Today marks the first day of summer. That means summer movies. And a lot of them. Some major hits like Wonder Woman and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 are already out making noise at the box office, while other potential hits are due out throughout the summer. We’ll go through some of the best films to see in summer ’17, along with background and a trailer on each film. The movies are in order of release date.
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (already out – May 5)
Nearing one billion dollars at the box office, the second installment of the booming superhero movies is still in theaters for the start of summer.
Director: James Gunn
Starring: Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Dave Bautista, and more
King Arthur: Legend of the Sword (already out – May 12)
While getting very poor reviews by critics and not performing well at the box office, King Arthur is a film that should entertain people and has gotten much better reviews from average movie-goers than the critics.
Director: Guy Ritchie
Starring: Charlie Hunnam, Jude Law, Astrid Bergès-Frisbey
Baywatch (already out – May 25)
The critics have been absolutely ruthless against Baywatch, but it looks like a fun, prototypical summer movie. Don’t let the critics stop you from seeing it.
Director: Seth Gordon
Starring: Dwayne Johnson, Zac Efron, Priyanka Chopra, Alexandra Daddario, Kelly Rohrbach, and more
Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales (already out – May 26)
Another film that might not be popular with the critics, but is popular with fans. The fifth installment of Pirates of the Caribbean is also another success at the box office. This could be the final film of the series (but probably not).
Directors: Joachim Rønning, Espen Sandberg
Starring: Johnny Depp, Geoffrey Rush, Javier Bardem
Wonder Woman (already out – June 2)
The hit of the summer will likely remain Wonder Woman. Starring Gal Gadot, who reprises her role as the iconic superhero from Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice, it’s a film that has inspired many and has received extremely positive reviews from both fans and critics.
Director: Patty Jenkins
Starring: Gal Gadot, Chris Pine, Robin Wright, Connie Nielson
The Mummy (already out – June 9)
This movie has been a bust, going by the metrics of both critic and user reviews. Still, many people will enjoy the film and see it as a great summer movie.
Director: Alex Kurtzman
Starring: Tom Cruise, Sofia Boutella, Russell Crowe, Annabelle Wallis
Cars 3 (already out – June 16)
More of a family film, Cars 3 follows Lightning McQueen’s latest journey. If you’re taking the kids, this would be a good choice.
Director: Brian Fee
Starring: Owen Wilson as Lightning McQueen
Transformers: The Last Knight (already out – June 20)
What would summer be without a hard-hitting film from Michael Bay. The fifth installment of the Transformers series should do well at the box office.
Director: Michael Bay
Starring: Mark Wahlberg, Josh Duhamel, Anthony Hopkins, Isabela Moner
The Beguiled (June 23)
Director Sofia Coppola left her take on The Little Mermaid to direct this Civil War drama. It has an all-star cast and looks to be a different type of film than most.
Director: Sofia Coppola
Starring: Nicole Kidman, Kirsten Dunst, Ellie Fanning, Colin Farrell
Baby Driver (June 28)
Sitting at 100% on Rotten Tomatoes before its release, Baby Driver has a deep, star-studded cast. Directed by Edgar Wright, this looks to be a different type of film for him.
Director: Edgar Wright
Starring: Ansel Elgort, Lily James, Kevin Spacey, Jamie Foxx
Despicable Me 3 (June 30)
Another film for the family. Who doesn’t love the Minions?
Directors: Pierre Coffin, Kyle Balda
Starring: Steve Carell, Kristen Wiig, Trey Parker
Spider-Man: Homecoming (July 7)
After being in Avengers: Civil War, Spider-Man gets his own film, with Marvel in control of the hero on the big screen. Director Jon Watts looks to capitalize on the big opportunity after his 2015 film Cop Car.
Director: Jon Watts
Starring: Tom Holland, Zendaya, Marisa Tomei
A Ghost Story (July 7)
From independent entertainment company A24, A Ghost Story is quite literally about a ghost. It’s not a scary ghost movie though—it’s more like seeing life and time through the eyes of the ghost.
Director: David Lowery
Starring: Rooney Mara, Casey Affleck
War for the Planet of the Apes (July 14)
The final movie of this truly great trilogy might be the hit of the summer, excluding the already-released Wonder Woman. The Planet of the Apes reboot has more than lived up to expectations, and War for the Planet of the Apes should deliver a satisfying conclusion.
Director: Matt Reeves
Starring: Andy Serkis, Woody Harrelson, Judy Greer
Dunkirk (July 21)
War for the Planet of the Apes very well might be the hit of the movies released this summer, but Dunkirk is also a solid prediction. All-time great director Christopher Nolan takes on WWII and the Dunkirk evacuation, and the movie has a great cast.
Director: Christopher Nolan
Starring: Tom Hardy, Cillian Murphy, Harry Styles, Kenneth Branah, Mark Rylance, and more
Atomic Blonde (July 28)
By the looks of it, this film starring Charlize Theron and directed by David Leitch could be the female version of John Wick. Atomic Blonde will bring some of the best action to the big screen this summer.
Director: David Leitch
Starring: Charlize Theron, James McAvoy, Sofia Boutella
The Dark Tower (August 4)
Being identified as a sequel to the Stephen King novels, this fantasy/sci-fi film has been in the works for quite a while, and it’s finally hitting the big screen in August.
Director: Nikolaj Arcel
Starring: Idris Elba, Matthew McConaughey
Detroit (August 4)
Academy Award winning director Kathryn Bigelow’s next film will arrive later this summer with Detroit, a film that focuses on civil unrest in Detroit from exactly 50 years ago this summer.
Director: Kathryn Bigelow
Starring: John Boyega, Anthony Mackie, Algee Smith
Shot Caller (August 18)
Hitting the big screen this August, Shot Caller stars Nikolaj Coster-Waldau as man that appears to get sent to prison for an accident that likely killed some people—and is changed by it.
Director: Ric Roman Waugh
Starring: Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, John Bernthal, Lake Bell
Logan Lucky (August 18)
This should be the best comedy of the summer, as two brothers (Channing Tatum and Adam Driver) attempt a heist at a NASCAR race.
Director: Steven Soderbergh
Starring: Channing Tatum, Adam Driver, Daniel Craig, Riley Keough, and Hillary Swank, and more
LITTTTTT summer
looking forward to a couple of these movies