The stakes are always high in the .
But even in a schedule that has heavyweights like Indiana Jones, Ariel, Ethan Hunt and Dominic Toretto vying for box office supremacy, the biggest, funniest showdown is happening on July 21. On that fateful Friday, cinephiles will be faced with a difficult choice: or
The 鈥淏arbieheimer鈥� showdown is, naturally, a bit silly. First, it鈥檚 entirely possible to see two new movies in one weekend. Second, while opening weekends are important, they鈥檙e also not everything. In 2008, 鈥淭he Dark Knight鈥� debuted on the same weekend as 鈥淢amma Mia!鈥� and both went on to be major successes.
But it has inspired the kind of feverish, half-serious, half-joking discourse online that no marketing can buy, with memes, jokes, bets and Highlander references galore every time either film drops a new advertisement. There were even a few hours in April when the internet panicked that the beach-off was canceled (it wasn鈥檛). And before you go googling, the Highlander jokes are not about that film鈥檚 disastrous 1986 box office run, but instead the enduring 鈥渢here can only be one鈥� line.
The summer movie season always begins before actual summer. This year it kicks off on May 5 with the release of Disney and Marvel鈥檚 鈥淕uardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3鈥� and runs through Labor Day. Since 鈥淛aws,鈥� the summer season has been the most important for the moviemaking industry and typically accounts for around 40% of a year鈥檚 domestic box office, according to data from Comscore. Pre-pandemic, that usually meant more than $4 billion in ticket sales. Last year hit $3.4 billion.
But the industry is feeling optimistic. Last summer, only 22 films released on over 2,000 screens. This year there are 42, the same as in 2019, spanning every genre. And, it seems, every studio has re-prioritized theatrical releases over direct-to-streaming.
There are movies based on comic characters (鈥淭he Flash,鈥� 鈥淪pider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse鈥�), toys (鈥淭ransformers: Rise of the Beasts鈥�), racing games (鈥淕ran Turismo鈥�) and theme park rides (鈥淗aunted Mansion鈥�); Action adventures (鈥淚ndiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny,鈥� 鈥淢ission: Impossible 鈥� Dead Reckoning鈥�); Family friendly fare (鈥淓lemental,鈥� 鈥淗arold and the Purple Crayon鈥�); Documentaries (鈥淪till: A Michael J. Fox Movie,鈥� 鈥淪tephen Curry: Underrated鈥�); And a starry Wes Anderson movie (鈥淎steroid City.鈥�) (For a comprehensive guide to summer releases, visit: )
And it鈥檚 not just the superhero films getting wide releases and large format screens. Disney鈥檚 live-action 鈥淭he Little Mermaid鈥� will have a 3D IMAX version, a laser version and a Dolby one all available when it opens in theaters on May 26.
Director Rob Marshall was no stranger to technically ambitious movie musicals but 鈥淭he Little Mermaid,鈥� starring Halle Bailey as the teenage dreamer, put him to the test trying to stage a photorealistic underwater musical.
鈥淎s complicated as it as it was, my goal was never to let the technical part of it lead it,鈥� said Marshall, who has been at work since 2018. 鈥淚 really wanted to make sure that the story and the characters led it.鈥�
Even in the throes of the pandemic, Marshall was confident that 鈥淭he Little Mermaid鈥� was too big to end up as a streaming offering.
鈥淚鈥檓 actually glad that we waited until 2023 when officially the pandemic is over,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t feels like people are returning to the theaters.鈥�
On quite the opposite spectrum, indie darling Nicole Holofcener has in her three decades of directing movies grown used to getting smaller releases for her films. So it came as a surprise when A24 told her they wanted to go wide on Memorial Day weekend for 鈥淵ou Hurt My Feelings.鈥�
Her latest is an insightful New York-set comedy about what happens to a relationship when Julia Louis-Dreyfus鈥� character accidentally overhears her therapist husband (Tobias Menzies) confessing that he doesn鈥檛 like her book. It debuted to raves at Sundance earlier this year.
鈥淚 think A24 felt like, 鈥極h, this could cross over. This doesn鈥檛 have to be an indie movie,鈥欌�� Holofcener said. 鈥淏ut I鈥檝e never had a movie release like that. I鈥檓 excited but also anxious. I hope it works out. You know, it鈥檚 safe when you release a movie in like six theaters.鈥�
A24 is also giving a wide release to another Sundance sensation, Celine Song鈥檚 wistful and romantic directorial debut 鈥淧ast Lives,鈥� starring Greta Lee as a woman considering the other path her life may have taken. It opens June 2.
Big budget spectacles like 鈥淔ast X,鈥� the penultimate movie in the $6 billion franchise led by Vin Diesel, are more typical summer fare. But even well-oiled vehicles like 鈥淔ast鈥� run into their own problems and for this film, franchise veteran Justin Lin made the surprising decision to step away from directing while filming was already underway.
French director Louis Leterrier had been talking to Universal about directing a 鈥淔ast鈥� film for years, but he never expected his shot to come in the form of a 2 a.m. phone call.
He got the script, read it twice before meeting with producers at 6 a.m. and later that day was on a plane to London to get 鈥淔ast X鈥� back on track during a chaotic week where they鈥檇 lost a director and a location: Montenegro. Instinct kicked in and after a week, he鈥檇 found his rhythm. And he鈥檚 already signed on for the 11th.
鈥淣o 鈥楩ast and Furious鈥� movie is the same, but this is quite different,鈥� Leterrier said. 鈥淏ecause we鈥檙e nearing the end we鈥檙e able to take big swings with character and story. There will be some major changes. We鈥檙e going to have to say goodbye to characters we love. And Jason Momoa鈥檚 character is really an agent of chaos.鈥�
Closing out the summer, on Sept. 1, is Sony鈥檚 鈥淭he Equalizer 3,鈥� which reunites director Antoine Fuqua with Denzel Washington and takes his character Robert McCall to Italy鈥檚 Amalfi coast.
鈥淚t will be nice to see a man of color in a story that鈥檚 more international,鈥� Fuqua said. 鈥淲e normally see the James Bonds doing the international films. And there鈥檚 something about Denzel that feels right in Italy.
Comedies are also back in a big way this summer, with films like 鈥淣o Hard Feelings,鈥� 鈥淎bout My Father," 鈥淪trays鈥� and 鈥淛oy Ride,鈥� Adele Lim鈥檚 movie about four Asian American girlfriends on a trip to China, coming to theaters.
Seth Rogen produced 鈥淛oy Ride,鈥� which already has a 100% on Rotten Tomatoes going into its June 23 release.
鈥淭here鈥檚 not a lot of people even aspiring necessarily to make a big, raucous, wild, crowd-pleasing R-rated comedy these days and it鈥檚 such a joyous experience when those things work," Rogen said. "Some people would argue that big R-rated comedies don鈥檛 take the swings they used to anymore. I would tell them to go see this movie.鈥�
Rogen is also the driving engine behind a new animated Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie, 鈥淢utant Mayhem鈥� (Aug. 4) which he shepherded since the beginning as a producer, co-writer, voice actor and general Ninja Turtles enthusiast.
Years ago he wrote a kind of joke tweet about how the 鈥渢eenage鈥� part of the mutant ninja turtles was the most interesting aspect of the characters and one that had been largely ignored by the movies. But it stuck in his head and eventually inspired this film which combines action-adventure and coming of age. The animation was even inspired by the 鈥渞eckless energy鈥� of scribbling in a notebook during school.
Rogen cast himself as Bebop, opposite John Cena鈥檚 Rocksteady and called on a host of funny friends and actors to round out the cast. Ice Cube is Superfly. Ayo Edebiri is April. Paul Rudd is Mondo Gecko. Rose Byrne is Leatherhead, Hannibal Buress is Genghis Frog and Jackie Chan is Master Splinter.
鈥淲hat鈥檚 really cool is that we did pretty much all the recording sessions in big groups. We had some with eight people at the same time,鈥� Rogen said. 鈥淚t brings so much life and energy to it."
He鈥檚 also felt the gaze of the business returning to theaters.
鈥淗ollywood seems to be embracing this idea again, that movies can do well in theaters, but actually movies only do really well on a streaming service if they already were in the theater,鈥� Rogen said. 鈥淭he cultural cachet you get from being in a theater is irreplaceable.鈥�
Lindsey Bahr, The Associated Press
