Opening my AMC app today made me very excited because I didn’t have to scroll back and forth to find movie tickets worth purchasing. While there is a part of my that enjoys finding new movies to watch and doing the research that comes along with finding a new movie, story, or director, I also sometimes prefer going to see a ‘certified banger’, as the kids day, and this June is pretty much filled with them.
So far there have already been some good movies this year, with franchise continuations and new ideas both having their time to shine at the theater. As the summer is quickly approaching, the real box office blockbusters will be coming out to drive home the ticket sales for one of the busiest seasons of the year for theaters. June is historically the month where the real ‘certified bangers’ commence, and this year is no different. I literally just got done making ticket reservations for four movies coming out this month, and in my opinion they are the most anticipated film premiers for the next 30 days. I’m genuinely excited for this month of movies, and I felt like I wanted to share my top four films coming out this June:
4) Masters of the Universe – June 5th
Officially dropping in theaters June 5th, early access events start as quickly as tonight (June 3rd), and I for one will be in one of those seats. I’m not a huge fan of Masters of the Universe as a franchise, but the movie just looks good. In Sony’s first big budget release for the summer, He-Man taken on Skeletor in this clearly Thor: Ragnarok inspired space western (I think that’s a good way to describe it?). The film looks like it took heavy inspiration from other big budget franchise films along the same vein, and the arguably most recognizable part of the franchise to the general public, Skeletor, is brought to life in action-figure-turned-live-action CGI by actor Jared Leto. The film looks like a fun way to explore the characters most infamously known from memes for the last ten years, and gives context to the He-Man character across the internet that anyone born after the mid nineties probably has no idea about.
Kicking off the summer with a fun looking film like this is a theatrical tradition these days, and to hold the coveted early June release window means the studio is proud of the film they put forward. Sony has another massive release coming in July on the 31st, Spider-Man Brand New Day and this is the perfectly toned film to get fans ready for the next Marvel/Sony outing. Consider this Sony’s appetizer to the Spider-Man main course. Masters of the Universe first made its theatrical debut in 1987 and bombed hard, leading studios to shelf toy line adaptions for the foreseeable future. Now, nearly 40 years later, Mattel is giving it another go in hopes to make their toy-line the next household name in franchise favorites. The film doesn’t look like a masterpiece, but does look incredibly fun and a great way to kick off the summer.
3) Disclosure Day – June 12th
Currently being hailed as Steven Spielberg’s ‘best film in 20 years’, Disclosure Day has a much different tone then that of the Masters of the Universe film preceding it. I haven’t done too much research on this film and will be going into it somewhat blind, but I have to give them props for their marketing – this one has been on my radar since late last year when the trailer completely captivated me. I am a sucker for a paranormal thriller, and this looks like it will hit all of the notes I’m looking for. All of the early reviews I have been able to find hail the story, the direction, and the top notch performance of Emily Blunt. With many movies as of late going all in on established franchises and over the top CGI, this one seems to pull it back a little while focusing more on the story and performance. And I mean, it’s Steven Spielberg after all.
This is actually the only non-franchise film that I have on this list for June, which I think it a strong ratio. This list follows my 3:1 rule, in that I believe for every four new stories a company or film studio focuses on, three should be based off something already established and one should be something completely brand new. If anyone saw the 2016 Denis Villeneuve hit Arrival, this film gave me the same immediate vibes that I got from that movie, and I thought that film was fantastic. Between the mystery laid as foundation in the trailer, to the A list actors and director attached to the film, to the stellar marketing leading up to its release, this film looks like it will be a winner all the way around. Now, back to the established IPs.
2) Toy Story 5 – June 19th
Following the tradition set by Toy Story 3 and 4, Toy Story 5 will be coming out the third week of June on what just also happens to be my birthday. I am 38 going on 39, so I am quite literally the prime demographic for this film as my generation grew up with all the earlier films in the franchise throughout our lifetime starting all the way back in 1995. Just when fans thought the franchise was done with 2010’s Toy Story 3, Disney and Pixar shocked us all by announcing Toy Story 4 in 2019 in a bold continuation of a franchise that at this point exists simply to exploit nostalgia of our generation now having adult money. And while Toy Story 5 came as a shock to a lot of fans, it was much more expected than the new that Disney was doing the 4th installment. While Toy Story 4 didn’t gain the same overwhelming positive reception that the third film received, it did more than well enough to introduce the toys we all grew up with to a new generation.
The 5th installment will be dealing with something our entire generation is going through as well – getting used to technology taking over pretty much all aspects of life. Woody, Buzz, and the rest of the toys will meet a digital toy for the first time who will act as the films antagonist, the ‘Lilypad’ spoof of the Leapster electronic toys kids grew up with in the 2010’s. This is basically old school toys versus the new generation of electronic devices, and seems to be a little more of a story that fans can stick their teeth into unlike the fourth movies main selling point, a plastic fork with glued on googly eyes. This also is much less nostalgia based like the 4th movie was and has a story that will be able to appeal to different generations with us old school fans appreciating the characters we all grew up with alongside the first real introduction of more modern digital toys to the franchise. The last time Toy Story did anything with digital toys from what I can remember is the Buzz Lightyear video game from Toy Story 2 that Rex plays on Andy’s Super Nintendo. While the next movie is overall the film I am looking most forward to this month, Toy Story 5 is appealing to my childhood in ways I don’t think newer generations will ever quite understand.
1) Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow – June 26th
Okay, so this is a website for Marvel and DC content after all, so it’s pretty much a given this is our most anticipated blockbuster of the month and actually one of the most anticipated for the summer, and dare I say even the entire year? James Gunn’s new DCU is slowly finding its footing and building its foundation for years of films to come with this follow up to last summers Superman reboot starring David Corenswet. While most DC fans anticipated the next hero after Superman to help build the foundation of the new DCU would be someone a little more prominent such as Batman, Wonder Woman, or The Flash, it’s safe to say that Gunn went a different route to help differentiate his narrative from the DCEU narrative crafted by Zack Snyder in the 2010’s. Along with Supergirl, Lanterns will be premiering on HBO Max this summer to celebrate another DC heavy hitter that hasn’t received much love lately, Green Lantern in a ‘same but different’ strategy from the the studio.
Along with Milly Alcock’s Kara Zor-El, the film will also be featuring DCEU alum Jason Momoa as the long time fan requested Lobo. The trailers have heavy Guardians of the Galaxy vibes with Alcock essentially playing what looks like could be a female variant of Chris Pratt’s Star-Lord, drastically differentiating herself from the small town vibes that Melissa Benoist brought the same character on the CW show during the 2010’s. Gunn is establishing what is meant to be a brand new take on charatcers we’ve all seen many times before, so the tone of the film and the characters will be just as important to the foundaton of the new DCU as the overall story itself. With a runtime of under two hours, which is more akin to a Fox/X-Men movie runtime (Deadpool, for example), I think the studio is well aware that this is a bit of a risk, although a small one. The previous DCEU tried to use Woman Woman as the poster female for the universe, and while the first Woman Woman film was a huge winner, the sequel 1984 basically crushed any hope the franchise had to continue with the same positivity. Will Supergirl prove to be the female hero this generation will look up to? For now, it looks like that could very well be the case, but we will know for sure by the end of the month!
Well there you have it, if June is any indication of the kind of quality we will be receiving this summer as movie fans, then we are in for a good few months. Expect this kind of thing on a monthly basis, as we will share with you all what we plan on seeing in the coming weeks in case there is anything out there out readers may have missed themselves!
Are you looking forward to these movies this month? What else would you add to the list? Let us know your thoughts down in the comments on or our Instagram!
