The most anticipated movies of the summer

From Barbie to Oppenheimer, this summer’s movie roster is sure to have something for everyone

The sun’s out, it’s warm, and you can finally step outside without an umbrella. So what’s the best way to spend your summer? Sitting inside a dark theatre, eating overpriced popcorn, of course. 

With kids out of school, studios save their biggest hits for the summer months. These are a few of the most hyped and anticipated movies of the upcoming summer season.

Beau Is Afraid

After terrifying his viewers with Hereditary and Midsommar, writer and director Ari Aster’s new film Beau is Afraid is finally being released after a long delay. This three-hour-long epic stars Joaquin Phoenix.

If this is anything like Aster’s other films, prepare for things to get weird. Really weird. While this is technically a spring release, coming out April 21, it’s sure to be stuck in your mind all summer long. 

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3

The Marvel fatigue is real, but as long as these movies keep turning a profit, they’re going to keep making them. Even the biggest Marvel haters will be able to find some entertainment in the Guardians of the Galaxy movies. 

Director James Gunn has announced that this will be the last movie in the series, so it might be a perfect way to enjoy one last romp with Marvel movies on May 5.

Asteroid City

Love him or hate him, Wes Anderson is back. This time, he’s using his signature style to cover 1950s Americana, with possibly his most stacked cast to date. Many of Anderson’s regulars are present, with more than a few newcomers like Tom Hanks and Steve Carell.

Does this look exactly the same as the rest of his movies? Pretty much. But why fix something that isn’t broken? Asteroid City will be coaxing the hipsters out for its June 23 release.

Barbie

Get your pink vest on, learn how to rollerblade, and dye that hair blonde, because this is going to be remembered as the summer of Barbie. With Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling starring alongside Michael Cera, Simu Liu, and a plethora of others, what’s not to love? 

All these glistening abs practically demand to be seen on the big screen. Greta Gerwig’s directing has garnered a lot of praise with Ladybird and Little Women. Barbie is sure to have the theatres packed on July 21 for the movie event of the summer.

Oppenheimer

Christopher Nolan, the king of cerebral blockbusters and incomprehensible dialogue, is gracing the screen once again with his highly anticipated biopic, Oppenheimer. With his love for practical effects, one has to wonder how Nolan will incorporate his explosive style into the story surrounding the creation of the atomic bomb.

Oppenheimer will be battling Asteroid City for most impressive cast, but it will be going head-to-head with Barbie on its opening night, July 21. Double feature anyone?

Elemental

After a somewhat lacklustre few years, will this be the return of golden-age Pixar? If you’ve ever wondered what it would be like if elements lived in their own world, were individuals with their own feelings, then this is definitely the movie for you.

Elemental follows the complicated and forbidden friendship between a fire girl and a water boy. This is from the same director as The Good Dinosaur, which is definitely not Pixar’s best. But no matter what, the visuals are sure to be stunning. Elemental releases June 16.

Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse

The 2018 animated flick Into the Spider-Verse was met with overwhelming success, ultimately changing the playing field for what animated movies can do. In a time of by-the-books superhero movies, who knew that Spider-Man animations would produce some of the most artistic vision of anything in contemporary Hollywood?

This highly-anticipated sequel will hopefully live up to its predecessor, and there is already a third film in development. Across the Spider-Verse releases June 2.