all the rage for those who saw it at the Venice Film Festival and if you want to see it in theaters you’ll have to be on the lookout for its limited release on May 24th.
The Bikeriders
Release Date: June 21st
Jeff Nichols’ The Bikeriders was slated to be released in December of 2023, but due to the SAG strike it was pushed back to 2024 and it is finally here. In the year of Austin Butler, he stars alongside Tom Hardy and Jodie Comer. When I first saw this trailer I said, “Hell Yeah! We are back baby,” in the theater. A raw story of a biker gang in the late 1960s and how they became a family surrounded by violence and crime. This is a film made to showcase movie stars and that’s what I’m excited to see when this film is finally released wide in theaters.
Horizon: An American Saga
Release Date: June 28th
One of the biggest gambles of the year, Horizon: An American Saga Chapter 1 will be released wide with Kevin Costner set to direct and star. This will be one of the two installments set to release this year with the 2nd film set to release on August 16th. With so much made about Costner leaving the highly successful Yellowstone series and putting up much of his own money for this film that he has been developing since the 1980s. I’m a huge fan of Westerns so I’m excited to see this film, but some folks who maybe aren’t a fan of the genre might find it hard to care about this film when it is released.
A Quiet Place: Day One
Release Date: June 28th
For those of you who may not be fans of Westerns at least there are a few options available like A Quiet Place: Day One. A spin-off of the successful A Quiet Place films that will feature Lupita Nyong’o, Joseph Quinn and returning Dijon Hounsou reprising his role from A Quiet Place Part II. It will be interesting to see how Day One performs without Emily Blunt and John Krasinski staring, but I think that the franchise has now been built up enough to survive on its own. This should be worth a trip to the theater with the absolute anxiety of making a sound in a movie where making a sound ultimately means death for the characters.
July 2024
Despicable Me 4
Release Date: July 3 (Wednesday)
If Despicable Me 4 is your thing and you aren’t going out and watching the fireworks on the July 4th holiday, then I’m sure you’ll find yourself at the theater watching this wildly successful franchise. This will be the biggest movie of the weekend and it won’t be close.
MaXXXine
Release Date: July 5th
A slasher movie in the summer — what more could someone ask for? In MaXXXine, Mia Goth plays Maxine Minx, the only survivor of a massacre sets out for fame in Hollywood in the 1980s. It’s the final film in the X Trilogy created by Ti West who will also serve as the director. I think the horror genre is having a good year and will continue with films like A Quite Place: Day One releasing a week before MaXXXine getting the horror juices flowing and will help this film at the box office.
Twisters
Release Date: July 19th
Of all the movies releasing this summer, this is the one I’m most excited to see at the theater. Twisters feels so grounded to it’s predecessor Twister and I couldn’t be happier. Comparable to the way that I felt when I saw The Bikeriders trailer when I saw the Twisters trailer in theaters I was jacked up. The sound mixing and wild visual effects of tornados and rolling wheat fields. It looks like a film shot in the heart of America and it means so much to its authenticity. Oh and did I mention Glen Powell plays a cowboy storm chaser a third film that Powell will star in 2024? If Hitman can perform on streaming well and Twisters leads the box office for at least the weekend of July 19th you can genuinely call Powell a certified box office star.
Deadpool & Wolverine
Release Date: July 26th
A movie that feels like it’s been shooting for 5 years, Deadpool & Wolverine will finally release starring Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman. One of three major Marvel film releases this year. I’m sure much of Marvel and Disney for that matter are putting much of the success of their year behind the release of Deadpool & Wolverine. I think this will be a highly successful film at the Box Office and fans will love seeing Reynolds and Jackman back on the screen. I don’t think this will revitalize the Marvel Universe, but it will be a welcome return for the Superhero genre.
— Written by VSiN’s Brian Ortega