The 2022 summer movie season appears to be a little on the thin side. Maybe everyone wants to stay away from the T-rex teeth and raptor claws of “Jurassic World: Dominion.” Perhaps this prehistoric juggernaut is why “The Batman,” “Fantastic Beasts 3” and “Dr. Strange 2” have already hit theaters in 2022.
So much for the old idea of big movies staking out the summer months. Still, there might be some gems in here. Peruse away, check out the links to trailers at IMDb, and remember that release dates are always subject to change. (All releases are theatrical unless otherwise noted.)
MAY
May 13
“Around the World in 80 Days” — The Jules Verne classic gets an animated treatment.
SPOTLIGHT ON A HOT REMAKE
“Firestarter” (theaters and Peacock) — Stephen King’s early classic finally gets a worthy adaptation, it appears, with Ryan Kiera Armstrong taking over the title role made famous by Drew Barrymore and continued by Marguerite Moreau. Zac Efron plays the dad.
“Homebound” — A countryside manor is the setting of this British horror flick.
“The Innocents” — This Scandinavian thriller taps into the supernatural.
“The Last Victim” — Ron Perlman and Ali Larter star in a dark modern Western.
“Monstrous” — “Yellowjackets’ ” Christina Ricci, this time presumably playing the victim, stars as a mother of a young son in this horror flick.
“Montana Story” — A modern, intimate family drama unfolds in Big Sky country; Haley Lu Richardson stars.
“On the Count of Three” — In this pitch-black comedy, two friends decide they will commit suicide at the end of the day; Tiffany Haddish stars.
SPOTLIGHT ON GOING BACK TO SCHOOL
“Senior Year” (Netflix) — This comedy’s premise has promise: Rebel Wilson (the “Pitch Perfect” films) wakes up from a 20-year coma and intends to finish high school, where she was on the cheer team. It could have good insight about how teen life has changed in two decades. Alicia Silverstone, Justin Hartley and Angourie Rice co-star.
May 20
“Chip ’n Dale: Rescue Rangers” (Disney Plus) — John Mulaney and Andy Samberg provide the voices in this animated family comedy.
“Downton Abbey: A New Era” — The popular period TV series gets a film continuation.
“Emergency” (May 20 in theaters and May 27 on Amazon Prime) — Three minority students face a dilemma when they stumble upon an unconscious white girl and weigh their options.
“Men” — In the latest thriller from Alex Garland (“Ex Machina”), a woman is terrorized by various creepy dudes she crosses paths with.
May 24
“Facing Nolan” — This interview-laden documentary explores pitching legend Nolan Ryan.
May 26
“Look at Me: XXXTentacion” — This documentary goes inside the world of street-level rap.
May 27
“The Bob’s Burgers Movie” — The animated TV comedy with a loyal following makes the big-screen jump.
SPOTLIGHT ON EIGHTIES NOSTALGIA
“Top Gun: Maverick” — After a long gap since the original (1986) and another long gap since its initial release date (2019), Tom Cruise’s high-flying sequel finally comes out. Jennifer Connelly and Miles Teller join the familiar faces.
JUNE
June 3
“Crimes of the Future” — David Cronenberg’s latest gruesome SF thriller stars Kristen Stewart and Lea Seydoux.
“Dashcam” — The found-footage subgenre of horror produces a sub-subgenre: live-streamed horror. If you wait for home viewing, this will probably best enjoyed on a TV big enough to read the chat thread.
“Fire Island” — Jane Austen’s “Pride and Prejudice” gets a modern, island-set rom-com update.
“Watcher” — Maika Monroe (“It Follows”) stars in a serial killer/paranoia thriller.
“Wolf Hound” — This actioner is set during World War II.
June 9
“Terror on the Prairie” — Montana again features in a modern Western.
June 10
“Hustle” (Netflix) — Adam Sandler plays a washed-up basketball scout … and that description makes this the first Sandler movie in quite some time that I might want to watch.
“I’m Charlie Walker” — “Evil’s” Mike Colter stars in a true story about a 1970s oil-spill cleanup leader who battles racist bosses.
SPOTLIGHT ON DINOSAURS RULING THE EARTH
“Jurassic World: Dominion” — The no-brainer must-see movie of the summer may not have been 65 million years in the making, but it does go back 29 years to encompass heroes of “Jurassic Park” such as Sam Neill and Laura Dern. It will also continue the human-cloning and dinos-on-the-loose threads from “Fallen Kingdom” and might even fold in some “Camp Cretaceous” storylines.
“The Righteous” — This horror film centers on a mysterious stranger.
June 14
“Halftime” (Netflix) — This documentary digs into the details of a J.Lo and Shakira Super Bowl show.
June 17
“Brian and Charles” — This feel-good comedy chronicles a depressed man who builds a robot.
“Cha Cha Real Smooth” (theaters and Apple TV Plus) — Dakota Johnson and writer-director Cooper Raiff star in a romantic dramedy about a birthday party hype man.
“Good Luck to You, Leo Grande” (Hulu) — Emma Thompson stars in a sex-themed dramedy.
“Lightyear” — The summer’s biggest kids’ animated feature (according to my friends with young children), it continues the “Toy Story” of the titular Buzz. Chris Evans takes over voice duties from Tim Allen.
“The Lost Girls” — This live-action fantasy continues the “Peter Pan” story, but from the POV of Wendy and other female characters.
“Official Competition” — Penelope Cruz and Antonio Banderas team up for a comedy about the film industry.
“Spiderhead” (Netflix) — Chris Hemsworth stars in a dark futuristic comedy about inmates who can shorten their sentences by volunteering as test subjects.
June 24
SPOTLIGHT ON CRANKY CALLS
“The Black Phone” — Writer-director Scott Derrickson (“Sinister”) reteams with Ethan Hawke in a fright flick that attempts to make phone calls scary again. It’s based on a short story by Joe Hill, son of Stephen King.
SPOTLIGHT ON A MUSIC LEGEND
“Elvis” — Joaquin Phoenix was Johnny Cash, Raimi Malek was Freddie Mercury, and now Austin Butler aims to channel Elvis in a lavish Baz Luhrmann film that will likely feature great music. Tom Hanks co-stars as Elvis’ manager.
“Marcel the Shell with Shoes On” — The well-regarded short film about an animated mollusk gets expanded, with Jenny Slate among the voice actors.
JULY
July 1
“Minions: The Rise of Gru” — The popular kids’ animated comedy series continues.
“Mr. Malcolm’s List” — Freida Pinto stars in this 19th century English period piece.
July 8
SPOTLIGHT ON THE MCU
“Thor: Love and Thunder” — “Ragnarok’s” Taika Waititi is back as director, co-writer and the voice of Korg in this fourth “Thor” picture and 28th Marvel Cinematic Universe film. And Natalie Portman (absent in part three) returns as love interest Jane, now in a more action-heroine role.
July 15
“The Gray Man” (July 15 in theaters and July 22 on Netflix) — This CIA thriller from the MCU’s Russo Brothers stars Ana de Armas, Ryan Gosling and former Captain America Chris Evans.
“Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris” — This midcentury London period piece follows a cleaning lady who becomes obsessed with a dress.
“Paws of Fury: The Legend of Hank” — Samuel L. Jackson is among the voices in this animated kids’ adventure.
“Persuasion” (Netflix) — Dakota Johnson and Henry Golding star in this Jane Austen modernization.
“Summering” — This coming-of-age drama about four girls starting middle school could possibly tap into the “Eighth Grade” vibe.
“Where the Crawdads Sing” — A woman aims to clear her name in this murder mystery set in Deep South marshes.
“The Wrong Place” — Bruce Willis stars in this cops-and-criminals thriller that, like “Breaking Bad,” centers on the meth trade.
July 22
“How to Please a Woman” — A woman makes a later-in-life discovery about her sexuality.
SPOTLIGHT ON “I’M NOT SAYING IT’S ALIENS … BUT IT’S ALIENS”
“Nope” — The latest message-laden scare flick from writer-director Jordan Peele looks – at first blush — an awful lot like M. Night Shyamalan’s “Signs” in structure and mood. But if your benefit of the doubt hasn’t worn off from 2017’s “Get Out,” it’s worth a peek, especially since that film’s Daniel Kaluuya returns.
July 29
SPOTLIGHT ON A FAST-PACED ACTION VEHICLE
“Bullet Train” — Five assassins (among them Brad Pitt, Sandra Bullock and Zazie Beetz) find their missions overlap on the fast-moving vehicle. With David Leitch of “Deadpool 2” and “Hobbs & Shaw” directing, it’s safe to assume the film itself will be a fast-paced romp, too.
“DC League of Super-Pets” — After the spring success of “The Batman,” DC is mostly sitting on the bench this summer. But we do get this animated film about the pets of the big-name superheroes.
“Sharp Stick” — This sexually laced coming-of-age drama features the return of a couple talented folks who’ve been out of the limelight for a while: director Lena Dunham (“Girls”) and actress Kristine Froseth (“Looking for Alaska”).
“Vengeance” — “The Office’s” B.J. Novak branches into cinematic writing and directing for a Southern-set horror mystery. It stars Ashton Kutcher, Boyd Holbrook and Novak himself.
AUGUST
Aug. 3
“Guns 3: Alias Billy the Kid” — Emilio Estevez writes, directs and stars in this third chapter of the “Young Guns” franchise, which has been dormant since 1990.
Aug. 5
“Bodies Bodies Bodies” — Things go very wrong at a house party in this horror-comedy featuring, among others, “The King of Staten Island’s” Pete Davidson and “Borat 2’s” Maria Bakalova.
“Easter Sunday” — Comedian Jo Koy (“Chelsea Lately”) stars in a family comedy-romp that might do for Filipino-Americans what “Crazy Rich Asians” did for Chinese-Americans.
“I Love My Dad” — Rachel Dratch, Patton Oswalt and Lil Rel Howery are among the cast in this comedy about an estranged father.
“Resurrection” — “The Night House’s” Rebecca Hall returns for another slice of psychological horror.
“Secret Headquarters” — Owen Wilson, Michael Pena and “The Adam Project’s” Walker Scobell star in this latest film to ask “What if superheroes existed in reality?”
Aug. 12
“Emily the Criminal” — Aubrey Plaza resorts to crime after being squeezed out of the job market in this suspenser.
Aug. 19
“Beast” — “Ghost and the Darkness” fans might want to check out this lion-on-the-prowl thriller starring Idris Elba.
Aug. 26
“The Bride” — Nathalie Emmanuel (“Army of Thieves”) stars in a horror film about a destination wedding turned sour.
“Samaritan” — Another of those “real world” superhero yarns, this one stars Sylvester Stallone. It’s not related to “Bad Samaritan” from a few years back.
Aug. 31
“Three Thousand Years of Longing” — In his first outing since “Mad Max: Fury Road,” George Miller directs Idris Elba (having a big August) in a fantasy romance centering on the “three wishes” genie mythology.
SEPTEMBER
Sept. 2
“Honk for Jesus. Save Your Soul.” — Regina Hall and Sterling K. Brown star in this comedy that pokes fun at mega-churches.
Sept. 7
“After Ever Happy” — In a romantic drama that’s not quirky like its title, two lovers grapple with the way each of them has changed through the years.
Sept. 9
“Brahmastra: Part One – Shiva” — An Indian superhero trilogy launches.
“Dark Harvest” — Horror veteran David Slade (“30 Days of Night”) helms this Halloween-set tale of a stalker in the cornfields.
SPOTLIGHT ON THE RETURN OF THE UNDEAD
“Salem’s Lot” — Gary Dauberman (writer of both chapters of “It”) stays in the Stephen King universe to adapt an early classic about a small town targeted by an ancient vampire. The book had been filmed twice before as a miniseries, but not yet as a theatrical picture.