15 must-see movies for summer 2024
The Imaginary
Sparkling hand-drawn fantasy from Japan’s Studio Ponoc, adapted from the recent children’s novel by AF Harrold and Emily Gravett about a little girl and her make-believe companion.
Netflix from July 5
MaXXXine
Part three of Ti West’s sleaze-dipped slasher trilogy, in which Mia Goth’s aspiring adult actress tangles with the Night Stalker serial killer in 1980s Los Angeles.
In cinemas from July 2
Fly Me to the Moon
This romcom comes knocking at NASA in the 1960s, matchmaking Channing Tatum’s launch director with Scarlett Johansson, as a PR whiz with “fake landing” plans in her back pocket.
In cinemas from July 12
Despicable Me 4
More Minion mayhem courtesy of Illumination’s deathless CG franchise, which has the yellow terrors (plus Steve Carell’s Gru and family) menaced by Will Ferrell’s French megalomaniac.
In cinemas from July 12
Twisters
Almost 30 years on from Jan de Boat’s gusty blockbuster, a new generation of intrepid tornado-chasers (including Glen Powell and Daisy Edgar-Jones) set a course for the eye of the storm.
In cinemas from July 19
Thelma
June Squibb gets her first ever leading role, as a 94-year-old grandma cheated by a phone scam, who hits the road to get even. Richard Roundtree and Malcolm McDowell co-star.
In cinemas from July 19
Deadpool & Wolverine
The people’s favourite X-Men take on their deadliest enemy yet – superhero fatigue – by pooling their box-office powers for 2024’s only mainline Marvel pic.
In cinemas from July 25
About Dry Grasses
This exquisite slow-burn moral tale from Turkey’s Nuri Bilge Ceylan unpacks a village teacher’s longings and frustrations, while creating a mood that beguiles like a whispered spell.
In cinemas from July 26
Borderlands
Eli Roth loosely ports a game to screen for a Mad-Max-adjacent romp, unleashing chaos on the wild-west planet of Pandora, with none other than Cate Blanchett atop the cast as a notorious outlaw.
In cinemas from August 9
Trap
Guess the twist for M Night Shyamalan’s single-location thriller, set at a concert which has been laid on to ensnare a serial killer: Josh Hartnett is the implicated dad who gets a tip-off.
In cinemas from August 9
The Instigators
Casey Affleck wrote and co-stars with Matt Damon in this energetic Doug Liman-directed caper, about two crooks dodging arrest and vengeful gangsters when a heist goes messily awry.
In cinemas from August 9
Alien: Romulus
Hopes are high for what horror expert Fede Álvarez (Don’t Breathe, Evil Dead) might pull off here: it slots in after the first Alien, opening a can of chest-bursters on a derelict space ship.
In cinemas from August 16
Horizon: An American Saga – Chapter 2
Here’s the second half – or, if things go well, quarter – of Kevin Costner’s stately, teeming epic western, about the struggles of settlers and outlaws in the Civil War-era US.
In cinemas from August 16
The Crow
30 years after the Brandon Lee one, it’s been deemed time for a slick remake: Bill Skarsgård steps into Lee’s combat boots as murdered rocker Eric Draven, with FKA Twigs as his fiancée.
In cinemas from August 23
Kneecap
This hyped Gaelic-language comedy-drama, winner of a Sundance audience award, stars the titular Belfast rap trio as themselves, with Michael Fassbender as the IRA man who fathered one.
In cinemas from August 23
Blink Twice
Zoë Kravitz makes her directing debut with a creepy psychological thriller set on the private island of Channing Tatum’s tech mogul. Naomi Ackie is the cocktail waitress who can’t turn down an invite.
In cinemas from August 23
