LOS ANGELES (AP) 鈥 鈥 鈥 is a hard act to follow.
The summer of 2023 brought a new enthusiasm for moviegoing, with the of 鈥淏arbie鈥 and 鈥 ,鈥 and surprise hits like 鈥 ,鈥 helping the season鈥檚 box office crack $4 billion for the first time since 2019. But before the industry could take a victory lap, there was another crisis looming with , which for months.
In the fallout, theaters lost big titles like 鈥淢ission: Impossible 8鈥 and 鈥淐aptain America: Brave New World鈥 to 2025. But they gained a gem in Jeff Nichols鈥 鈥淭he Bikeriders鈥 (June 21), about a 1960s Midwestern motorcycle club, as studios moved films around on the summer chessboard. 鈥淒eadpool & Wolverine,鈥 once set to kick off the summer season on May 3 like many Marvel movies before it, is now opening July 26, patiently waiting to dominate the summer charts.
The kickoff weekend instead belongs to an original film about a different kind of superhero: The stunt performer. 鈥 ,鈥 starring Ryan Gosling and Emily Blunt, is an earnest crowd-pleaser that could jumpstart a season that feels like a throwback, with full-throttle spectacle (鈥淔uriosa: A Mad Max Saga,鈥 鈥淭wisters鈥), comedies (鈥淏abes鈥), IMAX wonder (鈥淭he Blue Angels鈥) and even a Kevin Costner Western.
Producer Jerry Bruckheimer has seen the highs and lows of summer movies over the decades. This season, he has three very different offerings on the calendar, two are fourth installments in popular franchises 鈥 鈥淏everly Hills Cop鈥 (July 3, Netflix) and 鈥淏ad Boys鈥 (June 7, theaters) 鈥 and one was planned for streaming but tested so well that it鈥檚 getting a theatrical rollout (鈥淵oung Woman and the Sea,鈥 May 31).
鈥淧eople just want to be entertained,鈥 Bruckheimer said. 鈥淚t really comes down to us to make the right movies that they want to go see.鈥
鈥淭he Bikeriders鈥 could be one of those. It already has stellar reviews from last fall's Telluride Film Festival hailing star turns for Austin Butler and Jodie Comer and was originally planned for December but pushed when it became clear that the strikes weren鈥檛 going to resolve in time for a press tour.
鈥淚t was kind of like walking on frozen glass for three months,鈥 Nichols said. 鈥淚 was touring around doing press and trying to build this energy on my own. Let me tell you, it鈥檚 not the same as Austin Butler.鈥
Later in June, , Kevin Costner will begin rolling out his two-part Western epic 鈥淗orizon: An American Saga,鈥 set during the Civil War. And as always there are a slew of Sundance breakouts peppered throughout the summer, from 鈥淚 Saw the TV Glow鈥 and 鈥淒idi鈥 to 鈥 鈥 and 鈥淕ood One.鈥
Family films also go into hyperdrive in the summer, capitalizing on long days out of school. This year has plenty, like 鈥淭he Garfield Movie鈥 and 鈥淒espicable Me 4.鈥 But perhaps none has more anticipation behind it than 鈥淚nside Out 2鈥 (June 14, theaters), which meets up with Riley as she enters her teenage years as a new group of emotions crash Joy鈥檚 party, including Anxiety, Envy, Ennui and Embarrassment.
鈥淭hat age gives us everything we need and love for a Pixar film,鈥 director Kelsey Mann said.
John Krasinski is also delving into the inner world of children with his ambitious live-action hybrid 鈥淚F鈥 (May 17, theaters) about the imaginary friends that get left behind and two humans (Ryan Reynolds and Cailey Fleming) who can still see them.
Audiences seeking the adrenaline rush of horrors and thrillers have an array of options, including 鈥淢aXXXine,鈥 the conclusion to Ti West鈥檚 accidental Mia Goth trilogy (鈥淴鈥 and 鈥 鈥) that debuts around the fourth of July.
Goth鈥檚 aspiring actress has made her way to Hollywood where a killer is stalking Hollywood starlets around the time of the home video boom of the 1980s. 鈥淲e recreated the sleazy side of Hollywood in a hopefully charming way,鈥 West said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 definitely a pretty wild night at the movies.鈥
On June 28, audiences can also delve into the beginnings of 鈥淎 Quiet Place鈥 with a prequel set on 鈥淒ay One鈥 starring Luptia Nyong鈥檕 and 鈥淪tranger Things鈥欌 Joseph Quinn. Later, Fede 脕lvarez brings his horror acumen to 鈥淎lien: Romulus鈥 (Aug. 16), set between the first two.
M. Night Shyamalan is back as well with a thriller set at a pop concert (鈥淭rap,鈥 Aug. 9) and his daughter, Ishana Night Shyamalan, makes her directorial debut with the spooky, Ireland-set 鈥淭he Watchers鈥 (June 7) with Dakota Fanning.
鈥淚t鈥檚 very suspenseful and unexpected,鈥 Ishana said. 鈥淎nd it鈥檚 very much built for the experience of being in a theater.鈥
The streamers have movie stars and spectacle, too, with the festival favorite 鈥淗it Man,鈥 the Anne Hathaway romance 鈥淭he Idea of You,鈥 Jerry Seinfeld鈥檚 starry pop-tart movie 鈥淯nfrosted鈥 and a Mark Wahlberg/Halle Berry action comedy 鈥淭he Union.鈥
There are even franchises, like 鈥淏everly Hills Cop: Axel F,鈥 in which Eddie Murphy鈥檚 Axel Foley reunites with his estranged daughter (Taylour Paige). It also sees the return of Judge Reinhold, John Ashton, Paul Reiser and Bronson Pinchot and adds Kevin Bacon and Joseph Gordon-Levitt.
鈥淲e raised our hand to make sure we got the franchise right and kept the integrity and fun of the original,鈥 Bruckheimer said.
Lindsey Bahr, The Associated Press
