27 biggest movies hitting Florida theaters this summer

Summer is nearly here, which for many of us means going to the beach, dining and drinking along the water, and catching some of the blockbuster summer concert tours visiting our area. Yet for many of us, it also means flocking to air-conditioning and comfy seats and taking in another type of blockbuster: this year's slate of summer movies.

While the box office underperformance of "Shazam! Fury of the Gods" and "Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania" suggests some superhero movie fatigue, there's still plenty for now, with the Guardians of the Galaxy, Spider-Man, The Flash and Blue Beetle among the comic book characters coming to the big screen this summer. Other big-name franchises such as "Fast & Furious," "Indiana Jones" and "Mission: Impossible" will also release their latest entries.

There'll be original films hitting theaters this summer, too, including what looks like a welcome resurgence of the R-rated comedy. Two Oscar-nominated directors are set to release their highly anticipated new movies on the same day. You'll even find some Sunshine State connections, including a comedy starring a Tampa Bay native, a horror film directed by and starring a St. Pete-raised actor, and the latest cinematic adaptation of a famous author and Sarasota County resident's work.

Here are the biggest movies set for wide release this summer, listed in chronological order. Release details are subject to change.

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'Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3' (May 5)

While James Gunn is now co-CEO of DC Studios, he'll work with Marvel Studios at least one more time for this third installment in the superhero/sci-fi action-comedy series he's written and directed all three films in. Star-Lord (Chris Pratt), Gamora (Zoe Saldaña), Drax (Tampa resident Dave Bautista), Nebula (Karen Gillan), Mantis (Pom Klementieff), Rocket (voiced by Bradley Cooper) and Groot (voiced by Vin Diesel) return, joined by new cast members such as Chukwudi Iwuji and Will Poulter.

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'Book Club: The Next Chapter' (May 12)

After co-starring alongside Lily Tomlin, Rita Moreno and Sally Field in "80 for Brady" earlier this year, Jane Fonda reunites with another trio of talented actresses — Diane Keaton, Candice Bergen and Mary Steenburgen — in this sequel to 2018's surprise hit "Book Club." In "The Next Chapter," the four women head to Italy to celebrate the engagement of one of their book club's members.

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'Hypnotic' (May 12)

Ben Affleck stars in this thriller as a detective who becomes entangled in a mystery involving his missing daughter, a secret government program and a string of reality-bending crimes. "Hypnotic" is directed by Robert Rodriguez, whose career has been split between children's movies (including the "Spy Kids" series) and R-rated works such as "El Mariachi," "From Dusk till Dawn," "Sin City" and "Machete," with this film falling into the latter group.

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'Fast X' (May 19)

The blockbuster "Fast & Furious" street racing and action film franchise returns for its tenth installment, with fresh faces including Jason Momoa as the villain Dante and Brie Larson as new ally Tess. They'll join an ever-growing returning cast that includes — deep breath — Vin Diesel, Michelle Rodriguez, Jordana Brewster, Ludacris, Tyrese Gibson, Jason Statham, John Cena, Nathalie Emmanuel, Sung Kang, Charlize Theron and Dame Helen Mirren.

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'About My Father' (May 26)

One of two stand-up comedians' film vehicles set for release the same day, "About My Father" stars Sebastian Maniscalco (once called "the Hottest Comic in America" by the New York Times) as a man invited to a Fourth of July weekend celebration by his girlfriend's parents, with his Italian immigrant father (Robert De Niro) also in tow. This is the first movie starring Maniscalco, who's had supporting roles in films such as "Green Book" and "The Irishman."

'The Little Mermaid' (May 26)

Disney's latest live-action remake is this adaptation of their 1989 animated classic, starring Halle Bailey of R&B sister duo Chloe x Halle as the mermaid princess Ariel and Melissa McCarthy as the villainous sea witch Ursula. Disney's live-action remakes have a lackluster track record thus far, but this one at least has a lead who can sing, and a director who can helm a musical: Rob Marshall, who also directed 2002's Best Picture Oscar-winning "Chicago."

'The Machine' (May 26)

Tampa-raised stand-up comedian Bert Kreischer, who recently had a headlining homecoming show at Amalie Arena, stars in this film inspired by his best-known story: becoming involved with the Russian mafia and robbing a train during a college trip while attending Florida State University. That past comes back to haunt him decades later in this action-comedy, co-starring Mark Hamill as his father.

'The Boogeyman' (June 2)

The latest cinematic adaptation of author and Casey Key resident Stephen King's work is this film based on his 1973 short story of the same name about a terrifying supernatural entity. Rob Savage, who previously made the pandemic Zoom session horror movie "Host," directs, with a script co-written by "A Quiet Place" screenwriters Scott Beck and Bryan Woods, and Shawn Levy of "Stranger Things" fame among the film's producers.

'Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse' (June 2)

The sequel to 2018's animated superhero film "Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse" follows Miles Morales/Spider-Man (voice of Shameik Moore) as he reunites with Gwen Stacy/Spider-Woman (voice of Hailee Steinfeld) and encounters more Spider-People. "Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse" was a pleasant surprise in terms of its quality — deservedly winning the Best Animated Feature Oscar — that this sequel will hopefully match.

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'Strays' (June 9)

In what looks like a R-rated take on "The Incredible Journey," this comedy follows a Border Terrier (voice of Will Ferrell) seeking revenge after being abandoned by his owner (Will Forte), pairing up with other strays including a Boston Terrier (voice of Jamie Foxx), an Australian Shepherd (voice of Isla Fisher) and a Great Dane (voice of Randall Park.) Hey, if nothing else, you'll get to watch a bunch of cute dogs.

'Transformers: Rise of the Beasts' (June 9)

The modern-day cinematic version of the transforming robots return for this new film inspired by the "Transformers: Beast Wars" franchise. "Creed II" filmmaker Steven Caple Jr. directs, after Michael Bay stepped down from the director's chair in the series following 2017's "Transformers: The Last Knight," with "In the Heights" star Anthony Ramos playing the lead human role in this movie.

'Elemental' (June 16)

Pixar's latest animated film takes place in a city where elements live together, and the fire element Ember (voice of Leah Lewis) and water element Wade (voice of Mamoudou Athie) meet and form a relationship. Pixar's track record isn't as surefire as it once was, but its original films still tend to be stronger than its sequels, and hopefully that's the case here.

'The Flash' (June 16)

The titular Justice League member and superhuman speedster gets his own movie, with Michael Keaton also reprising his role as Batman in an alternate universe. "The Flash" has shifted release dates numerous times, during which time star Ezra Miller has been involved in several off-screen scandals, but DC apparently believes strongly in the movie, with James Gunn calling it "probably one of the greatest superhero movies ever made."

'No Hard Feelings' (June 23)

Jennifer Lawrence stars in this R-rated comedy as a woman who answers a Craigslist ad from two parents looking for someone to date their socially awkward son. "No Hard Feelings" is directed and co-written by Gene Stupnitsky, whose previous film was 2019's pretty funny "Good Boys," and it's nice to see an A-lister like Lawrence getting behind an R-rated comedy, at either rate.

'Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny' (June 30)

The 80-year-old Harrison Ford returns for supposedly the final time as whip-cracking adventurer Indiana Jones, joined by Phoebe Waller-Bridge as his goddaughter and Mads Mikkelsen as his new adversary. This will be the first "Indiana Jones" film not directed by Steven Spielberg, who serves as an executive producer, with James Mangold ("Logan," "Ford v Ferrari") moving into the director's chair.

'Insidious: The Red Door' (July 7)

The St. Pete-raised Patrick Wilson and Rose Byrne reprise their roles as Josh and Renai Lambert for the latest film in this horror franchise, as their son (Ty Simpkins) heads to college, only for repressed demons of the past to return. Wilson directs along with starring in the film, in what will be his directorial debut.

'Joy Ride' (July 7)

Ashley Park, Sherry Cola, Sabrina Wu and recent "Everything Everywhere All at Once" Oscar nominee Stephanie Hsu star in this R-rated comedy as four Asian-American women who travel through Asia to find one of their birth mothers. "Joy Ride" premiered earlier this year at South by Southwest, where it received highly positive reviews.

'Mission: Impossible — Dead Reckoning Part One' (July 14)

Tom Cruise returns as Ethan Hunt for the latest film in the action series, with other returning cast members including Rebecca Ferguson, Ving Rhames, Simon Pegg and Vanessa Kirby joined by new faces such as Hayley Atwell and Esai Morales. "Mission: Impossible" has become one of the most reliable franchises in Hollywood thanks in large part to Cruise's mind-boggling stunts, and judging by the ride off a cliff on a motorcycle that caps off the trailer, this entry should be no different.

'Barbie' (July 21)

A movie based on a toy line normally wouldn't be cause for excitement, but then, they're not normally directed by filmmakers like Greta Gerwig, the Oscar-nominated writer-director behind "Lady Bird" and "Little Women." Gerwig co-wrote the film with her partner and fellow Oscar-nominated writer-director Noah Baumbach, with an ensemble cast including Margot Robbie as Barbie and Ryan Gosling as Ken.

'Oppenheimer' (July 21)

After working together on movies such as "Batman Begins," "Inception" and "Dunkirk," director Christopher Nolan and actor Cillian Murphy reunite for this film about the "father of the atomic bomb" J. Robert Oppenheimer, with Murphy playing the title role in a cast that also includes Emily Blunt, Matt Damon and Robert Downey Jr. A biopic of a scientist might sound uncharacteristically small for Nolan but, shot on IMAX cameras with a supposed three-hour running length, "Oppenheimer" will likely be as grand-scale as his other films.

'Haunted Mansion' (July 28)

After a poorly received 2003 movie starring Eddie Murphy, Disney tries again at bringing its Haunted Mansion theme park ride to the big screen, with Rosario Dawson, Owen Wilson, LaKeith Stanfield, Tiffany Haddish and Danny DeVito starring in this new version. The film has a low bar to clear to best its predecessor, and it does have an interesting director: Justin Simien, who previously directed the Sundance films "Dear White People" and "Bad Hair."

'Talk to Me' (July 28)

Danny and Michael Philippou, the brother filmmakers behind the popular YouTube channel RackaRacka, direct this horror movie about a teen who takes part in a séance with an embalmed hand, which unleashes supernatural forces. A24 bought the movie at this year's Sundance Film Festival in a deal reportedly in the high seven figures, so it seems they think it could be a crossover horror hit like "Hereditary," the studio's highest-grossing film until this year's Best Picture Oscar winner "Everything Everywhere All at Once."

'Meg 2: The Trench' (Aug. 4)

Ever since "Jaws" kicked off the blockbuster blend, it never truly feels like the summer movie season without a shark flick, and this year we have the follow-up to 2018's Jason Statham-vs.-megalodon showdown "The Meg." The most intriguing part of this sequel is its director Ben Wheatley, who up until now has been best known for British horror and crime films including "Kill List" and "Free Fire."

'Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem' (Aug. 4)

The franchise centering on the titular characters that's already been made into multiple live-action and animated films gets its latest iteration, this one falling into the latter category. It also features the involvement of Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg, stepping outside their usual R-rated lane, with Rogen also part of the voice cast along with "Neighbors" co-star Rose Byrne, John Cena, Jackie Chan, Ice Cube, Post Malone, Paul Rudd and Maya Rudolph.

'Gran Turismo' (Aug. 11)

This film is based on the true story of Jann Mardenborough (portrayed in the movie by Archie Madekwe), who went from playing the racing video game "Gran Turismo" to becoming a professional race car driver. It's an interesting variation on the standard video game movie, with a cast that also includes David Harbour and Orlando Bloom, a script by Oscar nominees Zach Baylin and Jason Hall, and "District 9" filmmaker Neill Blomkamp directing.

'The Last Voyage of the Demeter' (Aug. 11)

There's been no shortage of "Dracula" movie adaptations over the years — the horror-comedy "Renfield," starring Nicolas Cage as the Prince of Darkness, just came out this month — but this one takes an unique angle by adapting a single section of Bram Stoker's novel, the captain's log. André Øvredal, whose previous films include 2019's fellow August horror release "Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark," directs.

'Blue Beetle' (Aug. 18)

The titular DC superhero gets his own movie, as youngster Jaime Reyes (Xolo Maridueña) becomes Blue Beetle after discovering an alien biotechnological relic that gives him powerful exoskeleton armor. Initially intended to debut directly onto the streaming service HBO Max like the now-indefinitely shelved "Batgirl," "Blue Beetle" was instead given a full theatrical release, a move that hopefully speaks to the film's quality.

Email entertainment reporter Jimmy Geurts at jimmy.geurts@heraldtribune.com. Support local journalism by subscribing

This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: 27 biggest movies hitting Florida theaters this summer