While it may not hit the heights of “Barbenheimer,” summer movie season 2025 promises to be a big one. Officially, it all kicks off Memorial Day weekend with Tom Cruise in the final chapter of Mission Impossible. Unofficially, it has already started. That was on the April 4 release of Minecraft and its $1 billion in worldwide ticket sales anticipated before the end of its theatrical run. That notwithstanding, there will be a lot of movies to see between now and Labor Day.
Here are the ones we’re most looking forward to, first through the end of June and then click through at the story’s bottom to read through the end of August.
MAY 23: MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE – FINAL RECKONING
Ethan Hunt’s final mission? Doubtful. Big screen thrills from Tom Cruise & Co? Guaranteed… A sequel to 2023’s MI: Dead Reckoning, MI:8 pits Cruise against a global threat unleashed by renegade AI technology. With a reported budget north of $400M, it would rank amongst the most expensive movies ever made.
Also Opening: A live action Lilo & Stitch, featuring Maia Kealoha as Lilo and Chris Sanders returning as the voice of Stitch; Guy Ritchie’s adventure yarn, Fountain of Youth, with John Krasinski and Natalie Portman, will (sadly) bypass cinemas and premiere on Apple TV+.
MAY 30: THE PHOENICIAN SCHEME
Wes Anderson’s twelfth feature opens in the US May 30, following its Cannes premiere. Topping my personal summer must-see list, the absurdist ensemble comedy centers on Benicio Del Toro as hardboiled businessman Zsa-Zsa Korda, a “maverick in the fields of armaments and aviation,” and his daughter, Liesla (Mia Threapleton), a knife-wielding, nun. The cast includes Michael Cera, Riz Ahmed, Tom Hanks, Bryan Cranston, Jeffrey Wright, Scarlett Johansson and Benedict Cumberbatch.
Also Opening: Bring Her Back, a pitch-black horror flick starring British two-time Oscar nominee, Sally Hawkins, and a Karate Kid sequel featuring the legendary Jackie Chan.
JUNE 6: BALLERINA
Checking into The Continental: Ana de Armas as the eponymous assassin in training in this John Wick spinoff. Expect maximum action, minimum dialogue, and a cast brimming with franchise favorites (the action takes place in-between the previous two JW installments), including Keanu Reeves, himself.
Also Opening: The Life of Chuck, a triptych looking at the life of its protagonist in reverse. The audience award winner from last year’s Toronto Film Festival, Chuck stars Tom Hiddleston in an adaptation of a Stephen King short story.
JUNE 13: MATERIALISTS
A rom-com flying the A24 banner from Past Lives director, Celine Song, the highly anticipated film follows the plight of Dakota Johnson’s NYC matchmaker, a woman torn between the new man in her life (Pedro Pascal) and her ex (Chris Evans). Ah, decisions, decisions…
Also Opening: How to Train Your Dragon, a live-action, IMAX-friendly remake from Universal.
JUNE 20: 28 YEARS LATER
The third film in the franchise, 28 Years Later reunites director, Danny Boyle, writer, Alex Garland, cinematographer, Anthony Dod Mantle, and features Ralph Fiennes. Set some three decades after Boyle’s iconic zombies first ran amuck, it’s also the first of a new three part trilogy. Back by popular demand, you ask? The infectious trailer, cut to a vintage recording Rudyard Kipling’s “Boots” had 10 million views in its first 48 hours.
Also Opening: Elio, Pixar’s 29th animated feature, the story of a little boy with big dreams of being abducted by aliens.
JUNE 27: F1
Director Joseph Kosinski’s (Top Gun: Maverick) Formula One thrill ride promises to put audiences in the hot seat. Here, Brad Pitt plays veteran driver, Sonny Hayes, coaxed out of retirement to coach rising star, Noah Pearce (Damson Idris), with the duo reportedly driving not just the action, but the cars themselves.
Also Opening: This year’s Sundance standout,Sorry, Baby, from acclaimed first time writer-director Eva Victor (who also stars), about the aftermath of a victim of sexual assault.
Steven Goldman is a member of the Critics Choice Association.