After far too long starved of big screen excitement and entertainment, we are finally getting back to the cinema; and boy has it been worth the wait.
This summer and autumn sees an avalanche of blockbuster movies that have been sat in the can waiting to make us laugh, cry, scream and even dance in the aisles. From much loved franchises to exciting new ideas, from Marvel superheroes to DC dropouts, there really is something for everyone this summer.
For established film goers this is all great news, and for those just discovering cinema this is a new player offer even the most generous online bookmaker would be proud of.
The big releases
Most summers have their blockbusters, but this summer they will be wall to wall. Big movies on the schedule include the latest Bond film, ‘No Time to Die’, the first of Phase Four of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, ‘Black Widow’, and the new wheel-spinner from the all-conquering ‘Fast and Furious’ Franchise, ‘F9’. There’s even a new chapter in the ‘Saw’ story with the release of ‘Spiral: From the Book of Saw’.
A summer of sequels
There’s nothing the studios like more than a sure thing, which means that inevitably there will be a slew of sequels this summer too. John Krasinski returns with his wife, Emily Blunt, for ‘A Quiet Place 2’, Bugs Bunny returns with ‘Space Jam: A New Legacy’ and even Tom Cruise is back in the pilot seat in ‘Top Gun Maverick’ this autumn. The critic-dividing ‘Peter Rabbit’ is back with a much-improved sequel, while it is unlikely that we will be able to say the same of ‘The Hitman’s Wife’s Bodyguard’.
Original ideas
If this is all starting to sound a bit too familiar, don’t worry. Alongside the tried and tested movie formulas, this summer also has plenty of new ideas in store. Ryan Reynolds finds himself lost in a computer game in the highly original ‘Free Guy’, Marvel gets its first Asian lead in ‘Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings’, while Chris Pratt goes time-travelling in the action adventure ‘The Tomorrow War’.
Dancing in your seats
For those in need of a musical lift, there is plenty to get your toes tapping this summer. ‘Hamilton’s Lin-Manuel Miranda is back with an original musical, ‘In the Heights’ featuring a vibrant young cast in ‘West-Side-Story’ mode. ‘Aretha Franklin’ gets her wish to be portrayed by Jennifer Hudson in ‘Respect’, while ‘Summer of Soul’ traces the story of the 1969 Harlem Cultural Festival, which went largely unnoticed in the shadow of Woodstock.
Fun for the family
A cinema summer wouldn’t be the same without some family films for the summer break. This year, alongside the aforementioned ‘Space Jam’ and ‘Peter Rabbit’, we also have Emma Stone vamping it up as a young dalmatian hater in ‘Cruella’, a reboot of one of the funniest films of all time with ‘Ghostbusters: Afterlife’, as well as the latest offering from the ‘Hotel Transylvania‘ series. Add in ‘Luca’, the latest from the Pixar team, and you have a feast of family entertainment.
Just the start
With such a backlog of movies to show, the summer is just the start of what could be a very good year for film fans. Still to come towards Christmas we have another Marvel mega-budget epic in the form of ‘Eternals’, along with Steven Spielberg’s take on the classic musical ‘West Side Story’. Christmas viewers will also be able to unwrap ‘Matrix 4’, ‘Downton Abbey 2’ and ‘Spider-Man: No Way Home’ amongst many other big releases.
Cinema is back
Cinema is well and truly back, and the box office figures are looking good. Cineworld reported a strong opening weekend in the UK and around the world, with 97% of US screens now open. Fans are flooding back, proving that even the biggest home TV screen is no match for the cinema experience. And with such a strong line up, it looks like they will keep coming for the rest of the year and beyond.
