This summer at the movies, the Minions are filmmakers, the Mandalorian is working for the good guys, Matt Damon tries to find his way home (again), Anne Hathaway, Zendaya and Tom Holland are everywhere and no one remembers Peter Parker. Well, at least in the movie. The hope is that audiences not only remember but want to know what comes next for Spider-Man.
Hollywood’s summer movie season kicks off the first weekend in May not with a superhero movie but with “The Devil Wears Prada 2,” though one might argue that Miranda Priestly might be the Iron Man of fashion. May also brings a Billie Eilish concert film, the first “Star Wars” movie in seven years and a D-Day drama with Brendan Fraser as Dwight D. Eisenhower.
June kicks off with a live-action He-Man, a John Carney musical (with Nick Jonas and Paul Rudd!), an original Steven Spielberg sci-fi spectacle, the return of Supergirl and Woody and Buzz as well.
July brings a dose of Minions in 1920s Hollywood, Moana and a back-to-back dose of Holland and Zendaya, first in “Spider-Man: Brand New Day” and then in Christopher Nolan’s adaptation of “The Odyssey” where Holland plays Odysseus’ son Telemachus and Zendaya is the goddess Athena.
August ends the season with some comedy (“Super Troopers 3”), a supernatural horror (“The End of Oak Street”), a new Jane Schoenbrun film and two very different dog movies for two very different audiences. One is “PAW Patrol.” The other is a Ridley Scott-directed postapocalyptic survival movie.
And that’s not even counting the myriad streaming options, including a Ben Stiller pickleball movie, the return of Enola Holmes and a John Krasinski Jack Ryan movie.
Here’s The Associated Press’ guide to help make sense of the many, many options in theaters and at home.
May 2026 Movie Releases
May 1
“The Devil Wears Prada 2” (20th Century Studios, theaters): A sequel to one of the most rewatchable movies of the century? Groundbreaking. But it’s not just replaying the hits. Filmmaker David Frankel told the AP that “one of the reasons we were motivated to even attempt a sequel was to explore how the world of journalism and media at large had changed so dramatically over the 20 years since we made the first movie.”
“Animal Farm” (Angel Studios, theaters): Andy Serkis directs an animated adaptation of George Orwell’s classic political allegory, featuring the voices of Seth Rogen, Woody Harrelson, Glenn Close and Laverne Cox.
“Deep Water” (Magenta Light Studios, theaters): Gene Simmons (yes, that Gene Simmons) produced this Renny Harlin survival pic about an airplane crash in shark-filled waters, starring Aaron Eckhart and Ben Kingsley.
“Hokum” (Neon, theaters): Adam Scott visits a haunted Irish hotel in this supernatural thriller.
“Swapped” (Netflix, streaming): Michael B. Jordan lends his voice to this animated body swap film about a tiny woodland creature who switches places with a bird.
“Our Land” (Strand Releasing, theaters): Argentine filmmaker Lucrecia Martel’s first foray into nonfiction storytelling centers on Chuschagasta leader and Indigenous activist Javier Chocobar, who was murdered in 2009.
“Two Pianos” (Kino Lorber, theaters): This French melodrama from Arnaud Desplechin is about a gifted concert pianist (François Civil), lured back into performing by his former mentor (Charlotte Rampling).
“The Last One for the Road” (Music Box Films, theaters): This Italian comedy follows two penniless, and perpetually buzzed, 50-somethings on a road trip.
“An Autumn Summer” (Blue Harbor Entertainment, theaters): The summer before college is full of romance, sunsets and lazy days on the lake for a few friends.
May 7
“My Dearest Assassin” (Netflix, streaming): This Thai action film is about a girl with a rare and hunted blood type and her adopted assassin family.
May 8
“Billie Eilish – Hit Me Hard and Soft: The Tour (Live in 3D) ” (Paramount, theaters): James Cameron shares co-directing credits with Eilish for this unique concert film, constructed from her Manchester performances last summer. “It is totally spectacular,” Cameron told the AP. “Seeing it in 3D is astonishing. You really feel an intimacy with her and yet you feel the scale of the spectacle.”
“Mortal Kombat II” (Warner Bros., theaters): Karl Urban reprises his role as Johnny Cage in this video game-inspired film.
“The Sheep Detectives” (Amazon MGM Studios, theaters): Hugh Jackman plays a loving farmer who reads detective stories to his sheep at night. When he ends up dead, the animals (voices include Julia Louis-Dreyfus and Bryan Cranston) set out to help the town’s dim-witted police officer (Nicholas Braun, with an English accent) solve the mystery in this star-studded comedy. Writer Craig Mazin told the AP that, “Seeing this movie is a purely positive experience. There is no downside. There is just sort of a delight and a joy and emotions but all of them, I think, in the end, quite positive and beautiful.”
“Remarkably Bright Creatures” (Netflix, streaming): Sally Field and Lewis Pullman star in this adaptation of Shelby Van Pelt’s bestseller about a widow and an octopus (voiced by Alfred Molina) who team up (yes, her and the octopus) to solve the mystery of her missing son.
“Silent Friend” (1-2 Special, theaters): Tony Leung and Léa Seydoux lead this centuries-spanning film about a ginkgo tree in a German town. It picked up several prizes at the Venice Film Festival.
May 15
“In the Grey” (Black Bear, theaters): Henry Cavill, Jake Gyllenhaal and Eiza González star in this Guy Ritchie action pic about elite operatives on an impossible heist.
“Is God Is” (Amazon MGM Studios, theaters): Twin sisters (Kara Young and Mallori Johnson) are out for revenge in Aleshea Harris’ adaptation of her Obie-winning play. “It’s an epic road trip, it’s a Greek tragedy. It’s a love story between two sisters,” Young told the AP.
“Obsession” (Focus Features, theaters): Horror master Jason Blum produced this movie about a crush and the sinister downsides of a wish that comes too true.
“The Wizard of the Kremlin” (Vertical, theaters): Jude Law transforms into Vladimir Putin in Olivier Assayas’ historical drama charting the Russian president’s rise to power alongside a character inspired by the real political strategist Vladislav Surkov. Paul Dano plays the fictionalized adviser.
“Mobile Suit Gundam Hathaway: The Sorcery of Nymph Circe” (Bandai Namco Filmworks, theaters): Gundam fans will finally get to see the latest installment, which has been out in Japan for months.
“Decorado” (GKIDS, theaters): Not many animated movies reference “The Truman Show” and “Scenes from a Marriage” as inspirations, but it’s fitting for this Spanish-language drama about a mouse in the throes of an existential crisis.
“LifeHack” (Iconic Events Releasing, theaters): Inspired by true events, a group of good-hearted hackers try to take down a crypto billionaire from their bedrooms.
“Magic Hour” (Greenwich Entertainment, theaters): Katie Aselton directs herself and Daveed Diggs in this drama about a couple navigating relationship challenges in a new desert home.
“The Crash” (Netflix, streaming): This documentary looks at the suspicious circumstances surrounding a crash in Ohio that killed two of three young adults in the car.
May 20
“Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan: Ghost War” (Amazon MGM Studios and Prime Video, streaming): John Krasinski’s Jack Ryan finally gets a movie of his own.
May 22
“The Mandalorian and Grogu” (Walt Disney Studios, theaters): Pedro Pascal’s bounty hunter makes his big-screen debut, alongside his adorable green counterpart. “He’s a bit different from when we first met him, but he’s still, at his heart, a gunfighter and a warrior,” filmmaker Jon Favreau told the AP.
“Tuner” (Black Bear, theaters): Leo Woodall plays a gifted piano tuner who finds out he also has a knack for cracking safes in this character-driven thriller (with romance! Drama! Heists!) from Daniel Roher (who won an Oscar for his documentary “Navalny”). Woodall, Roher told the AP, “has this boyish charm, this absolute hunkish, dreamy quality, but there’s also the melancholy there … that he deputizes to great effect.”
“I Love Boosters” (Neon, theaters): Keke Palmer stars in Boots Riley’s new comedy about a group of professional shoplifters who call themselves the Velvet Gang. Demi Moore, LaKeith Stanfield, Don Cheadle, Taylour Paige, Eiza González and Will Poulter also star.
“Passenger” (Paramount Pictures, theaters): A van life adventure turns terrifying in this horror, with Melissa Leo.
“Ladies First” (Netflix, streaming): Sacha Baron Cohen plays a chauvinist who turns up in an alternate world where the gender dynamics are reversed. It’s based on a French film, and Rosamund Pike co-stars.
“Corporate Retreat” (Western Film Service, theaters): A company getaway goes very wrong in a bloody horror, with Odeya Rush, Alan Ruck and Rosanna Arquette.
“Saccharine” (Independent Film Company and Shudder, theaters): A medical student takes part in a wild weight-loss experiment. Side effects may include terror at the hands of a sinister force.
May 29
“The Breadwinner” (Sony Pictures, theaters): Nate Bargatze is in over his head as a stay-at-home dad to three daughters while mom (Mandy Moore) is away in this family comedy.
“Backrooms ” (A24, theaters): YouTube phenomenon Kane Parsons adapts his popular horror shorts into a feature starring Chiwetel Ejiofor and Renate Reinsve. The concept, Parsons told the AP, is “like the exaggerated idea of being stuck in an atomizing monospace for the rest of your life … like the back space of a Sears or something.”
“Pressure” (Focus Features, theaters): Brendan Fraser plays Dwight D. Eisenhower in the tense 72 hours before D-Day in this historical drama, with Andrew Scott, Kerry Condon, Chris Messina and Damian Lewis.
“The Furious” (Lionsgate, theaters): An ordinary man must save his daughter from a violent criminal empire in this English-language action pic hailing from Hong Kong. It’s directed by Japanese stuntman and action choreographer Kenji Tanigaki and produced by Bill Kong (“Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon”).
“Propeller One-Way Night Coach” (Apple TV, streaming): John Travolta is director, writer and narrator for this ode to the golden age of aviation, about a young boy and his mother’s cross-country flight.
“Miss You, Love You” (HBO Original Films, streaming): Jim Rash wrote and directed this drama about a grieving widow (Allison Janney) who plans her husband’s funeral with her estranged son’s assistant (Andrew Rannells).
May 31
“Speed Demon” (Maverick Film and Complex Corp, VOD): The demon Asmodeus follows Katie Cassidy and William H. Macy onto a New York bound train.
JUNE MOVIE RELEASES
June 4
“Toxic” (Prime Media, theaters): Indian star Yash plays two roles in this period gangster film, reportedly the most expensive Indian film ever made.
“The Amazing Digital Circus: The Last Act” (Fathom Entertainment, theaters): A series finale to the animated web phenomenon, combining the eighth and new ninth episode.
June 5
“Masters of the Universe” (Amazon MGM Studios, theaters): By the power of Grayskull, will a new generation embrace the 1980s toy in movie form? Nicholas Galitzine stars as He-Man.
“Power Ballad” (Lionsgate, theaters): Paul Rudd plays Rick, a washed-up wedding singer who bonds with fading boy band star Danny (Nick Jonas) — but things get a little tricky when Danny finds new success with one of Rick’s songs in this film from writer-director John Carney (“Once”).
“Scary Movie 6” (Paramount, theaters): Everything from “M3GAN” to “Get Out” and “Sinners” is on the table in the first “Scary Movie” movie since 2013.
“Office Romance” (Netflix, streaming): Jennifer Lopez stars opposite Brett Goldstein in a (raunchy) romantic comedy about a couple of workaholics.
“Carolina Caroline” (Magnolia, theaters): Samara Weaving and Kyle Gallner go “Bonnie and Clyde” in this romantic crime thriller.
“Jinsei” (Greenwich Entertainment, theaters): Ryuya Suzuki directs this animated Japanese drama about a hero’s extraordinary life, as a J-pop idol, outcast and oracle, over 100 years.
“Mexico 86” (Netflix, streaming): Diego Luna stars in this satiric comedy about Mexico’s bid to host the 1986 World Cup.
“The Birthday Party” (Quiver Distribution, VOD): A Greek business tycoon (Willem Dafoe) hosts a 25th birthday celebration for his daughter on a private island in the Mediterranean in the 1970s.
June 12
“Disclosure Day” (Universal Pictures, theaters): Fifty years after he made “Close Encounters of the Third Kind,” Steven Spielberg returns with another film that will have audiences questioning whether we’re alone in the universe. Starring Emily Blunt, Josh O’Connor and Colman Domingo, Spielberg has kept the plot quite secret. “All I can say is it’s an experience,” Spielberg said at CinemaCon. “And all you need to get from the beginning to the end is a seat belt.”
“Stop! That! Train! ” (Bleecker Street, theaters): RuPaul plays the U.S. president in this colorful action comedy about a runaway train (the Glamazonian Express), featuring “Drag Race” alums Ginger Minj and Jujubee as well as Matt Rogers, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Rachel Bloom, Lisa Rinna and Nicole Richie.
“Maddie’s Secret” (Magnolia Pictures, theaters): John Early directs, writes and stars in this movie about a food influencer with an eating disorder. He’s said he wanted to play an ingenue in a “lurid, tawdry, melodrama.”
“Find Your Friends” (Shudder, streaming): A girls’ trip to Joshua Tree turns into a nightmare.
June 19
“Toy Story 5” (Walt Disney, theaters): Woody comes back to Bonnie’s room to help Jessie and Buzz deal with the arrival of a new threat: screentime. Filmmaker Andrew Stanton said the trick is thinking about it from a toy’s perspective, which he told the AP was “juicy material.”
“The Death of Robin Hood” (A24, theaters): Hugh Jackman plays a very different kind of Robin Hood in this dark and bloody tale inspired by a ballad from the 17th century and directed by “A Quiet Place: Day One” filmmaker Michael Sarnoski.
“Leviticus” (Neon, theaters): This “conversion therapy” horror about two teen boys trying to escape a violent entity, from Australian filmmaker Adrian Chiarella, was a breakout at the Sundance Film Festival. “It is about growing up queer and how the fear of growing up queer can block someone mentally from acting on their desires, and physically,” actor Stacy Clausen told the AP. “But I think that there is something in it for everyone.”
“Rose of Nevada” (1-2 Special, theaters): Callum Turner and George MacKay take a mysterious fishing vessel out and return from the voyage to find everything has changed in this mesmerizing film, shot entirely on 16mm.
“Girls Like Girls” (Focus Features, theaters): Hayley Kiyoko adapts her hit song-turned-novel into a feature film, a coming-of-age summer love story starring Maya da Costa and Myra Molloy.
“Voicemails for Isabelle” (Netflix, streaming): In this romantic comedy, Jill (Zoey Deutch) leaves voicemails for her dead sister, not knowing that they’re going to another person, Austin (Nick Robinson).
“Finnegan’s Foursome” (Republic Pictures, VOD): Edward Burns wrote, directed and stars in this family drama about brothers, and their adult children, going to Ireland to scatter their father’s ashes.
June 26
“Supergirl” (Warner Bros., theaters): Kara Zor-El (Milly Alcock) has more of an antihero edge than her straightlaced cousin, Superman. “It’s kind of an interstellar odyssey,” DC Studios co-chair and co-CEO Peter Safran told the AP. “It’s just a great movie for audiences. It’s not just for superhero fans.”
“The Invite” (A24, theaters): Olivia Wilde and Seth Rogen play a couple on the edge who host their more uninhibited upstairs neighbors (Penélope Cruz and Edward Norton) in their apartment for dinner. The truths start to come out in this shrewd adult dramedy. Olivia Wilde told the AP that, “the whole project for me is really tipping my hat to Mike Nichols.”
“jackass best and last” (Paramount, theaters): Johnny Knoxville, Steve-O, Chris Pontius and Wee Man return for more pain. But this is the last time. Really.
“Lucky Strike” (Roadside Attractions, theaters): This World War II film starring Scott Eastwood, Colin Hanks and Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor is set in the aftermath of the Battle of the Bulge.
“Romería” (Janus Films, theaters): Newcomer Llúcia Garcia plays a young, orphaned woman searching for her paternal grandparents in this semi-autobiographical film from Spanish filmmaker Carla Simón.
“Couture” (Vertical, theaters): Angelina Jolie plays an American filmmaker in Paris during fashion week.
“Bouchra” (Film Movement, theaters): The coyote wears Prada in this animated movie for adults about a queer Moroccan animal in Manhattan.
“Little Brother” (Netflix, streaming): John Cena plays a top real estate agent whose world is made a little chaotic when his “little brother” (Eric André) comes back into his life.
“Chris & Martina: The Final Set” (Netflix, streaming): A documentary about tennis stars Martina Navratilova and Chris Evert.
JULY MOVIE RELEASES
July 1
“Minions & Monsters” (Universal Pictures, theaters): This time, the yellow creatures are making a monster movie in 1920s Hollywood, as sound starts to enter the picture. Think “Singin’ in the Rain,” but with Minions.
“Enola Holmes 3” (Netflix, streaming): Sherlock’s little sister (Millie Bobby Brown) is back, solving mysteries and debating marriage.
July 3
“Young Washington” (Angel Studios, theaters): That’s young George Washington, who is played by William Franklyn-Miller, in a cast that includes Ben Kingsley, Andy Serkis, Kelsey Grammer and Mary-Louise Parker.
July 10
“Moana” (Disney, theaters): Catherine Laga’aia makes her film debut as Moana, alongside Dwayne Johnson as Maui, in this live-action adaptation of Disney Animation’s 2016 hit. “It isn’t just watching the animated with real faces,” Laga’aia told the AP. “But I think all the stuff that people wanna see and people loved about the 2016 are all definitely still there.”
“Gail Daughtry and the Celebrity Sex Pass” (Sony Pictures Classics, theaters): A small-town woman (Zoey Deutch) travels to Hollywood before her wedding to try to use her free pass on Jon Hamm in this raunchy but sweet but also violent Wizard of Oz-esque comedy from David Wain.
“Barrio Triste” (Film Movement, theaters): Bad Bunny music video director Stillz directs this youth-focused film set in Medellín, 1987.
July 17
“The Odyssey” (Universal Pictures, theaters): Neither Christopher Nolan nor Homer’s 3,000-year-old epic need any sort of introduction. But it was a gap the Oscar-winner spotted in modern cinematic culture. “To see Greek mythology brought to the big screen with all of the resources that Hollywood has bringing that to bear on the story, it feels like something that is long overdue. And I’m really excited to be able to do it,” Nolan told the AP.
July 24
“Evil Dead Burn” (Warner Bros., theaters): Sam Raimi produces this sixth “Evil Dead” film, directed by Sébastien Vaniček.
“The Dink” (Apple TV, streaming): Ben Stiller takes on pickleball in a new sports comedy with Jake Johnson, Mary Steenburgen, Ed Harris, Chloe Fineman and Patton Oswalt. It worked for dodgeball!
“Rosebush Pruning” (MUBI, theaters): An outsider (Elle Fanning) comes into a wealthy family living in hedonistic isolation in this wild satire directed by Karim Aïnouz and co-starring Callum Turner, Riley Keough and Jamie Bell.
“Motor City” (RLJE Films, theaters): Alan Ritchson is out for revenge in 1970s Detroit after being framed by a local gangster (Ben Foster).
“72 Hours” (Netflix, streaming): Kevin Hart and Marcello Hernández star in this comedy about a 40-something who joins his 20-something colleagues at a bachelor party weekend.
“Hadestown: The Musical” (Crosswalk/LD Entertainment): A West End production of the Tony-winning musical featuring some of the original Broadway cast.
July 31
“Spider-Man: Brand New Day” (Sony, theaters): Four years after Tom Holland’s Peter Parker erased himself from everyone’s memory in “No Way Home,” he continues the fight for good in New York City, completely alone.
“I Want Your Sex” (Magnolia, theaters): Filmmaker Gregg Araki cast Olivia Wilde as a renowned art world provocateur who begins an affair with a 20-something intern (Cooper Hoffman) in this sex-positive comedy. “It’s fun, it’s colorful, it’s sexy. And it’s a ride,” he said at the Sundance Film Festival.
AUGUST MOVIE RELEASES
Aug. 7
“One Night Only” (Universal Pictures, theaters): Premarital sex is only legal once a year in this script, which got a place on The Black List. Will two beautiful people, Monica Barbaro and Callum Turner, make it work in the comedy directed by Will Gluck (“Anyone But You”)?
“Teenage Sex and Death and Camp Miasma” (Mubi, theaters): “I Saw the TV Glow” filmmaker Jane Schoenbrun returns with their third feature, about a queer filmmaker and her “final girl” star, with Hannah Einbinder and Gillian Anderson.
“Super Troopers 3” (Searchlight Pictures, theaters): Jay Chandrasekhar and the Vermont State Troopers are back in a new comedy.
“Ice Cream Man” (The Horror Section, theaters): Eli Roth writes and directs a new horror about, yes, an ice cream man whose products send an idyllic town into chaos.
“Late Fame” (Magnolia Pictures, theaters): In this Manhattan-set film, Willem Dafoe plays a poet who is “rediscovered” by a group of downtown 20-somethings. Greta Lee also stars.
“Fall 2” (Lionsgate, theaters): Two women are stranded on a plank 3,000 feet in the air in this survival thriller.
Aug. 14
“The End of Oak Street” (Warner Bros., theaters): Anne Hathaway and Ewan McGregor star in this supernatural thriller in which a cosmic event transports their sleepy suburban street … elsewhere.
“PAW Patrol: The Dino Movie” (Paramount, theaters): It’s rumored that Chase is on the case.
“The Brink of War” (Angel Studios, theaters): Jeff Daniels plays U.S. President Ronald Reagan and Jared Harris is Soviet Union leader Mikhail Gorbachev in this retelling of the tense Reykjavik Summit in 1986.
“The Rivals of Amziah King” (Black Bear, theaters): Matthew McConaughey stars as a bluegrass-playing Oklahoma honey maker whose empire is under threat in this crime thriller, co-starring Kurt Russell and Cole Sprouse.
Aug. 21
“Insidious: Out of the Further” (Sony Pictures, theaters): The “further” is the “purgatorial realm of lost souls.”
“Mutiny” (Lionsgate, theaters): Jason Statham tries to clear his name and avenge his dead billionaire boss.
“Spa Weekend” (Black Bear, theaters): Leslie Mann, Isla Fisher, Michelle Buteau and Anna Faris star in this comedy about a girls’ weekend in Palm Springs.
Aug. 28
“Coyote vs. Acme” (Ketchup Entertainment, theaters): Three years after it was unceremoniously shelved by Warner Bros., the Looney Tunes movie about Wile E. Coyote’s lawsuit against the Acme Corporation (inspired by a 1990 New Yorker article) is finally making its way to theaters.
“The Dog Stars” (20th Century Studios, theaters): Jacob Elordi and Josh Brolin lead Ridley Scott’s adaptation of Peter Heller’s “The Dog Stars,” a thriller set in the aftermath of a devastating flu that wipes out most of humanity.
“Finding Emily” (Focus Features, theaters): This British rom-com is about an American psychology student (Angourie Rice) who decides to help a lonely musician (Spike Fearn) find the girl of his dreams after he’s given the wrong number at the club.
“Idiots” (Independent Film Company, theaters): Dave Franco and O’Shea Jackson Jr. must transport a mischievous teen (Mason Thames) to rehab in this wild road trip comedy that got a more PG name after Sundance.
“Colony” (Well Go USA, theaters): Korean filmmaker Yeon Sang-ho (“Train to Busan”) made a zombie thriller.
“Legend of the White Dragon” (Well Go USA Entertainment, theaters): Originally planned for a 2020 release, this Kickstarter-funded superhero movie starring the late actor Jason David Frank was delayed by COVID-19, the Hollywood strikes and other reasons, but is finally coming out.
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