Our top 10 most anticipated blockbusters hitting cinema screens this summer
By Brian Bowe
The sun is out, the sunblock is on, and the vibes are indeed good. And so, what better way to spend this summer season than hidden away in the cool, dark confines of a cinema screen. Look! All your friends are here. You’ll find familiar faces in Indiana Jones and Mission Impossible, plastic faces in Barbie, and, well, a lot of faces in Wes Anderson’s star-packed Asteroid City.
Anderson’s film is one of the few original titles coming out this summer, with sequels and reboots crowding the marquee. Summer is blockbuster season after all. Hollywood has traditionally thrived under the bluest of skies; think back to iconic summer hits like Independence Day in 1996, Steven Speilberg’s E.T. from 1982 and, of course, the original summer blockbuster, 1975’s Jaws. However, Hollywood in 2023, still finding its groove post-pandemic, has kicked off Summer earlier than we expected. Big-hitters, like The Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, Fast X and, the highest grossing film of the year thus far, Super Mario Bros, all arrived in theatres during Spring.
But fear not, as this year’s summer movie line-up is jam-packed with exciting new titles. Action capers, family animation, quirky comedies, and, yes, even more movies about superheroes. There really is something for everybody. So without further ado, here’s our top 10 summer blockbusters coming to an air-conditioned theatre near you.
10. Transformers: Rise of the Beasts (June 9)
A ‘90s adventure set in Brooklyn, New York, Transformers: Rise of the Beasts will introduce three new robot tribes — Maximals, Predacons and Terrorcons — to the existing battle on earth between the Autobots and Decepticons.
They’re back! Yes, the Transformers franchise is getting a reboot. Has it been that long since the last iteration? About six years, but time moves fast in Hollywood, a town which runs on an equal measure of amnesia and nostalgia. Michael Bay’s original series ran itself into the ground after four sequels. Now Steven Caple Jr., whose previous credits include Creed II, is in the director’s chair, with a sequel already in the works for summer 2024. As you can see from its placement on our list, we’re not overly excited about the return of these origami blast-bots.
9. Flash (June 16)
Worlds collide when the Flash (Ezra Miller) uses his superpowers to travel back in time to change the events of the past. However, when his attempt to save his family inadvertently alters the future, he becomes trapped in a reality in which General Zod (Michael Shannon) has returned.
It’s been quite the journey for the DC speedster. After many delays, pushbacks and apology tours, Flash is finally headed to the big screen. Get ready for a colossal CGI bonanza filled with legacy characters, such as Michael Keaton’s Batman and Michael Shannon’s Zod. In truth, it’s due to our morbid curiosity that we’ve put Flash at nine on this list. The film has been plagued with production disasters, most notably Miller’s arrests last year, leading many to think that the Flash would never see the light of day. But here it is, coming to a cinema near you, and fast!
8. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem (August 4)
After years of being sheltered from the human world, the Turtle brothers set out to win the hearts of New Yorkers and be accepted as normal teenagers. Their new friend, April O’Neil (voiced by The Bear’s Ayo Edebiri), helps them take on a mysterious crime syndicate, but they soon get in over their heads when an army of mutants is unleashed.
Remember Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles? Remember the TV show? The nine, yes, nine! films? Oh, you do! Well, they’re doing it again anyway. I’m not terribly excited for this, but at least the animation looks good, though definitely aping Into the Spider-Verse. And Seth Rogen is behind it, that’s good, right? Consider us mildly intrigued.
7. Equaliser 3 (September 1)
Since giving up his life as a government assassin, Robert McCall (Denzel Washigton) finds solace in serving justice on behalf of the oppressed. Now living in Italy, he discovers his new friends are under the control of local crime bosses. As events turn deadly, McCall becomes their protector by taking on the mafia.
Yes, this is yet another franchise sequel, but at least Equaliser is a film series which gives you exactly what you want; the films are lean, action packed, and have a bonafide movie star at the centre. Plus, Equaliser 3 will reunite Washington with his Man on Fire scene partner Dakota Fanning after nearly 20 years – Yep, we’re looking forward to this one.
6. Elemental (July 7)
In a city where fire, water, land, and air residents live together, a fiery young woman and a go-with-the-flow guy discover something elemental: how much they actually have in common.
Pixar has a knack for endowing things with emotions – toys, cars, monsters and, in the case of Inside Out, Boy with a Bomb, Cillian Murphy. No. 3 on Brian’s list emotions. Next up: elements.
The voice cast, led by Leah Lewis and Mamoudou Athie, features familiar names like Catherine O’Hara and Joe Pera. Pixar/Disney will hope Elemental performs big, especially after their previous offering, Lightyear, dipped under expectations. On paper, Elemental reads like an Inside Out rehash, which might turn people off. But you never can bet against the Mouse House, especially when Pixar is involved.
5. Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny (June 30)
Daredevil archaeologist Indiana Jones (Harrison Ford) races against time to retrieve a legendary dial that can change the course of history. Accompanied by his god-daughter (Phoebe Waller-Bridge), he soon finds himself squaring off against Jürgen Voller, a former Nazi who works for NASA.
I’m not sure anybody was asking for Indy 5, especially after 2008’s Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, a film better off forgotten. The hope is that Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny can wash away the bad taste of that fourth film and rekindle some of the original love for the franchise. While Waller-Bridge and Mads Mikkelsen make fine additions, most people are just curious to see what an 80-year-old Indiana Jones looks like; can he still run around? Crack a whip? Has he finally gotten over his fear of snakes? All shall be revealed.
4. Asteroid City (June 23)
Set in a fictional American desert town circa 1955, the itinerary of a Junior Stargazer/Space Cadet convention (organised to bring together students and parents from across the country for fellowship and scholarly competition) is spectacularly disrupted by world-changing events. Wes Anderson’s previous film, The French Dispatch, left me rather cold. So here’s hoping this desert town tale warms me up. As always, Anderson is in good company; Asteroid City’s large ensemble cast includes Jason Schwartzman, Scarlett Johansson, Tom Hanks, Jeffrey Wright, Tilda Swinton, Bryan Cranston, Edward Norton, Adrien Brody, and more, many, many more. This looks set to be in the same vein as Anderson’s films – quirky, deadpan and very visually precise. For his next project, the director will be teaming up with Netflflix for an adaptation of Roald Dahl’s The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar, set to be released before the end of the year.
3. Oppenheimer (July 21)
American physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer (Cillian Murphy) works with a team of scientists during the Manhattan Project, leading to the development of the atomic bomb.
We are now entering the top 3, superheroes and transformers are now a thing of the past; beyond this point lie only top-notch picks, the must-see films of the summer. Chrisphtoer Nolan’s $100m drama is certainly more adult-oriented than most of what’s on offer this summer blockbuster season. We’ve been drip-fed trailers for months, each as epic and loud as the last. Where there’s usually a veil of secrecy around Nolan’s films, Oppenheimer is the first biopic he’s made, so we do know a fair bit of what the film’s about, though chances are Nolan has a few tricks up his sleeve. It’s great to see Murphy land such a big role, he’s worked with Nolan before – Batman Begins, Inception, Dunkirk – but nothing as big as this. It helps, too, that he’s bolstered by a supporting cast so star-studded it would make Wes Anderson blush: Robert Downey Jr, Emily Blunt, Matt Damon, Florence Pugh and Kenneth Branagh all at hand to round out an impressive list of costars.
2. Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One (July 14)
Dead Reckoning is the sequel to Mission: Impossible – Fallout and the seventh instalment in the Mission: Impossible film series that follow the further adventures of IMF agent Ethan Hunt.
Can Cruise do it? Can he win two movie summers back-to-back. Modern blockbusters don’t get much better than 2022’s Top Gun: Maverick, it excited the fans and converted the doubters. It was a perfect summer movie for all the family. But with Dead Reckoning, Cruise – along with frequent collaborator Christopher McQuarrie – is up against it, looking to top Mission Impossible: Fallout, one of the best, if not the best action film of the last 20 years. No plot description has been released yet, just an odd trailer which feels like a montage of stunts. Expect the usual crew of Cruise, Ving Rhames, Simon Pegg and Rebecca Ferguson, with Vanessa Kirby and Pom Klementieff joining the franchise.
1. Barbie (July 21)
Live-action feature film based on the popular line of Barbie dolls. After being expelled from Barbieland for being a less than perfect-looking doll, Barbie (Margot Robbie) sets off for the human world to find true happiness.
Of course our most anticipated summer film is Barbie – I mean, how could it not be? Everything that comes out ahead of the film’s release – set photos, trailers, posters, a certain pink jacket belonging to Ryan Gosling – just makes everyone even more excited about it. It’s gotten to the point where logging onto Twitter has become more nauseating than usual when met with a flood of Barbie memes. The fandom isn’t just online, Barbie has even sent the fashion world into a frenzy with Barbiecore set to light the summer ablaze with kitschy candy-hued clothing.
Come July 21, audiences will have to choose: do you go with #TeamBarbie or #TeamOppenheimer. You could see both the same day, but then which one to see first?. Would you rather blow up the world only to have it recreated in plastic or vice versa. As for me, I’m grabbing all the pink clothes I can find and racing my barbie-mobile straight to the cinema to see Greta Gerwig’s Mattel masterpiece, for “I’m a Barbie girl, In a Barbie world.”
