The 2023 SAG-AFTRA strike led to several major Hollywood productions being delayed. As a result, whilst 2024’s summer release schedule was more sparse than usual, this year, audiences are spoiled for choice! The next few months are stacked with big-budget action, family films and new auteur projects, in what’s set to be one of the biggest blockbuster seasons in recent memory.
JUNE
After the record-breaking success of Inside Out 2 last summer, Pixar are back with a brand new, entirely original adventure. Elio tells the story of a young boy eager to travel the stars, who inadvertently contacts aliens and becomes the intergalactic ambassador of planet Earth! With Pixar’s signature character-driven storytelling and groundbreaking animation, Elio is guaranteed fun for all the family. Don’t forget your tissues!
This summer also sees the arrival of How To Train Your Dragon, DreamWorks’ live-action adaptation of its beloved animated trilogy. The same creative team behind those films returns to helm this new version, including writer/director Dean DeBlois and iconic score composer John Powell!
JULY
Marvel and DC will battle it out this month! The former’s new take on The Fantastic Four (a property recently re-acquired by Marvel Studios via Disney’s purchase of 20th Century Fox), faces off against the new Superman reboot. James Gunn’s reimagining of the Man of Steel serves not only as a new start for the character, but also the broader DC Universe, as Superman kicks off a new continuity of interconnected films and television series. With film commentators regularly observing that ‘superhero fatigue’ has taken hold, can these films prove that the comic book genre is still going strong? And who will reign victorious?
The box office will be turbo-charged by two high-octane action adventures. With screenings of Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning commencing at The Odyssey on Sunday 15th June, it will soon be followed up by F1: The Movie. Brad Pitt stars as an ex-Formula One racer brought out of retirement to train an impressive rookie. The film comes from the creative team behind the excellent Top Gun: Maverick, including director Joseph Kosinski and cinematographer Claudio Miranda. Expect the same incredible action as you enjoyed in that film, with cameos from Lewis Hamilton, Max Verstappen and more to boot!
Jurassic World Rebirth promises action and thrills in equal measure. With a script penned by original Jurassic Park screenwriter David Koepp, and directed by Gareth Edwards, known for his spellbinding visuals and guerrilla filmmaking style, this new Jurassic adventure is set to delight fans and new viewers alike. A standalone entry in the franchise, this film features an all new, crème de la crème cast including Scarlett Johansson, Mahershala Ali and Jonathan Bailey. Be afraid!
AUGUST
If you’re looking for something a little more romantic this summer, look no further than A24’s Materialists. Dakota Johnson stars as a professional matchmaker who’s struggled to find her own soulmate, but soon becomes caught in a love triangle for the ages, with Chris Evans and Pedro Pascal. Celine Song, writer-director of the deeply moving and Best Picture-nominated Past Lives, is also on script and directing duties here, but brings a playful touch reminiscent of the beloved rom-coms of the mid-2000s.
Lindsay Lohan fans rejoice! She and Jamie Lee Curtis return as body-swapped mother-daughter duo Anna and Tess in Freakier Friday. But this time, Anna’s daughters are caught in the mix!
If you’re a horror fan, there’s a string of spine-tingling chillers arriving at cinemas this summer. Having produced Companion which released only a few months ago, Barbarian creator Zach Cregger is back in the director’s chair for Weapons, an ominous new horror mystery starring Josh Brolin and Julia Garner. The film’s teaser trailer alone is enough to give you the shivers!
Following the huge success of their 2023 horror-satire Talk To Me, Danny and Michael Philippou are back with another ultraviolent, ultra-disturbing Australian horror – Bring Her Back. Featuring an unsettling comeback performance from the terrific Sally Hawkins, it’s set to be yet a truly unique observation on grief and longing.
August also sees the release of The Life of Chuck, based on the novella of the same name by Stephen King. The film stars Tom Hiddleston, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Karen Gillan and Mark Hamill, and chronicles the titular character’s life in reverse-chronological order. Already tipped as a potential Oscar contender after winning the People’s Choice Award at TIFF, it’s writer-director Mike Flanagan’s first foray outside the horror genre.
SEPTEMBER
Beloved auteur director Paul Thomas Anderson (There Will Be Blood, Phantom Thread) returns behind the camera this year with One Battle After Another. Loosely based on Thomas Pynchon’s novel Vineland, it’s by far Anderson’s biggest and most audacious project yet, with a budget of $140 million and an A-List cast. Leonardo DiCaprio (who’s been meticulously selective with his new projects in recent years) stars alongside Sean Penn and Benicio del Toro as a group of ex-revolutionaries who reunite to rescue one of their daughters.
Last but certainly not least, the third and final Downton Abbey film releases in September, bringing the long-running franchise to a close. The Grand Finale sees the full series cast returning to their roles to send off their characters as they enter the 1930s and seek to lead their home into a new future.
Whether we’re treated to a sunny summer or another downpour, we can’t wait to open our doors for you to all the exciting releases we’ve got coming up. See you at the movies!
