After a long stretch of reboots, delays and streaming burnout, 2025 might finally be the year movies make a real comeback. With original hits like Sinners and Mickey 17 proving that audiences are still hungry for bold, new stories, the industry feels like it’s waking up again. That’s not to say we’re skipping the sequels or franchise fare—some of them actually look great—but this summer’s lineup has a little more spark, a little more risk and a lot worth watching.
Here are 15 releases you might consider adding to your summer plans:
The Surfer (May 2)
Nicolas Cage versus a sinister surf cult in the Australian outback sounds like a parody of a Nic Cage movie. But this slow-burn thriller from Vivarium director Lorcan Finnegan has real buzz behind it. Cage plays a man pushed to the edge—emotionally, physically, existentially—and that’s usually where he thrives.
Thunderbolts* (May 2)
The MCU’s loners and losers finally get their own team-up. Florence Pugh, Wyatt Russell, David Harbour and Sebastian Stan play morally gray characters on a black-ops mission no one else wants. With Jake Schreier (Beef) directing, it might just inject some needed chaos into Marvel’s increasingly tidy formula.
Friendship (May 9 in limited theaters, May 23 wide)
Tim Robinson and Paul Rudd as suburban neighbors in a dark comedy about one man trying way too hard to make a friend? That’s an A24 pitch if we’ve ever heard one. Directed by Andrew DeYoung (The Other Two), this one looks like it starts as a cringe comedy and slowly unravels into something stranger and more sad. Consider us uncomfortably interested.
Mission: Impossible — The Final Reckoning (May 23)
Tom Cruise continues his mission to outrun both time and physics in the second half of what’s being called the franchise’s final installment. Christopher McQuarrie returns to direct, and yes—there’s a new stunt that looks like it should be illegal. Plot clarity? Optional. Adrenaline? Guaranteed.
The Phoenician Scheme (May 30)
Wes Anderson doing espionage. That’s the pitch. And when the cast includes Scarlett Johansson, Benicio del Toro, Michael Cera and Riz Ahmed, you don’t really need much more. Expect deadpan dialogue, pastel danger and a storyline involving a nun who may or may not be a secret heir to a global empire. In other words: extremely Wes.
Mountainhead (May 31 on Max)
Jesse Armstrong follows Succession with a very different kind of power struggle. Mountainhead drops four tech billionaires into a luxury mountain chalet while the world unravels outside. Steve Carell, Ramy Youssef, Cory Michael Smith and Jason Schwartzman lead what sounds like a sharp, satirical look at wealth, denial and survival when the group chat won’t save you.
The Life of Chuck (June 6)
Stephen King goes introspective with this backwards-told drama about one man’s life. Tom Hiddleston stars as Chuck, with Mark Hamill along for the ride. Directed by Mike Flanagan (Midnight Mass), it’s three stories folded into one—a slow build that asks big questions about meaning, memory and what we leave behind.
F1 (June 27)
Brad Pitt behind the wheel in a real F1 car might sound like a PR stunt, but with Top Gun: Maverick director Joseph Kosinski and writer Ehren Kruger behind it, F1 looks like a legit sports epic. Shot during actual races with cooperation from F1 teams, it blurs the line between documentary adrenaline and blockbuster storytelling.
Sorry, Baby (June 27)
Comedian Eva Victor makes her feature debut with this fragmented, four-chapter film about trauma, memory and recovery. It’s got Naomi Ackie, Lucas Hedges and a quiet kind of gravity that sneaks up on you. If summer’s all about loud spectacle, this might be the quietest movie that leaves the biggest mark.
Jurassic World Rebirth (July 2)
New cast. New direction. Same dinosaurs. Rebirth reboots the franchise with Gareth Edwards (Rogue One) behind the camera and a prestige-heavy cast—Scarlett Johansson, Mahershala Ali, Jonathan Bailey—front and center. The story’s set five years after Dominion, and the tone reportedly leans less corporate synergy, more classic suspense. Hope lives.
Superman (July 11)
James Gunn’s big swing for the new DC Universe starts here, with Pearl’s David Corenswet as a younger, gentler Man of Steel and Rachel Brosnahan as Lois Lane. Early word is that it’s sincere, not cynical—a reboot with actual warmth instead of brooding intensity. Which is exactly what Superman needs right now.
Eddington (July 18)
Ari Aster trades surreal horror for small-town standoffs in Eddington, a modern Western set during the early months of the pandemic. Joaquin Phoenix plays a conflicted sheriff. Pedro Pascal is the town’s self-appointed leader. Emma Stone, Austin Butler and Luke Grimes round out the cast. The tension? Extremely 2020.
The Fantastic Four: First Steps (July 25)
Marvel’s first family finally gets its due. Pedro Pascal, Jeremy Allen White, Vanessa Kirby and Joseph Quinn headline a period-set reboot directed by Matt Shakman (WandaVision). After multiple failed attempts, this version has a shot at doing something genuinely different—something that actually earns the title “fantastic.”
Freakier Friday (Aug. 8)
Lindsay Lohan and Jamie Lee Curtis are back in a sequel that picks up years after the body-swap chaos of the 2003 classic. Directed by Nisha Ganatra (Late Night), the new version reportedly expands the swap dynamic across generations. Will it work? We’re just happy it exists.
Honey Don’t! (Aug. 22)
Margaret Qualley leads a new film from Ethan Coen as a small-town detective on a mysterious case involving an even-more mysterious church. Also featuring Chris Evans, Charlie Day and Aubrey Plaza, the film’s details have been kept under wraps for now. But this star-studded cast mixed with Coen’s unique storytelling abilities means we’re in for one wild ride.
