HOLLYWOOD—Well, summer is upon us Americans and the movie season is about to kick-off with plenty of sequels, prequels, remakes and big-time block-blusters to arrive at the multiplex. The month of May will be huge in the superhero universe. One of the biggest sequels of the year sees the return of Steve Rogers (Chris Evans) for “Captain America: Civil War” on May 6. Yes, that day has already been marked on my calendar and while no “Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice,” Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.) and Captain America will go to war, and friendships will be changed forever.
A week later on Friday the 13th, no Jason Voorhees isn’t returning to the screen, well not just yet, but horror returns with Kevin Bacon in the thriller “The Darkness.” The flick will do battle against the drama “Money Monster” starring George Clooney and Julia Roberts, and directed by Jodie Foster. Man this movie looks intriguing and looks like Oscar bait if you ask me. Kicking off the final weeks of May we have the animated flicks “Angry Birds,” “The Nice Guys” and the sequel “Neighbors 2: Sorority Rising” hitting theaters on May 20. “Neighbors” was a sleeper hit in 2014, so it’s possible the same could happen for 2016 with Zac Efron and Seth Rogen returning.
Just in time for Memorial Day, two more sequels arrive with “X-Men: Apocalypse” set to wrap up a hotly anticipated trilogy. That flick will do battle with Johnny Deep and “Alice Through the Looking Glass.” Hmm, I see a big battle dueling.
To kick-off the month of June, the turtles are back for “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows” on June 3 with Megan Fox and Stephen Amell. Looks like fans of the action-figures and cartoon will finally get to see some of their favs. June 10 looks to be the most competitive weekend at the box-office as the live-action version of videogame “Warcraft” does battle with the sequels “Now You See Me 2” and the thriller “The Conjuring 2: The Endfield Experiment.” “The Conjuring 2” is a must-see people; did you see how haunting that trailer looked? Get ready for a good scare for once.
June 17 sees the highly anticipated sequel “Finding Dory” arrive to do battle against Kevin Hart and The Rock for the action-comedy “Central Intelligence.” Can you believe it’s been over 20 years since Will Smith became a superstar with “Independence Day?” Well, the wait is over as “Independence Day: Resurgence” arrives on June 24. Unfortunately, Smith is not returning, but Bill Pullman, Vivica A. Fox and Jeff Goldblum are back in action.
Looking to escape the family madness of the Fourth of July weekend, than “The Legend of Tarzan,” “The Purge: Election Year” and “The BFG” will all vie for Americans hard earned money when they hit theaters on July 1. Just a week later, Zac Efron showcases his comedic chops alongside Adam Devine with the comedy “Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates.”
“When there’s something strange in the neighborhood, who you gonna call?” Um, “Ghostbusters!” The remake for the 1984 classic gets a fresh take, but this time Kristin Wiig, Melissa McCarthy, Kate McKinnon and Leslie Jones will battle ghosts on July 15. More sequel mania arrives on July 22 with “Star Trek Beyond” and “Ice Age: Collision Course” face-off. If horror is your cup of tea, plenty of buzz is building for the thriller “Lights Out” which also arrives on the same day.
Wrapping up the month of the July is the return of Matt Damon in the role that turned him into an action superstar as Jason Bourne in “Jason Bourne.” Yeah, we missed him in the previous outing in the franchise, but he’s back. Mila Kunis will depict her comedic chops with the flick “Bad Moms” arriving on July 29.
To kick-off the month of August, audiences will get more superhero fare with “Suicide Squad” starring Will Smith, Margot Robbie and Jared Leto as the worse of the worse in the villain universe who become heroes on August 5. Michael Keaton could land another Oscar nomination for his performance as Ray Kroc, the man who turned the fast-food chain McDonald’s into a household name with “The Founder.”
August 12 sees the release of a bevy of flicks including “Pete’s Dragon,” “Spectral,” “Florence Foster Jenkins,” “Sausage Party” and “Café Society.” Be careful America, August is known to see the release of many flicks that aren’t considered top-notch for the movie studios.
A week later Jonah Hill and Miles Teller showcase dramatic chops for the true-story “War Dogs.” Doing battle with that movie is the period piece “Ben Hur” starring Morgan Freeman, Jack Huston and Gal Gadot. Closing out the summer movie season at the box-office on August 26 are the films “Max Steel,” “Mechanic: Resurrection” and “Don’t Breathe.”
There are a ton of stars hitting the multiplex in the next four months. Action, comedy, horror, drama, animation and much more are up for viewing. It will be a thrill to watch what flick becomes the sleeper of the summer that audiences can’t get enough of.
