Cinemas across the UK are re-opening their doors to the public today, and we’ve put together a list of the summer’s must-see films, screening from May to July.

17TH MAY

Nomadland

 
Yes, it’s already available to stream on Disney+, but Chloé Zhao’s Best Picture-winning masterpiece is the ideal way to reacquaint yourself with cinema’s communal, horizon-broadening pleasures.

Sound of Metal

 
An Oscar-winner for Best Sound and Editing, this study of sudden deafness afflicting a heavy-metal drummer (Riz Ahmed) demands the kind of immersion only a big screen can truly give you.

Those Who Wish Me Dead

 
A teenage murder witness finds himself pursued by twin assassins in the Montana wilderness with a survival expert (Angelina Jolie) tasked with protecting him — and a forest fire threatening to consume them all.

Judas & The Black Messiah

 
Fred Hampton, a young, charismatic activist, becomes Chairman of the Illinois chapter of the Black Panther Party – putting him directly in the crosshairs of the government, the FBI, and the Chicago Police. But to destroy the revolution, the authorities are going to need a man on the inside.

Minari

 
Yuh-Jung Youn won a Best Supporting Actress Oscar for her role in Minari, which is just one of the many reasons why you should see Lee Isaac Chung’d tender drama on a big screen. The rural sun-soaked Arkansas location will undoubtedly dazzle brighter than it ever could on a television set.

28TH MAY

Cruella

 
There’s more than a hint of Joaquin Phoenix’s Joker about Emma Stone’s punky-outcast take on the 101 Dalmatians villainess’s early years. Cinemas and Disney+ from 28th May.

First Cow

 
Kelly Reichardt is a treasure, and this is peak form for the Oregon-based filmmaker: a drama of settlement, friendship, and dairy poaching in the 1820s, with long-range historical themes and a scene-stealing cow called Evie.

1ST JUNE

Luca

 
Pixar continues to plunge into uncharted waters with this animated coming-of-age fable, about two merboys passing a formative summer on the idyllic Ligurian coast. Cinemas and Disney+ from June 1

3RD JUNE

A Quiet Place: Part II

 
Tattered posters nationwide were promoting this post-apocalyptic sequel for March last year; now it’s finally coming out. Emily Blunt returns as the mother battling scary, blind monsters by not making a sound.

9TH JUNE

Nobody

 

Nobody Doesn’t break any new ground for the genre, but this viscerally violent thriller smashes, shatters, and destroys plenty of other things — all while proving Emmy winner Bob Odenkirk (Better Call Saul, The Post, Nebraska) has what it takes to be an action star.

11TH JUNE

The Father

 
Best Actor at the Baftas and Oscars for Anthony Hopkins makes his the most feted film performance yet to be widely seen, in Florian Zeller’s moving adaptation of his own play about a man with advanced dementia.

18TH JUNE

In the Heights

 
Before he created Hamilton, Lin-Manuel Miranda wowed Broadway with this exuberant, Wide-Side-Story-esque musical, here brought to the screen with killer choreography and a captivating lead performance from Anthony Ramos.

23RD JUNE

The Hitman’s Wife’s Bodyguard

 
The world’s most lethal odd couple — bodyguard Michael Bryce (Ryan Reynolds) and hitman Darius Kincaid (Samuel L. Jackson) — are back on another life-threatening mission. Still unlicensed and under scrutiny, Bryce is forced into action by Darius’s even more volatile wife, the infamous international con artist Sonia Kincaid (Salma Hayek). As Bryce is driven over the edge by his two most dangerous protectees, the trio get in over their heads in a global plot and soon find that they are all that stand between Europe and a vengeful and powerful madman (Antonio Banderas). Joining in the fun and deadly mayhem is Morgan Freeman as… well, you’ll have to see.

8TH JULY

 Fast & Furious 9

 
Yep, it’s 9 by now: who’d have guessed the mileage on this hot-rod? Vin Diesel rounds up the usual suspects, with John Cena as their latest nemesis, and both Helen Mirren and Charlize Theron scheming on the sidelines.

 9TH JULY

 Black Widow

 
After a two-year hiatus, the Marvel Cinematic Universe returns to big screens everywhere, with a spy-themed, Scarlett Johansson-led chapter that fleshes out the pre-Infinity War timeline. Cinemas and Disney+ from 9th July. 

16TH JULY

 Space Jam: A New Legacy

 

One of the most iconic films of the 1990s is getting a modern revamp this summer, as the characters of Looney Tunes join forces with another basketball icon for another epic game. Space Jam: A New Legacy stars LeBron James as a version of himself, who is transported into a virtual world by the sinister tech-based villain AI-G Rhythm (Don Cheadle).

23RD JULY

 Wrath of Man

 

Mysterious and wild-eyed, a new security guard for a cash truck (Jason Statham) surprises his co-workers when he unleashes precision skills during a heist. The crew is left wondering who he is and where he came from. Soon, the marksman’s ultimate motive becomes clear as he takes dramatic and irrevocable steps to settle a score.

 

30TH JULY

Jungle Cruise

 

Just like Pirates of the Caribbean before it, Disney’s Jungle Cruise is inspired by a theme park attraction, and it’s hoping to transfer those same thrills and spills to the big screen. Emily Blunt plays a scientist who ventures into the jungle to find a tree with healing powers, accompanied by her reluctant brother (Jack Whitehall), while Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson is a riverboat captain named Frank, who the siblings convince to help them on their mission.

 The Suicide Squad

 

The Suicide Squad will bring back a handful of characters from the original 2016 film, but will introduce many brand new members of the team – some of whom may not be sticking around for too long. Margot Robbie and Jai Courtenay are reprising their roles as Harley Quinn and Captain Boomerang respectively, with Viola Davis also set to return as government boss Amanda Waller alongside Joel Kinnaman as army man Rick Flag.