Summer highlights
Release dates are subject to change, and some films will not be released in San Diego the same day they open in other cities. Check local theater listings for details.
Today
“Firestarter” (Universal, theaters and Peacock): Zac Efron stars in this new adaptation of Stephen King’s classic thriller about a young girl with pyrokinetic powers.
“On the Count of Three” (United Artists Releasing, theaters): Jerrod Carmichael directs and stars with Christopher Abbott in this comedythriller about two depressed friends who plan to end their lives by the end of the day.
“Senior Year” (Netflix): Rebel Wilson plays a once popular teenager who wakes up from a 20-year coma and has to finish high school as a 37-year-old.
“Happening” (IFC, theaters): This Venice Film Festival winner directed by Audrey Diwan is based on Annie Ernaux’s memoir about being a young college student in 1960s France seeking to terminate a pregnancy when it was still illegal.
May 20
“Downton Abbey: A New Era” (Focus, theaters): The Crawley family is back and traveling to the south of France to investigate a villa that the Dowager Countess has inherited. New additions to the well-heeled lot include Hugh Dancy, Laura Haddock, Nathalie Baye and Dominic West.
“Men” (A24, theaters): “Ex Machina” and “Annihilation” filmmaker Alex Garland directs Jessie Buckley in this new thriller about a woman who goes to the country after a personal tragedy. Instead of peace, she finds a waking nightmare.
“Chip ’n Dale: Rescue Rangers” (Disney+): A live-action/animated hybrid of the chipmunks starring John Mulaney and Andy Samberg.
“Emergency,” (Amazon, theaters; streaming May 27): This Sundance satire looks at three Black college students grappling with whether or not to call the police.
May 27
“Top Gun: Maverick” (Paramount, theaters): Tom Cruise returns to one of his most beloved roles in this “Top Gun” sequel that’s over 30 years in the making. After years of working solo as a test pilot, Maverick is called back to train a new batch of fighter pilots, including Goose’s son (Miles Teller).
“The Bob’s Burgers Movie” (20th
Century Studios, theaters): Bob, Louise, Tina, Gene and Linda Belcher finally get their big-screen due, with the original voice cast of the popular series all intact. And it’s a musical! “Montana Story” (Bleecker Street, theaters): Haley Lu Richardson stars in this neo-Western.
June 3
“Watcher” (IFC, theaters): A young woman (Maika Monroe) who has just moved to Bucharest becomes increasingly paranoid that she’s being stalked in this slow-burn thriller. “Fire Island” (Hulu): It’s “Pride and Prejudice,” but modern and gay, in Andrew Ahn’s rom-com starring Joel Kim Booster and Bowen Yang as best friends on a summer vacation.
“The Phantom of the Open” (Sony Pictures Classics, theaters): The true story of the “world’s worst golfer,” Maurice Flitcroft (Mark Rylance), who still manages to get a shot in the British Open.
June 10
“Jurassic World Dominion” (Universal, theaters): The “conclusion” to the Jurassic World franchise melds the Chris Pratt and Bryce Dallas Howard films with the stars of the original “Jurassic Park,” Laura Dern, Sam Neill and Jeff Goldblum. Set four years after the destruction of Isla Nublar, this installment promises new dinosaurs, new stars like DeWanda Wise and nonstop action. “Hustle” (Netflix, on June 8):
Adam Sandler is a past-his-prime basketball scout who needs a win and finds it abroad.
June 17
“Lightyear” (Disney, theaters): Long before landing in Andy’s room, Buzz Lightyear was a young astronaut trying to get home from a hostile planet in this film-within-a-film origin story. And this time, Buzz is voiced
by Captain America himself, Chris Evans.
“Cha Cha Real Smooth” (Apple TV+ and theaters): Dakota Johnson is a single mom who strikes up an unusual friendship with a fresh college graduate (plays by writer-director Cooper Raiff) on the bar mitzvah circuit.
“Spiderhead” (Netflix): Chris Hemsworth plays a scientist who experiments on inmates (Miles Teller and Jurnee Smollett) with psychedelic drugs in this adaptation of a George Saunders short story.
“Official Competition” (IFC, theaters): Penelope Cruz and Antonio Banderas co-star in this sharp Spanish satire about making movies.
“Father of the Bride” (HBO Max, on June 16): This remake of the remake has a Cuban American spin and stars Andy Garcia and Isabela Merced.
June 24
“Elvis” (Warner Bros., theaters): Baz Luhrmann takes a look at Elvis Presley (Austin Butler) and his complex relationship with his manager, Colonel Tom Parker (Tom Hanks), over the course of 20 years in this music-filled journey.
“The Black Phone” (Universal, theaters): Director Scott Derrickson is back to scare audiences silly with this film about an abducted boy who hears the voices of his kidnapper’s victims through a disconnected phone on the wall. Ethan Hawke stars opposite newcomer Mason Thames.
“Marcel the Shell With Shoes On” (A24, theaters): Dean FleischerCamp and Jenny Slate’s 1-inch-tall seashell with the equally tiny voice gets his own movie (in which he searches for his family).
July 1
“Minions: The Rise of Gru” (Universal, theaters): What was Gru like before becoming an evil mastermind? Well, just a 12-year-old in the suburbs with dreams of world domination. Featuring the vocal stylings of Steve Carell, Alan Arkin, Dolph Lundgren, Jean-Claude Van Damme and Lucy Lawless.
“The Forgiven” (Roadside Attractions, theaters): Ralph Fiennes and Jessica Chastain are a married couple on the verge of divorce who accidentally hit a stranger while driving in the mountains in Morocco.
July 8
“Thor: Love and Thunder” (Disney, theaters): Retirement won’t last long for Chris Hemsworth’s god of thunder in this Taika Waititi-directed extravaganza, featuring the return of Natalie Portman’s Jane Foster, who is now able to wield the magic hammer on her own, and the introduction of a villain played by Christian Bale.
“The Sea Beast” (Netflix): Ananimated adventure about a sea monster and a stowaway from “Big Hero 6” director Chris Williams.
July 15
“Where the Crawdads Sing” (Sony, theaters): Delia Owens’ bestselling mystery about the beautiful, brilliant girl who grows up in a North Carolina marsh comes to the big screen with “Normal People’s” Daisy Edgar-Jones in the lead.
“Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris” (Focus, theaters): Lesley Manville plays a British housekeeper who dreams of owning a couture Christian Dior gown.
“Persuasion” (Netflix): Dakota Johnson stars in this Jane Austen adaptation about the spirited, modern Anne Elliot.
“Don’t Make Me Go” (Amazon): A father with a brain tumor (John Cho) takes his teenage daughter on a road trip to find her long-lost mother.
July 22
“Nope” (Universal, theaters): Jordan Peele returns to terrify audiences with “a new pop nightmare” in his secretive new film about some Inland Empire locals, starring Daniel Kaluuya, Keke Palmer and Steven Yeun, who witness a chilling event.
“The Gray Man” (Netflix): Ryan Gosling, Chris Evans and Ana de Armas star in this big-budget spythriller directed by Marvel alums Anthony and Joe Russo.
“Paws of Fury: The Legend of Hank” (Paramount, theaters ): Michael Cera voices the hound Hank in this animated riff on “Seven Samurai,” in which he has to help a village of cats defend themselves against Ricky Gervais’ villain.