When the bright hot sun is sizzling and the heat is absolutely sweltering, you know ‘tis the season to head to the cinema and enjoy some of Hollywood’s biggest blockbusters.
Movie magic
Summer movies - 2017 edition
When the bright hot sun is sizzling and the heat is absolutely sweltering, you know ‘tis the season to head to the cinema and enjoy some of Hollywood’s biggest blockbusters. Franchises rule the line-up of summer movies yet again - from swashbuckling pirates and web-swinging superheroes to talking vehicles and lovable supervillains, several established series are making a return; some are continuing their adventures in the form of sequels, while others are getting a reboot. There are also several new projects in every genre that are all set to entertain you in the coming weeks. Here’s a roundup of some of the most hotly anticipated big screen offerings that are hoping to keep you company in this hot weather:
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Action The summer blockbuster season has already kicked off with a Marvel adventure - the ever-amusing Guardians are busy defending the Galaxy for the second time (and dancing Baby Groot alone is worth the price of admission). Of course a lot more is still to come. Cinemagoers who enjoy superhero escapades have a few major releases to look forward to. DC throws its hat in the summer movies ring as Wonder Woman (June) tries to end World War I, with Gal Gadot either wowing or disappointing us in the lead role. And Tom Holland is Marvel’s latest Spider-Man in this second franchise reboot which takes off with Spider-Man: Homecoming (July). There are also several other series set to make a return for the blockbuster season. The insanely high-budget Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales - which was reportedly being held for ransom by pirates of a completely different kind - makes its way to cinemas this month (May) and sees Orlando Bloom and Keira Knightley returning to the Johnny Depp-led franchise. The Mummy (June) gets a Tom Cruise-powered reboot. Transformers: The Last Knight gives us the fifth instalment in Michael Bay’s commercially lucrative, critically Elsewhere, Christopher Nolan’s World War II film Dunkirk - which has all Harry Styles fans excited - comes out in July, and fantasy flick Dark The Tower brings the Stephen King novel series to cinematic life in August. In the adjacent genre of thrillers, we have the mystery movie 2:22 (June), sci-fi romance The Bad Batch (June), spy film Atomic Blonde (July), and crime flick Wind River (August). |
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Horror There are a few options in store for you if you’re into scary movies. An unnatural threat causes havoc in the psychological horror of It Comes at Night (June). The long-delayed Amityville: The Awakening (June), the nineteenth overall film in the franchise, sees a family move into the infamous house. A girl (Joey King) wishes upon a music box and discovers the deadly price for using it in Wish Upon (July). 47 Meters Down (June) finds Claire Holt and Mandy Moore stranded on the ocean floor in a shark-proof cage. And the supernatural Annabelle: Creation (August), the tale of a dollmarker and his possessed creation, serves as a prequel to 2014’s Annabelle and is the fourth film in The Conjuring franchise. |
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Animation Hollywood’s sequelitis infliction appears to have spread to its animation departments. We get to catch up with lots of old friends, but it’s hard not to admit that the line-up this year is a tad disappointing:
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Comedy If it’s mirth and merriment you desire this summer, then there are several movies that you could enjoy in the next few months. June in particular is very promising for comedy fans. Salma Hayek attends her wealthy clients’ dinner party after her car breaks down in Beatriz at Dinner (June). Scarlett Johansson and her friends find themselves in a pickle after a wild bachelorette weekend goes very wrong in Rough Night (June). The real life romance of Pakistani-American actor Kumail Nanjiani and his now-wife Emily V. Gordon inspires the well-received The Big Sick (June). Ansel Elgort plays a criminal coerced into an ill-fated heist in Baby Driver (June). Will Ferrell and Amy Poehler start an illegal casino in their basement after destroying their daughter’s college fund in The House (June).
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Drama Biopics lead the charge in this year’s crop of summer dramas. There’s a biographical film about hip-hop artist Tupac Shakur titled All Eyez on Me which stars Demetrius Shipp, Jr. in the lead role and comes out in June on what would have been the late rapper’s 46th birthday. There’s also the biographical drama Megan Leavey, based on the real story of a female Marine and her combat dog, which sees Kate Mara take on the titular role and will also be out in June. Plus there’s The Glass Castle, the adaptation of Jeannette Walls’ memoir, with Brie Larson portraying the writer, which will be released in August.
There’s clearly a lot in store for fans of every genre, so choose whatever strikes your fancy and enjoy. Have a fun summer! - S.A. |
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What Hollywood did last summer As always, the summer of 2016 was very lucrative for Hollywood. Some of the highest earning films of the year were summer releases. Superhero flicks and animated comedies were the most successful of the lot, and a couple of them even joined the ever-growing billion dollar club. These are the summer releases that ended up ranking among the highest grossing films of 2016 worldwide: |
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reviled series. And 
Later in the season, we have the rom-com 
In the fiction department, we have the adaptations of Daphne du Maurier’s novel 
Finding Dory
remarkable, but it was still a big hit. This animal rivalry tale also earned itself a sequel which will be released in 2019.
Quinn (Margot Robbie) stole the show in this story of supervillains recruited to carry out dangerous missions which became the tenth highest-grossing film of 2016.
