Summer is just around the corner, and with it comes the beloved summer movie season. Aside from maybe the Holiday season, summer is the best time of year to get out and take in a new movie, and these are the summer’s most hotly-anticipated new releases.
Since the release of “Jaws” in the summer of 1975 – widely considered to be the first “summer blockbuster” – film studios have gotten into the habit of dropping their biggest, most fun, and exciting films over the summer, and there are plenty of good reasons why. First, students are home for summer break and are looking for things to do. Second, on a hot summer afternoon, movie theaters offer a dark, cool respite from the heat outside.
Third, lots of people take vacations and time off work during the summer months and therefore have extra free time to see a movie. And fourth, it’s just a tradition: Audiences expect there to be a bunch of big movie releases over the summer, and the studios are happy to provide them. While some of these films are only available on streaming and don’t require a trip to the theater to watch, they can provide a worthy diversion from the comfort of your living room regardless.
The best summer movies check a handful of boxes: They’re escapist fun, appeal to the masses, are family-friendly (or are edge-of-your-seat fright fests if not), and are buzzworthy. These films are certainly generating buzz, and if this is your first time hearing about any of them, then it’s time to get excited. Who knows, one might even become one of the highest-grossing movies of all time.
To determine the most anticipated summer movies, 24/7 Tempo reviewed data on Wikipedia pageview activity. Movies releasing in June, July, or August 2024 were ranked based on average daily pageviews for their Wikipedia pages from January 1, 2024, to May 16, 2024. Cast information is from IMDb.
25. The Instigators (2024)
- Avg. Wikipedia pageviews: 989 per day
- Release date: August 2, 2024
- Cast: Matt Damon, Casey Affleck, Hong Chau, Paul Walter Hauser, Michael Stuhlbarg
A heist thriller from director Doug Liman, “The Instigators” will have a limited theatrical release before debuting on Apple TV+ on August 9. After a robbery gone wrong, two thieves are forced to go on the run with the help of one of their therapists.
24. A Family Affair (2024)
- Avg. Wikipedia pageviews: 1,033 per day
- Release date: June 28, 2024
- Cast: Nicole Kidman, Zac Efron, Joey King, Liza Koshy
This upcoming romantic comedy will be released on Netflix, and stars Joey King as Zara, who works as an assistant for a movie star named Chris Cole, played by Zac Efron. When Chris falls in love with Joey’s mother (Nicole Kidman), hilarity presumably ensues.
23. Harold and the Purple Crayon (2024)
- Avg. Wikipedia pageviews: 1,207 per day
- Release date: August 2, 2024
- Cast: Zachary Levi, Lil Rel Howery, Benjamin Bottani, Jemaine Clement, Tanya Reynolds
Serving as a sequel to the 1955 children’s book of the same name, the film stars Zachary Levi as the grown-up titular character, who grows up with the purple crayon and draws himself off of the book’s pages and into the real world.
22. It Ends with Us (2024)
N/A
- Avg. Wikipedia pageviews: 1,472 per day
- Release date: August 9, 2024
- Cast: Blake Lively, Justin Baldoni, Jenny Slate, Hasan Minhaj, Amy Morton
Based on the 2016 Colleen Hoover romance novel, this film stars Blake Lively as Lily Bloom and centers around her relationships with her childhood first love Atlas, and new boyfriend Ryle.
21. Cuckoo (2024)
- Avg. Wikipedia pageviews: 1,586 per day
- Release date: August 2, 2024
- Cast: Hunter Schafer, Dan Stevens, Jessica Henwick, Jan Bluthardt, Marton Csokas
This upcoming horror-thriller from director Tilman Singer takes place at a German Alpine vacation resort, where a woman played by Hunter Schafer discovers that a mad preservationist (played by an unhinged Dan Stevens) has built an assembly line-style human breeding program.
20. Blink Twice (2024)
- Avg. Wikipedia pageviews: 1,690 per day
- Release date: August 23, 2024
- Cast: Naomi Ackie, Channing Tatum, Christian Slater, Simon Rex
In Zoë Kravitz’s directorial debut (she also co-wrote the film), a cocktail waitress (Naomi Ackie) becomes infatuated with a tech mogul. After she travels with him to his private island, things quickly begin to go awry.
19. Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F (2024)
N/A
- Avg. Wikipedia pageviews: 2,033 per day
- Release date: July 3, 2024
- Cast: Eddie Murphy, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Taylour Paige, Judge Reinhold
Eddie Murphy is back in the fourth installment of the Beverly Hills Cop series, this time teaming up with his daughter (Taylour Page) and her ex-boyfriend (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) after Jane’s life is threatened. Judge Reinhold, John Ashton, Paul Reiser, and Bronson Pinchot return to reprise their roles from the previous films.
18. The Exorcism (2024)
- Avg. Wikipedia pageviews: 2,431 per day
- Release date: June 7, 2024
- Cast: Russell Crowe, Ryan Simpkins, Sam Worthington, Chloe Bailey
In this upcoming horror film from director Joshua John Miller, Russell Crowe plays a troubled actor who’s shooting a horror film. When he starts to unravel, his daughter begins to wonder if something more sinister than past addictions is involved.
17. Longlegs (2024)
- Avg. Wikipedia pageviews: 2,734 per day
- Release date: July 12, 2024
- Cast: Maika Monroe, Nicolas Cage, Alicia Witt, Blair Underwood
This horror thriller stars scream queen Maika Monroe as a new FBI agent who’s tasked with re-examining an unsolved case involving a serial killer. As the investigation deepens, she uncovers evidence of the paranormal as well as possible connections to her own family.
16. Longing (2024)
- Avg. Wikipedia pageviews: 2,941 per day
- Release date: June 7, 2024
- Cast: Richard Gere, Diane Kruger, Suzanne Clément, Marnie McPhail
A remake of writer-director Savi Gabizon’s 2017 Israeli film of the same name, “Longing” is a comedy-drama that stars Richard Gere as a business mogul who runs into his old girlfriend, only to discover that they had a child together.
15. The Bikeriders (2024)
- Avg. Wikipedia pageviews: 3,029 per day
- Release date: June 21, 2024
- Cast: Jodie Comer, Austin Butler, Tom Hardy, Michael Shannon
“The Bikeriders” is about a fictionalized outlaw motorcycle club, set in Chicago in the 1960s. It follows the members and their families, and the club’s evolution over the course of a decade from a social club for outcasts into a violent organized crime family.
14. The Crow (2024)
N/A
- Avg. Wikipedia pageviews: 3,318 per day
- Release date: August 23, 2024
- Cast: Bill Skarsgård, FKA Twigs, Danny Huston
A reboot and remake of the notorious 1994 film of the same name (which caused the death of star Brandon Lee) “The Crow” centers around a murdered musician (Bill Skarsgard) who is resurrected to avenge his own death as well as that of his fiancée. It’s been in development on and off since 2008.
13. The Watchers (2024)
- Avg. Wikipedia pageviews: 3,557 per day
- Release date: June 7, 2024
- Cast: Dakota Fanning, Georgina Campbell, Oliver Finnegan, Olwen Fouéré
The directorial debut of Ishana Night Shyamalan (M. Night Shyamalan’s daughter), “The Watchers” is a supernatural horror film based on the novel of the same name by A. M. Shine. In the film, Dakota Fanning stars as an artist who becomes trapped – along with three strangers – in an Irish forest, who are stalked by mysterious figures every night.
12. A Quiet Place: Day One (2024)
N/A
- Avg. Wikipedia pageviews: 4,944 per day
- Release date: June 28, 2024
- Cast: Lupita Nyong’o, Joseph Quinn, Alex Wolff, Djimon Hounsou
A spinoff prequel to the 2018 film “A Quiet Place,” “Day One” takes place in New York City during the initial invasion of the series’ bloodthirsty aliens with super-hearing. Lupita Nyong’o stars.
11. Borderlands (2024)
N/A
- Avg. Wikipedia pageviews: 4,949 per day
- Release date: August 9, 2024
- Cast: Cate Blanchett, Kevin Hart, Jack Black, Ariana Greenblatt
Based on the beloved video game series and directed by Eli Roth, “Borderlands” stars Cate Blanchett as a mysterious outlaw who returns to her chaotic home planet and puts together a gang of misfits to find the missing daughter of the most powerful man in the universe.
10. Kinds of Kindness (2024)
- Avg. Wikipedia pageviews: 4,960 per day
- Release date: June 21, 2024
- Cast: Emma Stone, Jesse Plemons, Willem Dafoe, Margaret Qualley
Director Yorgos Lanthimos’ hotly-anticipated follow-up to “Poor Things,” “Kinds of Kindness” is a three-part anthology of loosely-connected stories. In the first, a man tries to create his own destiny after taking a break from his powerful boss; in the second, a man begins to believe that his wife is an imposter; and in the third, a cult member is tasked with finding someone who can resurrect the dead. Each segment stars the same cast but in different roles.
9. Trap (2024)
- Avg. Wikipedia pageviews: 4,984 per day
- Release date: August 9, 2024
- Cast: Josh Hartnett, Ariel Donoghue, Saleka Shyamalan, Hayley Mills, Allison Pill
A psychological mystery written and directed by M. Night Shyamalan, “Trap” revolves around a serial killer who joins his daughter for a concert but soon begins to suspect that the concert is a trap set by the police in order to catch him.
8. Fly Me to the Moon (2024)
- Avg. Wikipedia pageviews: 5,407 per day
- Release date: July 12, 2024
- Cast: Scarlett Johansson, Channing Tatum, Nick Dillenburg, Anna Garcia, Jim Rash, Noah Robbins
A stylish romantic comedy set during the 1960s space race, “Fly Me to the Moon” stars Channing Tatum as an Apollo 11 flight director and Scarlett Johansson as a PR maven who’s brought in to stage a fake moon landing in case the real one goes wrong. Sparks fly. The film will be released theatrically before premiering on Apple TV+.
7. Bad Boys: Ride or Die (2024)
- Avg. Wikipedia pageviews: 5,648 per day
- Release date: June 7, 2024
- Cast: Will Smith, Martin Lawrence, Vanessa Hudgens, Alexander Ludwig
The fourth installment in the Bad Boys franchise (the most recent of which was released in 2020), “Ride or Die” reunites Will Smith and Martin Lawrence as two detectives who become fugitives while investigating corruption within the Miami PD after their late captain is accused of collaborating with drug cartels.
6. MaXXXine (2024)
- Avg. Wikipedia pageviews: 5,696 per day
- Release date: July 5, 2024
- Cast: Mia Goth, Elizabeth Debicki, Moses Sumney, Michelle Monaghan
A slasher film written and directed by Ti West, “MaXXXine” stars Mia Goth as an aspiring actress named Maxine in 1985 Los Angeles, who previously survived a massacre but now finds herself evading infamous serial killer The Night Stalker.
5. Despicable Me 4 (2024)
- Avg. Wikipedia pageviews: 5,937 per day
- Release date: July 3, 2024
- Cast: Steve Carell, Kristen Wiig, Will Ferrell, Joey King
In the fourth main installment in the “Despicable Me” film series, Gru’s family – now made up of Gru (Steve Carell), his wife (Kristen Wiig), their three adopted girls, and new troublemaker Gru Jr. – must go on the run when they become targeted by an escaped criminal and his femme fatale girlfriend, played by Will Ferrell and Sofia Vergara. Plenty of Minion-related hijinks are to be expected.
4. Twisters (2024)
- Avg. Wikipedia pageviews: 6,129 per day
- Release date: July 19, 2024
- Cast: Daisy Edgar-Jones, Glen Powell, Anthony Ramos, Brandon Perea
A sequel to the 1996 classic “Twister” (which sadly doesn’t include any of the original film’s stars), “Twisters” stars Daisy Edgar-Jones as a former storm chaser who returns to the plains to test out a new tracking system, only to find herself in competition with a storm-chasing social media hotshot (Glen Powell) amidst some terrifying tornadoes.
3. Inside Out 2 (2024)
- Avg. Wikipedia pageviews: 7,496 per day
- Release date: June 14, 2024
- Cast: Amy Poehler, Phyllis Smith, Lewis Black, Tony Hale
The newest release from Pixar, this sequel to 2015’s “Inside Out” picks up where the first film left off, as Riley becomes a teenager and a new emotion is added to the roster of ones already living inside her head: Anxiety.
2. Alien: Romulus (2024)
- Avg. Wikipedia pageviews: 8,365 per day
- Release date: August 16, 2024
- Cast: Cailee Spaeny, David Jonsson, Archie Renaux, Isabela Merced
The seventh installment in the Alien franchise, “Romulus” is set between the events of 1979’s “Alien” and its first sequel, 1986’s “Aliens.” In the film, a group of young space colonists confront the titular alien while investigating a derelict space station.
1. Deadpool & Wolverine (2024)
- Avg. Wikipedia pageviews: 22,044 per day
- Release date: July 26, 2024
- Cast: Ryan Reynolds, Hugh Jackman, Emma Corrin, Morena Baccarin
This hotly-anticipated Marvel film pairs up two of the century’s most beloved superheroes: the wisecracking Deadpool (Ryan Reynolds) and an alternate-universe Wolverine (Hugh Jackman). Both characters are living quiet lives when they’re recruited by the timeline-monitoring Time Variance Authority on a mission to save the multiverse. I don’t know about you, but this definitely seems like one of those movies we’re going to love to watch over and over again.