The 22 Movies Everyone Will Be Talking About This Summer

Not much is known about Steven Spielberg’s next film, but trailers and previews are gradually hinting at an epic sci-fi showdown involving alien life on Earth and a government conspiracy to cover it up. Emily Blunt, Josh O’Connor, Colman Domingo, Eve Hewson, and Colin Firth star.

In theaters June 12.

What’s summer (and Pride Month) without a little camp? RuPaul and a slew of Drag Race alums star in this outrageous parody comedy about two stewardesses who must save the day when their train is at risk of being derailed by a dangerous storm. RuPaul, Ginger Minj, Jujubee, Symone, Brooke Lynn Hytes, Marcia Marcia Marcia, Latrice Royale, Monét X Change, Rachel Bloom, and Sarah Michelle Gellar are just a few names on the cast list.

In theaters June 12.

Your next summer rom-com obsession is calling. Zoey Deutch stars as Jill, a woman coping with the death of her sister (the titular Isabelle) by continuing to send voicemails to her old phone. What she doesn’t know is that Isabelle’s number has been reassigned to a handsome real estate agent, Wes (Nick Robinson). Fun fact: Este Haim and Amanda Yamate (Do Revenge) wrote the original score for the film.

On Netflix June 19.

Hayley Kiyoko’s hit song “Girls Like Girls” has continued to evolve since it first dropped in 2015 to much fanfare. After being adapted into a book in 2023, the coming-of-age lesbian romance, partially based on Kiyoko’s own life, is now heading to the big screen. The singer wrote and directed the film herself and produced new music for it too. It’s clear she’s handling this 2000s-set love story with care.

In theaters June 19.

Last year brought us the summer of Superman. This year, it’s the summer of Supergirl. Milly Alcock stars as the titular heroine, also known as Kara Zor-El, the cheeky, spunky, sometimes messy answer to Clark Kent. I, Tonya director Craig Gillespie helms the film.

In theaters June 26.

As featured in ELLE’s best films of Sundance 2026: “The Invite is a welcome return for Olivia Wilde after the frenzy of her 2022 film, Don’t Worry Darling. She and Seth Rogen play a couple in a lackluster marriage who invite their upstairs neighbors—an eccentric, sexually adventurous pair played by Penélope Cruz and Edward Norton—over for a dinner party. But as the night unfolds, more and more things go awry, taking the vibe from awkward to painfully embarrassing.”

In theaters June 26.

Angelina Jolie is back on our screens in Couture, from French director Alice Winocour, in which she plays a filmmaker in Paris during fashion week. As she shoots a film for a prestigious fashion house, her work sends her on a journey of self-reflection as she grapples with her health.

In theaters June 26.

Get ready for “How Far I’ll Go” to get stuck in your head again—Moana is sailing back to theaters, and this time in live action. While original star Auli‘i Cravalho will be behind the scenes as an executive producer this go-round, Dwayne Johnson will reprise his role as demigod Maui in the flesh. Newcomer Catherine Laga‘aia, who’s taking on the mantle of the titular explorer, seems like a star in the making.

In theaters July 10.

When Gail Daughtry (Zoey Deutch) discovers that her fiancé and high school sweetheart cheated on her with his celebrity hall pass, she figures she should do the same. The only thing is, her celebrity hall pass is Jon Hamm (whose isn’t?)—so she hops on a road trip to Hollywood to find the heartthrob actor and get the job done.

In theaters July 10.

Rather than launching another season, Heartstopper is coming to a close with a feature-length film on Netflix. While we wait to find out what the future holds for Nick and Charlie, creator Alice Oseman teased that “The movie will be an exploration of time, memory, love, pain, the changing of the seasons, endings and beginnings, and the core element of Heartstopper: the ordinary magic of our everyday lives.”

On Netflix July 17.

The most anticipated film of the summer—or, dare we say, of the year—is Christopher Nolan’s take on Homer’s epic tale. While the saga follows Odysseus’s (Matt Damon) heroic journey from war to sea and, eventually, home, the women in his orbit are just as essential to the story. His wife, Penelope (Anne Hathaway); the goddess of wisdom, Athena (Zendaya); Helen of Troy and her sister Clytemnestra (both played by Lupita Nyong’o); and the goddess Calypso (Charlize Theron) are just a few of the iconic figures brought to life by a star-studded cast. Tom Holland, Robert Pattinson, Jon Bernthal, and Elliot Page are in the cast too.

In theaters July 17.

Critics have been buzzing about this indie film ever since it premiered at the Berlin Film Festival earlier this year. It revolves around a wealthy, vapid family whose insulated world gets shaken up when an outsider enters the picture. It stars Callum Turner, Riley Keough, Jamie Bell, Lukas Gage, Elena Anaya, Tracy Letts, Elle Fanning, and Pamela Anderson and promises to be “an outrageous, biting satire on the absurdity of the patriarchal family.”

In theaters July 24.

We’re in for a Tom Holland–Zendaya double feature this July, with the latest Spider-Man film swinging into theaters just two weeks after The Odyssey. Except things are different for the offscreen couple onscreen this time around: MJ, and the rest of Peter Parker’s loved ones, don’t remember him at all. As Peter navigates that loneliness—and college life—he also starts to experience a strange glitch in his Spidey powers. Jon Bernthal’s The Punisher also appears, and so does Sadie Sink in a highly speculated role.

In theaters July 31.

In a meaty post-Hacks role, Hannah Einbinder stars as a rising indie director tapped to revive an ’80s slasher franchise with its reclusive former star, played by an incredible Gillian Anderson sporting a Southern accent. Directed by I Saw the TV Glow’s Jane Schoenbrun, Camp Miasma both pokes fun at and pays homage to the gory cult classics of yore, all while exploring sexuality and the trans experience.

In theaters August 7.

Imagine a world where sex is illegal except for one day a year (yes, like The Purge); that’s the premise of this goofy rom-com starring Monica Barbaro and Callum Turner. When Allie (Barbaro) and Owen (Turner) meet on said occasion, you can only guess what happens next.

In theaters August 7.

Greta Lee and Wagner Moura lead this Netflix thriller about a family sealed inside their home with no escape and limited resources. Moura told Netflix’s Tudum, “There are layers and twists that I can’t wait for everyone to see.”

On Netflix August 7.

In this A24 culinary drama, “Tony” is short for Anthony Bourdain. The Holdovers star Dominic Sessa plays the beloved chef as a teenager during a formative season spent in the chaotic restaurant kitchens of Provincetown, Massachusetts. Antonio Banderas, Leo Woodall, Emilia Jones, and Stavros Halkias are also in the cast. Bourdain’s estate approves.

In theaters August 7.

Alright, alright, alright; we have a new Matthew McConaughey role on our hands. Here he plays the titular Amziah King, a honey producer and bluegrass musician in rural Oklahoma whose life turns upside down when his estranged foster daughter (Angelina LookingGlass) reenters his life.

In theaters August 14.