I neglect who stated it first (possibly it was Thomas Edison?) but it surely actually is true: We come to the flicks for magic. We want that, all of us, that indescribable feeling we get when the lights start to dim and we go someplace we’ve by no means been earlier than.
For these of us who go to the flicks not simply to be entertained, however someway reborn (collectively), it was a surprisingly good summer season on the motion pictures — particularly after final summer season, which regardless of Barbenheimermania nonetheless included disappointments like Elemental and Gran Turismo, plus outright clunkers like Meg 2: The Trench, Transformers: Rise of the Beasts and the Little Mermaid remake — together with a number of Hollywood strikes that stopped movie productions of their tracks.
Not each single certainly one of this yr’s summer season’s tales felt excellent and highly effective. Perhaps the highs in film theaters weren’t all the time that excessive. However the lows had been hardly ever very low both, and nearly all the main tentpoles delivered what prospects paid for: Thrills, motion, romance, and numerous explosions.
For sake of equity, I solely ranked vast releases, together with productions that had been launched in film theaters. (In any other case Netflix’s Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F in all probability might have snuck in there in direction of the underside of this record.) After a sluggish begin to 2024, and doom-and-gloom predictions that warned final yr’s strikes had worsened the already precipitous declines in theater attendance, the summer season reminded us: Heartache nonetheless feels good in a spot like this.
The Finest Summer time Films of 2024
It was a extremely enjoyable summer season on the motion pictures — listed here are the perfect of the perfect.
READ MORE: The Finest Films of the Decade
The Worst Billion-Greenback Blockbusters
All of those motion pictures grossed greater than $1 billion on the field workplace. They usually all stink.
