Movies are back in a big way, and after two pandemic-plagued years, we’re ready to celebrate their return. “Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness” kicked off summer blockbuster season with record-breaking numbers, showing audiences are more than ready to return to theaters, especially for larger-than-life superhero spectacles from the likes of Marvel and DC.
“Top Gun: Maverick,” “Thor: Love and Thunder” and “Jurassic World Dominion” are likely to draw the most moviegoers this summer, but there’s also plenty of choices for families, like “Lightyear” and “Minions: The Rise of Gru.” For those not tempted by superheroes or dinosaurs, counter-programming plays include “Good Luck to You, Leo Grande” and “Where the Crawdads Sing” along with horror titles like “Nope.”
One new wrinkle is that movie theaters are adding a surcharge for the biggest movies, so filmgoers might pay a premium of $1 or $2 more for the hottest titles this summer — think “Top Gun: Maverick” or “Jurassic World Dominion.”
If those prices induce sticker shock, there are plenty of significant titles premiering on Netflix, Amazon Prime, Hulu, HBO Max and Disney +, so whether you feel like a night out on the town or it’s more of a couch potato kind of evening, there will be fresh cinema selections to look forward to all summer long.
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Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (May 6)
Image Credit: ©Walt Disney Co./Courtesy Evere Sam Raimi’s horror-filled “Doctor Strange” sequel has already made a splash at the box office, landing the 11th highest domestic opening of all time. Like “Spider-Man: No Way Home” before it, the movie has several shocking cameos that Marvel fans will surely love, and it cracks open the MCU’s multiverse to set the stage for future, universe-crossing movies. Raimi’s eye-popping visuals and Danny Elfman’s thunderous score are best experienced on the big screen, and the movie will arrive on Disney+ to stream at home in the coming months.
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Operation Mincemeat (May 11)
Image Credit: Warner Bros Colin Firth and Lorne MacFadyen star in this World War II drama surrounding two British intelligence officers as they attempt to use a corpse rigged with fake documents to trick the Nazis and divert Axis forces away from a future Allied assault in Sicily. The film, directed by John Madden, is based on a true story and will have a limited release on May 6 in select theaters before a full release on Netflix on May 11.
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Firestarter (May 13)
Image Credit: Screenshot Courtesy of YouTube Stephen King’s 1980 horror novel about a young girl with scary telekinetic powers gets the remake treatment. The original film adaptation is an ’80s classic starring Drew Barrymore and George C. Scott, so “I-can’t-believe-he’s-playing-a-dad” star Zac Efron has his work cut out for him. Luckily, director Keith Thomas helmed the very scary 2021 religious-themed horror film “The Vigil,” so he’s sure to add a key spark to this modern retelling.
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Downton Abbey: A New Era (May 20)
Image Credit: Ben Blackall / © 2022 Focus Features, LLC Three years after the first film and six years after the hit TV drama ended its six-season, award-winning run, the British are coming … back for “Downton Abbey: A New Era.” Half the Crawley clan heads to the south of France to investigate the Dowager Countess’ (Maggie Smith) newest inheritance: a villa. The charming sequel cements Mary (Michelle Dockery) as the family’s new matriarch, who stays behind to oversee a movie being shot in Downton.
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Men (May 20)
Image Credit: Everett Collection Alex Garland has emerged as one of the strongest directors of science fiction thanks to “Ex Machina” and “Annihilation,” but he pivots towards more horror territory with his latest release, “Men.” Oscar nominee Jessie Buckley stars as a grieving woman who becomes haunted by a strange masculine presence while trying to find peace in a remote town. Garland turns up the body horror and allegorical twists in what is surely to go down as one of the most polarizing movies of 2022.
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Jackass 4.5 (May 20)
Image Credit: Paramount Pictures/Everett Collection Consisting of unused footage from this year’s hit “Jackass Forever,” Johnny Knoxville, Steve-O, Chris Pontius, Dave England, Wee Man and the whole gang are set to return for a stitched-together feature length ode to injuring yourself creatively. Eric Andre, who appeared briefly in “Forever,” is slated to show up more in “4.5,” which is headed directly to Netflix.
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Chip ‘n Dale: Rescue Rangers (May 20)
Image Credit: Everett Collection Andy Samberg and John Mulaney bring the iconic chipmunks Chip and Dale to life in this Disney+ movie that blends live-action, cartoon animation and CGI — thanks to a “CGI surgery” in the movie. Thirty years after the original, real-life “Rescue Rangers” show ended, Chip and Dale find themselves trying to relive their glory days, solve a disappearance and rekindle their longtime friendship.
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Top Gun: Maverick (May 24)
Image Credit: Paramount Pictures Tom Cruise hops into the cockpit, literally, for the “Top Gun” sequel, which introduces Bradley “Rooster” Bradshaw (Miles Teller), the son of Nick “Goose” Bradshaw (Anthony Edwards) in the original movie. Just like his “Mission: Impossible” franchise, Cruise performs nearly all of his stunts himself, adding to the intensity and authenticity of the jaw-dropping sequences.
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Emergency (May 27)
Image Credit: Everett Collection Sabrina Carpenter and RJ Cyler star in this satirical comedy about three college students who, when they find a woman unconscious in their apartment after a long night of partying, are forced to get the stranger to safety without drawing suspicion from the police, who they fear will suspect the trio of wrongdoing. The film will have a limited release in select theaters on May 20 before a full release on Prime Video on May 27.
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The Bob’s Burgers Movie (May 27)
Image Credit: 20th Century Studios The Belchers are heading to the big screen in this feature-length movie based on the popular burger-flipping, animated Fox series. Bob, Linda, Tina, Gene and Louise Belcher have their summer plans ruined by a mysterious sinkhole that opens up in front of their restaurant and puts their family business in jeopardy.
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Crimes of the Future (June 3)
Image Credit: Youtube It’s been nearly eight years since David Cronenberg’s last feature film, the Los Angeles barnburner “Maps to the Stars,” and he seems to be thundering back with a vengeance. And it couldn’t come any sooner, as the world seems even more Cronenbergian by the day. “Crimes of the Future” bears the same name of one of the director’s first features, returning the filmmaker to the body horror he’s practically become synonymous with. Starring regular collaborator Viggo Mortensen alongside Léa Seydoux and Kristen Stewart, Cronenberg should still have plenty to say about the doom of humanity’s own evolution. Or, as he put it: “I have unfinished business with the future.”
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Fire Island (June 3)
Image Credit: Jeong Park Dubbed the gay version of Jane Austen’s “Pride and Prejudice,” “Fire Island” follows two best friends who embark on a vacation to the famous destination island, where plenty of antics ensue. Directed by Andrew Ahn, “Fire Island” stars Joel Kim Booster, Bowen Yang, Conrad Ricamora and Margaret Cho.
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Phantom of the Open (June 3)
Image Credit: Nick Wall This golf dramedy from Welsh director Craig Roberts, previously seen starring in Richard Ayoade’s 2011 film “Submarine,” follows the true story of shipyard worker Maurice Flitcroft who, having never played a round of golf in his life, entered the 1976 British Open and subsequently shot the worst opening round in Open history, becoming a folk hero in the process. The film, which stars Mark Rylance as Flitcroft and Sally Hawkins as his wife Jean, will be released in the United States on June 3.
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Hustle (June 8)
Image Credit: Netflix Adam Sandler’s Netflix tenure has been defined by dopey comedies like “Murder Mystery” and “Sandy Wexler” that rank as some of the worst efforts of his career. Fortunately, the comedian’s streaming roster is about to get a shakeup with “Hustle.” Directed by Jeremiah Zager (whose sensitive indie directorial debut “We the Animals” is about as far from your typical Sandler-Netflix movie as you could expect), the film stars Sandler as a struggling NBA scout who gets a shot at redemption after discovering a young basketball phenom with a checkered past. Queen Latifah co-stars.
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Jurassic World Dominion (June 10)
Image Credit: Universal For some reason after almost 30 years, dinosaurs and humans still can’t figure out a way to get along. Chris Pratt, Bryce Dallas Howard and original stars Laura Dern, Sam Neill and Jeff Goldblum return to put a stop to the dino mayhem in this finale to the “Jurassic World” trilogy.
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Halftime (June 14)
Image Credit: Netflix This documentary from Jennifer Lopez is set to give an in-depth and personal look at the life of the global superstar, from her acting career to her musical stardom. “Halftime” will premiere June 14 exclusively on Netflix.
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Father of the Bride (June 16)
Image Credit: Claudette Barius This 2022 remake of classic film “Father of the Bride” focuses on a Cuban American patriarch who panics when he finds out his daughter is getting married. Set to stream on HBO Max, the comedy drama stars Andy García, Gloria Estefan, Adria Arjona, Isabela Merced, Diego Boneta and Chloe Fineman.
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Official Competition (June 17)
Image Credit: Manolo Pavon Penélope Cruz and Antonio Banderas star in this Spanish-Argentine comedy as two egomaniacs are commissioned by a millionaire to make an art film together. This behind-the-scenes satire of moviemaking will premiere in select theaters on June 17.
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Lightyear (June 17)
Image Credit: Pixar If you thought you knew Buzz Lightyear’s entire history from just the “Toy Story” franchise, think again. Chris Evans is here to deliver the origin story for the human astronaut who inspired the Buzz Lightyear toys that would eventually wind up in Andy’s bedroom in the previous Pixar movies.
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Cha Cha Real Smooth (June 17)
Image Credit: Courtesy of Sundance Institute Cooper Raiff, the actor, writer and director wunderkind behind cult college romance “Shithouse,” has returned with an even more warm-and-fuzzy coming of age film. Slacker Andrew (Raiff) falls into a job as a bar mitzvah party host and falls hard for a young mother (Dakota Johnson), who is also trying to figure her life out. Although there is a great supporting cast (newcomer Vanessa Burghardt, Leslie Mann and Brad Garrett are standouts), this two-hander coasts off the chemistry between Raiff and Johnson, whose electricity could power a small town.
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Spiderhead (June 17)
Image Credit: Courtesy Of Netflix From Joseph Kosinski, director of “Top Gun: Maverick” and “Oblivion,” comes this psychological thriller starring Chris Hemsworth and Miles Teller as two inmates who form a connection while grappling with their pasts in a state-of-the-art penitentiary where convicts are offered the chance to volunteer as medical subjects in hopes of shortening their sentences. The film, which also stars Jurnee Smollett and BeBe Bettencourt, is set to premiere on Netflix on June 17.
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Good Luck to You, Leo Grande (June 17)
Image Credit: Cornerstone In this deftly-executed, perceptive comedy, Emma Thompson plays a widowed teacher who hires a sex worker, played by Daryl McCormack. After they meet in a hotel, they slowly get to know one another as she rediscovers her sexuality, while he masterfully performs the caring partner role he’s paid to play.
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The Black Phone (June 24)
Image Credit: Universal Ethan Hawke goes pure evil, playing a child kidnapper in the latest adaptation of a story by Stephen King’s son Joe Hill (“Horns,” AMC’s “NOS4A2”). “Doctor Strange” and “Sinister” director Scott Derrickson helms this return to horror, which focuses on the kidnapper’s latest target, a young teen who can communicate with previous victims and tries to escape captivity. Delayed due to the pandemic, “The Black Phone” received strong early reviews in 2021.
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Marcel the Shell With Shoes On (June 24)
Jenny Slate voices the googly-eyed shell in the stop-motion mockumentary based on her shorts with Dean Fleischer-Camp that took the internet by storm in 2010 and spawned two children’s books. The A24 animated movie, which finds Marcel and his grandmother Connie (Isabella Rossellini) as the subjects of a documentary, was a hit with critics following its Telluride Film Festival debut.
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Elvis (June 24)
Image Credit: Warner Bros. Austin Butler is the king of rock ‘n’ roll in Baz Luhrmann’s much-anticipated biopic. Focusing on the childhood and early career of the seminal rock icon, the musical takes a close look at his relationship with his manager Tom Parker, played by Tom Hanks.
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Mr. Malcolm's List (July 1)
Image Credit: Courtesy of Bleecker Street Directed by first-time feature filmmaker Emma Holly Jones, this period romantic comedy based on Suzanne Allain’s stars Sope Dirisu as Mr. Malcolm, a wealthy and elegant man looking for a bride who meets all the qualifications he has on his list. The film, which has been described as a mix between “Bridgerton” and “Pride & Prejudice,” will be released on July 1 and also stars Freida Pinto, Zawe Ashton, Theo James and Ashley Park.
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The Forgiven (July 1)
Image Credit: Sydney Film festival Jessica Chastain, Ralph Fiennes and Matt Smith star in this adaptation of Lawrence Osborne’s acclaimed mystery novel about the effects of a random accident on the lives of the local Muslims and Western visitors who are staying at a luxurious desert villa for a weekend-long party. Set in the High Atlas Mountains of Morocco, the film is set to be released on July 1 in theaters.
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Minions: The Rise of Gru (July 1)
Image Credit: Illumination Sure to delight stoners and children alike, the Minions have returned after an absence lengthened by COVID. This second chapter of the saga is a prequel to the “Despicable Me” series, and features the lovable little weirdoes helping a teenage Gru (Steve Carell) to develop his inner villain. The colors are bright, the voice cast is stacked (Taraji P. Henson! Michelle Yeoh!! Jean-Claude Van Damme!!!) and the physical comedy is joyful…There’s no choice but to surrender to the Minions.
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Thor: Love and Thunder (July 8)
Image Credit: Courtesy of Marvel Studios Natalie Portman isn’t wasting any time in her return to the Marvel Cinematic Universe; she’s picking up Thor’s hammer and claiming the superhero title as her own. Director Taika Waititi returns for the fourth “Thor” movie, where Chris Hemsworth’s character must rediscover himself and find out what more there is to life besides being a superhero.
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The Grey Man (July 15)
Image Credit: Netflix Joe and Anthony Russo follow their record-breaking MCU tenure (and their blockbuster swan song “Avengers: Endgame”) with an original Netflix spy thriller that is designed to launch a new mega-franchise for the streaming giant. Ryan Gosling plays one of the CIA’s most skilled mercenaries who uncovers a secret within the agency and gets a bounty placed on his head by one of his psychopathic former colleagues, played by Chris Evans. The supporting cast includes Ana de Armas, Regé-Jean Page, Jessica Henwick, Billy Bob Thornton and Alfre Woodard. Expect “The Grey Man” to be Netflix’s biggest original movie offering of the summer movie season.
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Persuasion (July 15)
Image Credit: ©Netflix/Courtesy Everett Colle Based on Jane Austen’s last completed novel, Dakota Johnson stars as spirited protagonist Anne Elliot in “Persuasion.” Directed by Carrie Cracknell, the drama also stars Henry Golding, Cosmo Jarvis, Suki Waterhouse and Richard E. Grant. Premiering on Netflix.
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Where the Crawdads Sing (July 15)
Image Credit: Courtesy of Sony In this adaptation of the wildly popular bestselling novel, Daisy Edgar-Jones stars as a young woman who raises herself in the marshes and swamps of the North Carolina coast after being abandoned by her family. When a man she was once involved with is found dead, townspeople suspect the mysterious Marsh Girl may have been involved.
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Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris (July 15)
Image Credit: Dávid Lukács Leslie Manville, Rose Williams, Isabelle Huppert and Jason Isaacs star in the story of a widowed cleaning lady in 1950s London who falls in love with a Dior dress, and embarks on an extraordinary adventure in Paris that will end up changing both her life and the House of Dior’s future.
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Nope (July 22)
Image Credit: Universal Pictures Details are under wraps for Jordan Peele’s latest auteur horror project, but the slick teaser trailer points to an extraterrestrial affair. Daniel Kaluuya leads the cast, returning to work with Peele again after starring in his breakout “Get Out,” alongside Keke Palmer and Steven Yeun. Lauded cinematographer Hoyte van Hoytema is lensing the film, which is sure to be visually stunning as it is scary.
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DC League of Super Pets (July 29)
Image Credit: Warner Bros. It turns out that Superman and Batman have always been dog lovers. Based on the animal characters of DC Comics, this animated movie follows Krypto the Superdog (Dwayne Johnson) and Ace the Bat-Hound (Kevin Hart) as they team up with other four-legged, furry fighters to form their own version of the Justice League.
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Bullet Train (August 5)
Image Credit: Sony Brad Pitt stars in this comedic action thriller about a bunch of assassins facing off on the titular locomotive. The ensemble cast — including Joey King, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Brian Tyree Henry, Andrew Koji, Michael Shannon, Bad Bunny and Zazie Beetz — is filled with unique performers, and director David Leitch has helmed two recent films which gleefully mix comedy and action: “Deadpool 2” and “Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw.” The previews evoke “John Wick” starring Pitt’s spin on The Dude, which could mine late summer gold at the box office.
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Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Movie (August 5)
Image Credit: Courtesy of Nickelodeon Based on “Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles,” Nickelodeon’s 2D-animated series, the new film in the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles franchise follows the band of brothers as they fight to save the world from a terrifying alien species after a mysterious stranger arrives from the future with a dire warning. The film, which releases on August 5 on Netflix, brings back series regulars Ben Schwartz, Omar Benson Miller, Brandon Mychal Smith and Josh Brener to play the iconic team of Leonardo, Raphael, Michelangelo and Donatello.
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Bodies Bodies Bodies (August 5)
Image Credit: Courtesy of Gwen Capistran/A24 This slasher comedy, featuring a buzzy ensemble cast including Amandla Stenberg, Maria Bakalova, Myha’la Herrold, Lee Pace and Pete Davidson, features a group of friends trapped during a remote house party where a murder has taken place. Sarah DeLappe’s script has been praised for satirizing Gen-Z and making great use of the single setting location, as well as delivering scares and laughs in equal measure.
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Secret Headquarters (August 5)
Image Credit: Sipa USA via AP Owen Wilson stars alongside Walker Scobell in this original superhero film about a child who begins to suspect his father might be a superhero after discovering a secret headquarters in his basement. The film, which is set to release in theaters on August 5, also stars Jesse Williams, Michael Peña and Keith L. Williams.
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Easter Sunday (August 5)
Image Credit: Ed Araquel/Universal Pictures Jay Chandrasekhar stars in his new comedy alongside an ensemble cast that includes comedy stars Jo Koy, Jimmy O. Yang, Tia Carrere, Brandon Wardell, Eva Noblezada, Lydia Gaston, Asif Ali, Rodney To, Eugene Cordero, Tiffany Haddish and Lou Diamond Phillips. Based on his own life, Koy plays a man who returns home for an Easter celebration with his bickering but loving Filipino American family.
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Resurrection (August 5)
Image Credit: Courtesy of Sundance Film Festival Rebecca Hall and Tim Roth face off in this intense psychological thriller from Andrew Semans about a single mother whose carefully constructed life is upended when an unwelcome figure from her past returns, forcing her to confront the monster she’s evaded for two decades. Set for a theatrical release on August 5, this twisted film is sure to unsettle some viewers.
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Emily the Criminal (August 12)
Image Credit: Courtesy of Sundance Film Festival Aubrey Plaza is a long way from April Ludgate in this grounded, tense examination of one woman’s desperate scramble to get out of debt. John Patton Ford wrote and directed this buzzy Sundance film which follows the increasingly uncomfortable actions of Emily (Plaza), as she starts on a life of petty crime by stealing appliances and committing credit card fraud. Unfortunately, things start to get out of the hand as she gets caught up in a heightened world of greed and danger.
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Day Shift (August 12)
Image Credit: Parrish Lewis/Netflix Jamie Foxx plays a hard-working father who lives a double life in this Netflix original action-comedy film: a blue-collar pool cleaner by day, vampire hunter by night. Foxx stars alongside Dave Franco and Meagan Good in this film, which is set for a streaming release on August 12.
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13: The Musical (August 12)
Image Credit: Courtesy of Netflix Netflix’s film adaptation of Jason Robert Brown, Dan Elish and Robert Horn’s stage musical “13: The Musical” follows soon-to-be teen Evan Goldman, who moves from New York City to a small town in Indiana. As he struggles with his parents’ divorce and adjusting to a new school, he decides to make his upcoming bar mitzvah the coolest party ever.
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Beast (August 19)
Image Credit: Lauren Mulligan/Universal Pictur Starring Idris Elba, Sharlto Copley, Iyana Halley and Leah Sava Jeffries, this thriller about a father and his two daughters who find themselves hunted by a massive rogue lion is directed by Baltasar Kormakur. Elba is Dr. Nate Daniels, a recently widowed dad who takes his daughters to a South African game reserve only to be stalked by a lion who has survived blood-thirsty poachers.
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Me Time (August 26)
Image Credit: Netflix This comedy film starring Kevin Hart and Mark Wahlberg follows a father who gets involved in wild weekend adventure with an old friend after his wife takes the kids with her on a trip, giving him his first “me-time” in years. The Netflix original film is directed by John Hamburg — filmmaker behind beloved comedies such as “I Love You, Man,” “Why Him?” and “Along Came Polly” — and is set for release on August 26 on the streaming platform.
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Samaritan (August 26)
Image Credit: Dan Doperalski for Variety Sylvester Stallone and Javon Walton star in this original take on the superhero genre from “Overlord” director Julius Avery. The film, which follows a young boy who seeks out a superhero who was thought to have gone missing after an epic battle twenty years ago, will be released in theaters on August 26.
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The Bride (August 26)
Image Credit: Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP Jessica M. Thompson directs this horror/thriller film starring “Game of Thrones” actor Nathalie Emmanuel as a young woman who is invited to a lavish destination wedding in England only to realize her presence at the wedding has sinister implications. The film also stars Thomas Doherty, Stephanie Corneliussen, Alana Boden, Courtney Taylor, Hugh Skinner and Sean Pertwee. “The Bride” is set for a nationwide theatrical release on Aug. 26.
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892 (August 26)
Image Credit: Courtesy of Sundance Institute Fans of the late Michael K. Williams will have a bittersweet relationship with Abi Damaris Corbin’s debut feature film about the true story of former U.S. Marine Brian Brown-Easley as it will mark the actor’s last on-screen role. The film will premiere in theaters on August 26 and stars John Boyega as Brown-Easley, a veteran who finds himself on the brink of poverty and thus resorts to walking into a bank and claiming he has a bomb.
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Three Thousand Years of Longing (August 31)
Image Credit: MGM / Courtesy Everett Collection After taking the world by storm with last decade’s beloved facemelter “Mad Max: Fury Road,” George Miller is switching things up for his successor: an epic romance between an academic and a magical Djinn. Miller has shown plenty of tonal flexibility beyond his landmark action series — in the operatic domestic drama of “Lorenzo’s Oil,” the dark libidinous whimsy of “The Witches of Eastwick” and the musical liberation of the “Happy Feet” movies. Will this summer’s Tilda Swinton-Idris Elba two-hander represent something that came before or show Miller reaching for something else entirely? It’ll be fascinating to find out when first impressions emerge from the Cannes Film Festival in the coming weeks.