July movie releases: ‘Superman,’ ‘Jurassic World Rebirth’ and more

FILE PHOTO (AP Photo)

LOS ANGELES – Hollywood is pulling out the stops this summer movie season, with big studio releases like Marvel’s “Thunderbolt,” “Lilo & Stitch,” “Mission: Impossible 8″ and a new Wes Anderson film.

June heated up with race cars in “F1,” adventure in “How to Train Your Dragon,” zombies in “28 Years Later” and a New York love triangle with Dakota Johnson’s matchmaker in the middle in “Materialists.”

July is supercharged with “Jurassic World Rebirth,” “Superman” and “Fantastic Four: The First Steps.” And August closes out the season with comedies, big (“The Naked Gun”) and dark (“The Roses”), horror (“Weapons”) and a lighthearted body-swap (“Freakier Friday”).

Here are this month’s releases, pulled from The Associated Press’ summer movie guide, to help make sense of the many options in theaters and at home.

July movie releases

July 2

This image released by Universal Pictures and Amblin Entertainment shows Luna Blaise in a scene from ” Jurassic World: Rebirth.” (Jasin Boland/Universal Pictures and Amblin Entertainment via AP)

“Jurassic World Rebirth” (Universal, theaters): Filmmaker Gareth Edwards (a “Jurassic Park” superfan and the director of “The Creator”) is ushering in a new era of “Jurassic” movies and harkening back to the Steven Spielberg originals in this film with Scarlett Johansson, Mahershala Ali and Jonathan Bailey.

Much about the film is being kept top secret, but Edwards said David Koepp’s script read like a love letter to Spielberg’s early work. “It’s basically a mission story where these military types go to this island to get this DNA, then there’s a twist,” Edwards said. “This family ends up involved and it becomes a story of survival. It’s like one giant roller coaster ride and once it gets going, it sort of doesn’t stop.”

“The Old Guard 2” (Netflix, streaming): Charlize Theron is back with her immortal team for a new mission. KiKi Layne, Matthias Schoenaerts, Marwan Kenzari and Luca Marinelli also reprise their roles.

This image released by Prime shows Priyanka Chopra Jonas in a scene from “Heads of State.” (Chiabella James/Prime via AP)

“Heads of State” (Prime Video, streaming): Heads of state get a glow up in this action comedy, in which Idris Elba plays the British prime minister and John Cena is the US president who are forced to work together (along with Priyanka Chopra Jonas’ MI6 agent) to defeat a foreign adversary.

“40 Acres” (Magnolia, theaters): Danielle Deadwyler and Michael Greyeyes lead this post-apocalyptic thriller about a plague that has caused worldwide famine.

July 10

“Brick” (Netflix, streaming): In this German horror, a couple wakes up to find they’re trapped in their apartment.

July 11

“Superman” (Warner Bros., theaters): James Gunn is ushering in a new era of Superman, with a fresh face in David Corenswet and the promise that he’s a different Superman than what audiences have seen before. Gunn told the AP that this is “a Superman that’s both more grounded in his own personality and his relationship, which is much more complex than has been in the past.

And then also the big magic world of Superman being in the world of the DCU with flying dogs and robots and giant monsters.” There’s romance with Rachel Brosnahan’s Lois Lane, and a “pretty scary” Lex Luthor in Nicholas Hoult. “He’s actually going to kill (Superman),” Gunn said. “And that’s cool to see.”

“Don’t Let’s Go to the Dogs Tonight ” (Sony Pictures Classics, theaters): Actor Embeth Davidtz directs and stars in this critically acclaimed adaptation of Alexandra Fuller’s bestselling memoir of growing up on a farm in the former Rhodesia before and after the 1980 election, as the colonial system crumbles. The story is told through the eyes of 8-year-old Bobo (Lexi Venter).

“Tyler Perry’s Destination Wedding” (Netflix, streaming): Madea goes to the Bahamas.

“Skillhouse” (Fathom, theaters): 50 Cent stars in this horror about influencers who are lured into a “content house” and forced to compete in deadly challenges.

July 18

“I Know What You Did Last Summer” (Sony Pictures, theaters): Jennifer Love Hewitt and Freddie Prinze Jr. reprise their roles from the 1997 slasher in this new installment featuring an eerily similar situation and a cast of pretty young up-and-comers including Madelyn Cline, Chase Sui Wonders, Jonah Hauer-King and Tyriq Withers.

“Smurfs” (Paramount, theaters): Rihanna produced and stars as Smurfette in this new musical adventure. “There’s a purity to the Smurfs mythos,” said Nick Offerman, who voices Papa Smurf’s brother Ken. “That, I think, is what makes their appeal so timeless. They’re a benevolent group of wee blue villagers who, you know, want to love one another and lead productive lives while fending off the world’s forces of evil, usually represented by the machinations of some wizards out for ill gotten gains.”

“Eddington” (A24, theaters): Ari Aster re-teams with Joaquin Phoenix for this film about a standoff between a small-town sheriff and a mayor in the early months of the COVID-19 lockdowns. Pedro Pascal, Emma Stone and Austin Butler also star.

“Unicorns” (Cohen Media Group, theaters): A young, single father from Essex (Ben Hardy) is disarmed when he falls for a drag queen.

July 25

“The Fantastic Four: First Steps” (Disney, theaters): Pedro Pascal, Vanessa Kirby, Joseph Quinn and Ebon Moss-Bachrach unite to play “Marvel’s first family” in this retro-futuristic world set in 1960s New York. Director Matt Shakman (“WandaVision,” “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia”) said they are the only superheroes in their world and are the leading lights of their age. While the scale and world building were on another level, Shakman said, “it’s also no different from all of the great comedies and dramas that I’ve done — in the end, it comes down to character, to relationships and to heart and humor.”

“Happy Gilmore 2” (Netflix, streaming): Adam Sandler returns to the green (and one of his most beloved roles) after almost 30 years, along with Shooter McGavin (Christopher McDonald), Hal (Ben Stiller), Virginia (Julie Bowen) and Doug (Dennis Dugan) and an army of newcomers, including some Gilmore offspring. “The first one is so iconic, we all kind of knew the world that we were stepping into,” said Conor Sherry, who plays one of his sons. “We were like the newest additions to a long, long, long family.”

“Oh, Hi!” (Sony Pictures Classics, theaters): Molly Gordon and Logan Lerman lead this dark romantic comedy about a married couple’s first romantic weekend getaway.

“Diciannove” (Oscilloscope, theaters): Luca Guadagnino produced this coming-of-age film about a 19-year-old’s journey of self-discovery.

July 30

“Together” (Neon, theaters): Real life couple Dave Franco and Alison Brie play a frighteningly codependent couple in this inventive body horror that had Sundance crowds raving.