Spider-Man, Star Wars, The Odyssey, Toy Story 5 and more: The upcoming blockbusters you’ll be lining up for

There are distinct blocks in a calendar year when it comes to new movies, and it is largely dictated by the Americans, who, of course, make the bulk of the English-language films we see.

Those months around the end and start of the year is when awards season comes alive, so that’s when you’ll get a lot of “worthy” dramas and prestige screen projects from auteur filmmakers gunning for that Oscar. This kicks off from about early September, when the run of film festivals (Venice, Telluride, NYC and Toronto) start.

Those movies are also up against releases timed to the American holiday season of Thanksgiving and Christmas – prime moviegoing times because US workers have no federal rights to annual leave (the greatest nation on Earth, right?) – so that’s why there are always a handful of really big titles then.

If an American movie gets “dumped” in the dead zone of March, unless it’s a kids movie designed for school breaks or Easter, or a horror flick, then you know the studio doesn’t have a lot of confidence in it – just ask Maggie Gyllenhaal’s The Bride.

But if you love a blockbuster, you know, those popcorn movies with big stars or a big budget, often both, then the months of May to September is your jam. That’s the northern hemisphere summer, and it is all about spectacle and entertainment.

Jaws is widely considered to be the first modern summer blockbuster (the term comes from queues stretching around the block), and set the template for significant studio releases hoping to attract a broad audience.

With Jaws, studios realised they could recoup massive returns on movies that emphasised thrills and appealed across demographic segments, and that summer was exactly when audiences, trying to escape the heat in an airconditioned multiplex, was primed to receive them.

Today, you might hear the term “four-quadrant”, which is a movie that’s supposed to attract everyone from eight to 108. These movies are generally inoffensive, uncontroversial and might be the fourth or 14th instalment in a franchise.

There are still original films during these five months – Christopher Nolan almost always premieres his films in mid-July – but, for the most part, it’s about familiarity such as a Moana remake and the seventh Minions movie.

This year, the blockbuster season started with The Devil Wears Prada 2, which kicked off with make massive box office grosses, so the industry is feeling buoyed and hopeful that audiences might turn up for even more films.

Australians might be starting to rug up, pulling out those woolly jumpers and coats, but we are beholden to the US release schedule, so their summer blockbuster is our winter event movie.

Below is a taste of the bigger releases coming our way over this blockbuster season but, as always, this is not everything. There are always interesting indies and smaller films premiering every week but for tune-out, popcorn flicks, behold.

MANDALORIAN AND GROGU

May 21

It’s been pretty clear from the promotional campaign for this Star Wars movie what the producers think its biggest asset is: Baby Yoda aka Grogu.

The little green puppet has been front and centre of every interview and social media video as if it was its own entity. Director Jon Favreau even mentioned that on set, he’ll direct the puppet and not the puppeteer. Which is weird but adorable. Yeah, OK, that marketing strategy is totally working.

The big screen spin-off/sequel of the Disney streaming series is the first Star Wars movie since 2019, and it’s hard to beat the combined charm of Baby Yoda and Pedro Pascal.

POWER BALLAD

May 28

OK, so this is really on the cusp of whether it could qualify as a popcorn movie given it probably had zero special effects, but Power Ballad is a crowd-pleaser with a headliner that everyone loves, Paul Rudd.

There’s the bonus factor of Nick Jonas, and the filmmaker, John Carney, is a known quantity when it comes to heartwarming, music-forward stories (Once, Sing Street, Flora and Son).

Largely set in Dublin, Rudd plays Rick Power, a former muso who now fronts a wedding band. Still hung up on what could’ve been, he unexpectedly ends up in a jam session with a boy band member, Danny, trying to launch a solo career. When Danny releases a global hit song, Rick realises how familiar it is.

MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE

June 4

Somewhere out there are a bunch of Gen X and geriatric Gen Y dudes who are at least curious about this journey back to their childhood. Nostalgia and Idris Elba are what Masters of the Universe has going for it.

Perhaps that’s being a little unfair and there’s a huge demand for a Masters of the Universe reboot. It’s not as if those live action Transformers movies made any commercial sense until they arrived, and the director here, Travis McKnight, made of the better ones in that franchise (Bumblebee). McKnight also directed Kubo and the Two Strings, which is actually great.

Prince Adam/He-Man (Nicholas Galitzine, properly swole) has been separated from the Sword of Power for 15 years, but once they are reunited, he returns to his home only to find it a shadow of its former self thanks to the rule of the villainous Skeletor. It also stars Camila Mendes, Jared Leto and Alison Brie.

SCARY MOVIE

June 4

It’s not officially in the title but this is Scary Movie 6, but given that one of its most significant sources of inspiration is Scream, which had revived itself in 2022 as Scream rather than, technically, Scream 5, this tracks. Those scamps.

The Wayan brothers are back for the first time since Scary Movie 2, joining OG stars Anna Faris, Regina Hall, Cheri Oteri, Dave Sheridan, Lochlyn Munro and John Abrahams for a fresh round of spoofy shenanigans.

It’s been 13 years since the most recent Scary Movie and in that time, there are so many new horror and genre-adjacent films to riff off, and the trailer has already teased nods to Weapons, Smile, Heart Eyes, Sinners, Get Out, Longlegs, Terrifier, Wednesday and Everything Everywhere All At Once.

DISCLOSURE DAY

June 11

An acquaintance (not a friend, it must be noted) once insisted that Steven Spielberg was definitely Scientologist because he made so many movies about aliens. Now, this person (again, not a friend) is known for coming out with some corkers, but it is interesting that this erroneous association exists.

There’s only been three previous alien movies (four if you count Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, but that film shouldn’t count on any list anywhere), but, still, if you want a high-end extra-terrestrial thriller, you want Spielberg.

With a cast which includes Josh O’Connor, Emily Blunt, Colin Firth, Colman Domingo and Eve Hewson, it’s so far light on plot details, but it seems to be a story about the chaotic aftermath of the revelation that there is alien intelligent life.

TOY STORY 5

June 18

If time moved concurrently in the world of Toy Story, then Andy would be in his mid-30s by now with tykes of his own (or not, because, you know, declining birth rates in the global north). Do you feel old yet?

Excuse the age-panic diversion, that’s not actually what Toy Story 5 is about, nor does the movies’ timeline match with ours. This sequel centred on Bonnie, who inherited Andy’s toys in the third movie, is now eight years old.

Like humans and AI, the anthropomorphic toys are also facing an existential crisis when Bonnie becomes obsessed with a new iPad-like device called Lilypad. It’s old-school fun versus tech – perhaps not the escapist tale you were hoping it would be.

MINIONS & MONSTERS

June 25

You have to hand it to Pierre Coffin and Illumination for creating these little yellow, pill-shaped, banana-loving chaos agents. When they debuted as a supporting hoard in the first Despicable Me movie, who knew they would take over the world – metaphorically and narratively.

This is the third spin-off/side-quest for the Minions, and it’s set in the pre-Gru era, specifically the 1920s at the dawn of Hollywood.

The Minions have written a monster movie but they’ve hit a snag, and need to source their own antagonist. So, as you do, they start to raise them from the depths of (maybe) hell. Good plan. What could go wrong?

SUPERGIRL: WOMAN OF TOMORROW

June 25

Supergirl may be a massive studio release and part of a gargantuan entertainment franchise, but it has two Australian connections: Sydneysider Milly Alcock, who plays the caped hero, and director Craig Gillespie.

The second feature from James Gunn’s reboot of the DC film universe, it follows from last year’s Superman, in which Supergirl/Kara Zor-El had a pop-in cameo at the end.

In this film, Kara is about to celebrate her birthday but her only real friend is her dog, Krypto (gah, so cute). But when Krypto is dognapped (rude!) by a space pirate gang, Supergirl is out to save her furry companion, meeting along the way, a young girl bent on revenge.

If Krypto dies, we’re checking out of this iteration of DC. Fact.

MOANA

July 9

Too soon, yes? We’ll see.

The original Moana animated feature was released in 2016 and in recent living memory for even the youngest of Disney fans – especially as the movie is consistently one of the most rewatched on the streaming platform.

That’s the kind of statistic that makes studio executives salivate, thinking about that already invested potential audience turned ticket buyer. Plus, all the new merch they’ll get to sling.

Dwayne Johnson will convert his voice role as demi-god Maui into the live action version, while Australian Catherine Laga’aia will embody the adventurous daughter of a village chief who goes on a mission to restore the health of her island.

THE ODYSSEY

July 16

Homer’s Odyssey wasn’t the first ever epic but at 2800 years, it was one of the originals, and there’s a reason why it’s endured for so long. So much drama.

With Matt Damon in the title role as Odysseus, the King of Ithaca who spends a decade trying to get home after the Trojan War, along with the likes of Charlize Theron, Anne Hathaway, Zendaya, Tom Holland and Robert Pattinson, The Odyssey is this year’s thinking man’s blockbuster.

Writer-director Christopher Nolan’s cachet went up even further after Oppenheimer, so all eyes are on his follow-up.

SPIDER-MAN: BRAND NEW DAY

July 30

Its predecessor, Spider-Man: No Way Home, was one of the few commercial bright spots in the post-Covid Hollywood output era, so there are lots of expectations for this fourth instalment to be if not the highest grossing movie of this season, then at least in the top three.

Tom Holland is back as Peter Parker/Spider-Man but he’s the only who knows about his pulling double-duty because of some magical shenanigans that made everyone forget him, including is bestie Ned and is best girl MJ.

Now, it’s four years later and his powers are evolving in unpredictable ways. Peter calls on a familiar face – Bruce Banner – while semi-creeping on his former buddies.

SUPER TROOPERS 3

August 3

Maybe you haven’t thought about Super Troopers since 2001 but obviously there are enough people who ponder it as much as some men (allegedly) think about the Roman Empire, because here we are. Number three. Did you know there had been a second Super Troopers in 2018? News to most.

It’s high stakes for the Super Troopers gang – a lavish wedding to save, a drug ring to bust and just general saving-the-day heroics.

Written by the Broken Lizard comedy troupe and directed by Jay Chandrasekhar, who also stars, the cast includes original players Kevin Heffernan, Paul Soter, Steve Lemme and Erik Stolhanske.

THE END OF OAK STREET

August 13

David Robert Mitchell directed It Follows and Under the Silver Lake, so this is a guy who knows his way around dread. And there are few things more dread-inducing than discovering that your entire suburban street has been uprooted and cosmically transported somewhere else. Somewhere with dinosaurs. Jeepers.

The film has star power behind it with Ewan McGregor and Anne Hathaway (one of her five films this year), and producer J.J. Abrams. There’s no new Jurassic movie this year, so this will fill that prehistoric quotient.

THE DOG STARS

August 27

It’s been almost a decade since Ridley Scott has made a great film but given his iconic slate of earlier years, you always hope for the best. Maybe Dog Stars will be that return to form.

Adapted from the book by Peter Heller, it tells the story of Hig, a pilot who links up with Bangley, a former military man after the world (as we know it) ends, wiped out from a devastating pandemic (oh dear). It’s a portrait of living, in search of a purpose beyond survival.

The cast includes Jacob Elordi, Josh Brolin, Margaret Qualley, Guy Pearce, Allison Janney and Benedict Wong.

CLIFFHANGER

August 27

Before John Lithgow comes over all wizened and warm as Professor Dumbledore in the rebooted Harry Potter series, let’s take a moment to remember his incredible range of roles, which includes the villainous sociopath in the 1993 Sylvester Stallone action picture Cliffhanger.

Thirty-three years is a long time before a reboot, but it was never going to be forever. This doesn’t seem to be a like-for-like remake but the broad strokes a similar – big mountains, sheer cliffs, good guys and bad guys, life and death. Expect lots of suspenseful sequences hanging loose.

This version stars Lily James and Pierce Brosnan as a daughter and father who are caught up in some kidnapping scheme during a billionaire’s weekend holiday.

HOW TO ROB A BANK

September 3

Action. Yes. Comedy. Yes. Action-comedy. Double the fun! Especially when the person at the helm is David Leitch, the stuntman turned director who’s choreographed and shot some of the most memorable set-pieces in recent memory. John Wick, anyone? How about Atomic Blonde.

Here, Leitch teams up with actors Nicholas Hoult, Anna Sawai, Pete Davidson, Zoe Kravitz, John C. Reilly, Christian Slater and Rhenzy Feliz for a heist adventure. We love movie heists! As long as it’s clever.

Maybe this gang of bank robbers is a little too clever, or at least think they are since they keep posting their Robin Hood exploits on social media. Surely, they’re begging to be caught.

SENSE & SENSIBILITY

September 10

This 2026 version of Sense and Sensibility happens to be coming out around the same time as a new streaming iteration of Pride and Prejudice, what a time to be an Austen-head around September this year.

We’re keeping an open mind because even though it’s going to be really difficult to momentarily set aside Emma Thompson and Ang Lee’s 1995 adaption, which is a perfect film, we must try to judge this on its own merits.

Daisy Edgar-Jones will be the sensible Elinor with Esme Creed-Miles as the passionate Marianne while George McKay dons Edward’s riding breeches with Frank Dillane as Willoughby and Herbert Nordrum as Brandon. Young Australian novelist Diana Reid wrote the screenplay.

PRACTICAL MAGIC 2

September 17

Guys, if you’re looking for Aidan Quinn to show up in the sequel to Practical Magic, given he and Sandra Bullock were about to start their happily ever after, don’t. He ain’t in it, and you know what that means – the Owens family curse has not been broken. RIP Gary from Tucson (that’s Quinn, if we’ve lost you).

This 25 years later sequel (although it’s technically been 28 rotations around the sun) brings Nicole Kidman and Bullock back together as the Owens sisters, along with their onscreen aunts, Stockard Channing and Dianne Wiest, and everything is still a little bit witchy.

In this story, the origins of their family is discovered, which brings on a new crisis that will affect three generations of Owens women. It also features Joey King, Maisie Williams and Lee Pace.

COYOTE VS ACME

September 17

This was the movie that was and then wasn’t and then was again. To backtrack, Warner Bros, which holds the rights to Looney Tunes, commissioned and made Coyote vs. Acme, and then after the Discovery folks came in following a merger, the movie was shelves in favour of a tax write-down.

That’s real cartoon evil corporation stuff. After a couple of years, with that tax write-off firmly in pocket, Warners agreed to sell the movie to an independent distributor who is now releasing it.

Keep that David vs Goliath dynamic in mind when you watch this animated/live-action hybrid about Wile E. Coyote and a small-time lawyer who decides to sue Acme Corporation for liability over its dangerous products. It promises wild antics, physical comedy and lots of things blowing up.