10 new Hollywood movies to watch in summer 2024, from Trap to Borderlands to Inside Out 2

Reasons for this vary, from a growing audience preference for streaming services to escalating ticket prices to simply a lack of interest in the films on offer.

Notably, Soi Cheang Pou-soi’s Twilight of the Warriors: Walled In has just crossed the HK$100 million (US$12.8 million) mark in Hong Kong, where it has topped the box office charts for seven straight weeks, proving that film-goers are still willing to turn out for the right film.
A patron buys a ticket beneath a marquee promoting the films Barbie and Oppenheimer in Los Angeles in 2023. For every “Barbenheimer” success story, there has been a film that has failed to meet its projected return. Photo: AP

Casting an eye over this summer’s crop of potential crowd-pleasers, it is more difficult than ever to predict which ones will strike a chord with audiences, and which may fall on deaf ears.

It is with no small degree of trepidation, therefore, that we look forward to 10 coming tentpole releases that have the best chance of scoring big at the box office (opening dates are for Hong Kong).

1. Despicable Me 4

One of the surest bets this summer is the sixth outing for those irrepressible yellow tykes, the minions, whose big-screen outings to date – in two stand-alone adventures and three previous Despicable Me entries – have earned more than US$4.5 billion worldwide.

Steve Carell once again lends his voice to master criminal Gru, who is put into witness protection – together with his wife (Kristen Wiig), three adopted children, a newborn baby and his personal army of diminutive underlings – after a vengeful rival (voiced by Will Ferrell) escapes from prison. (Opens on June 29)

2. Inside Out 2

Following a string of underperforming original titles, Pixar heads back to the well for a sequel to its commercially and critically acclaimed 2015 film Inside Out.

Focusing once more on the anthropomorphised emotions of a young girl named Riley, part two sees the gang of five core feelings – Joy, Sadness, Fear, Anger and Disgust – competing for head space with a whole clutch of brand new emotions as Riley hits puberty and prepares to start high school.

Maya Hawke and Ayo Edebiri are among the notable voice cast additions. (Opens on July 11)

3. Twisters

Lee Isaac Chung, the Oscar-nominated director of 2020’s Minari, makes the unlikely segue from indie darling into effects-heavy blockbuster territory, taking the reins of this belated sequel to the 1996 hit written by Michael Crichton.

Man of the moment Glen Powell (Anyone But You) and Daisy Edgar-Jones – rumoured to be playing the daughter of Bill Paxton and Helen Hunt’s characters from the first film – take centre stage as a pair of rival storm chasers who are forced to work together when faced with the ultimate tornado. (Opens on July 17)

4. Deadpool & Wolverine

There is every reason to suspect that this long-teased team-up between Ryan Reynolds’ “merc with a mouth” and Hugh Jackman’s adamantine-clawed mutant superhero could be the biggest hit of the summer, and boy does Marvel hope so.

The Marvel Cinematic Universe is in desperate need of course correction following a string of woefully misjudged offerings that have wildly underperformed.

The opportunity to finally bring two of their hottest heroes into the franchise proper – one suspects by employing multiverse logic – might just save their day. (Opens on July 24)

5. Borderlands

Adapted from the video-game franchise, but clearly taking its cues from Guardians of the Galaxy and Suicide Squad, Borderlands is yet another star-studded, action-packed science fiction action comedy.
Eli Roth directs Cate Blanchett, Kevin Hart, Jamie Lee Curtis and Barbie’s Ariana Greenblatt as a gang of mercenaries on a deadly mission in the armpit of the universe, but the film has its work cut out to offer something new in an increasingly crowded genre. (Opens on August 8)

6. Trap

Director M. Night Shyamalan unveils his second film of the year after producing his daughter Ishana’s directorial debut, The Watchers.

In Trap, Josh Hartnett stars as a notorious serial killer known as The Butcher who, on a rare day off, takes his teenage daughter (Ariel Donoghue) to a pop concert, where he discovers that the entire event is an elaborate ruse designed to catch him.

Shyamalan’s eldest daughter, Saleka, plays pop star Lady Raven, and provides the original Bollywood-infused musical numbers that accompany the unfolding mayhem. (Opens on August 8)

7. Alien: Romulus

The beloved science fiction franchise appears to be returning to its horror roots, with Uruguayan filmmaker Fede Álvarez, director of Evil Dead and Don’t Breathe, at the helm.

Set between the events of the first two films, this new story focuses on a team of young colonists who make a terrifying discovery while exploring a derelict space station.

Cailee Spaeny (Civil War) headlines the fresh-faced cast, alongside David Jonsson (Rye Lane), Archie Renaux (Upgraded) and Isabela Merced (Madame Web). (Opens on August 15)

8. Blink Twice

The Batman actress Zoë Kravitz makes her directorial debut with this erotically charged thriller.
Naomi Ackie (I Wanna Dance With Somebody) stars as a cocktail waitress who is invited by Channing Tatum’s tech mogul to join him on his private island, where things quickly spiral out of control.

Kravitz, who also co-wrote the screenplay with E.T. Feigenbaum, has assembled a stellar ensemble cast that includes Christian Slater, Geena Davis, Kyle MacLachlan and Adria Arjona. (Opens on August 22)

9. They Listen

As of now, absolutely nothing is known about the plot of Chris Weitz’s coming horror movie, but that does not mean there is nothing to be excited about.

Meanwhile, the enticing cast includes John Cho, Havana Rose Liu, Katherine Waterston and David Dastmalchian. Put that all together, and They Listen starts to sound like a pretty intriguing prospect. (Opens on August 29)

10. The Crow

Alex Proyas’ 1994 film will be forever shrouded in a tragic mystique because of the untimely death of its star Brandon Lee, son of Hong Kong legend Bruce Lee, following an on-set firearm accident.

In the years since, The Crow has developed a passionate cult following, and those fans were united in their displeasure at the news of a coming remake.

The casting of Bill Skarsgard as the supernatural superhero is a genuinely intriguing proposition, but director Rupert Sanders is decidedly less so.

Lest we forget, his last film, the live-action Ghost in the Shell adaptation starring Scarlett Johansson, managed to upset pretty much everybody. (Opens on August 29)
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