When does the summer movie season actually begin? The answer changes every year — sometimes the moment the doors burst open lands around Midsummer, but this year the blockbuster season kicks off already in late May. As early as this week, The Mandalorian & Grogu arrives in theaters — the first film set in the Star Wars universe in seven years — and it takes a clear risk: has everyone done their homework and watched all three seasons of The Mandalorian on Disney+? According to the filmmakers, it's not necessary — but of course they also need to make money and hedge their bets. Still, it's easy to believe that Baby Yoda alone will draw in viewers who previously had no interest in the saga.

For now, there's little competition for The Mandalorian & Grogu, but things get crowded in early June. Anyone who's been craving parody films can finally dig in, as a new Scary Movie hits theaters. It's pure nostalgia for those who grew up in the 2000s, with most of the original cast returning — though it's hard to believe the series' deliberately (read: ridiculously) crude humor will win over many new fans. That same week also brings Masters of the Universe, a revival of the toy and comic franchise directed by Travis Knight (Kubo and the Two Strings, Bumblebee).

More than 30 years ago, Steven Spielberg showed that a good summer movie season needs a dinosaur film — but even earlier, he posed another question: maybe summer also needs a gripping alien story? Back then it was the family classic E.T.; now the Hollywood legend returns with a new extraterrestrial tale, Disclosure Day, starring Emily Blunt, Josh O'Connor, and Colin Firth.

We circle back to similar territory at the end of summer, when Under the Silver Lake and It Follows director David Robert Mitchell releases The End of Oak Street, in which Anne Hathaway and Ewan McGregor discover one day that their house has teleported out of their familiar neighborhood to somewhere else — because… dinosaurs are roaming outside. Not much is known about the project yet, but given Mitchell's delightfully unhinged style, it's unlikely he'll hold back.

Dinosaurs will appear at least once more this summer as well, in animated form for younger audiences in Paw Patrol: The Dino Movie, arriving in mid-August. Family entertainment in general is going all-in this season: within a short span, we'll get the first new Toy Story in over seven years (this time installment number five), the return of the small yellow troublemakers in Minions & Monsters, and Disney's latest live-action remake, Moana. It's a safe bet that several of these will top the year-end box office charts.

Prehistoric creatures, little green aliens, animated yellow chaos — what's missing? Of course, a couple of comic-book movies! DC and Marvel go head-to-head, and both are bringing solid entries. I, Tonya and Cruella director Craig Gillespie presents Supergirl, starring Milly Alcock, with Jason Momoa and Matthias Schoenaerts alongside her. Superman's cousin gets a full month to own the screen starting in late June, before Spider-Man swings in. It's been five years since the last multiverse chapter; the new film, Spider-Man: Brand New Day, marks Tom Holland's fourth outing in the role.

We'll also see other legendary heroes this summer, not necessarily from comics. Director Michael Sarnoski, widely praised for Pig (2021), returns with the dark The Death of Robin Hood, starring Hugh Jackman, alongside Jodie Comer and Bill Skarsgård. The filmmakers promise something brutal and unforgiving — and Jackman has proven more than capable in such roles, just think of him as Wolverine in Logan.

In recent years, horror films have dominated summer schedules — but this year their presence feels strangely thin. Early June offers a parody, but after Midsummer we're reminded what kind of "entertainment" kids grew up on in the early 2000s. Forget TikTok and Instagram — back then, audiences gleefully watched Johnny Knoxville and friends abuse themselves in absurdly dangerous ways. You could argue that's a kind of horror too. The saga's new and supposedly final installment, Jackass: Best and Last, is on its way — and as a reminder, the squeamish might want to stay home.

Still, a few proper chillers will arrive. The most anticipated is likely Evil Dead Burn, the latest entry in Sam Raimi's cult series, this time directed by Sébastien Vanicek. Shock-horror specialist Eli Roth brings us Ice Cream Man, in which he also stars. Rounding things out is the seventh installment in the Insidious series, Insidious: Out of the Further, directed by Jacob Chase (Come Play).

If horror is scarce, action films are even thinner on the ground. Fortunately, Jason Statham saves the day: Mutiny arrives in late August, where his ex-cop character witnesses the murder of his billionaire employer — only to be framed for it. Director Jean‑François Richet hasn't made anything particularly notable before, but then again, are we expecting miracles from a B‑movie action flick?

All of the above is entertaining, but the true highlight of the summer comes in mid-July, when Christopher Nolan releases The Odyssey, his adaptation of Homer's epic. Early clips and cast comments suggest we may already have the film of the year. As usual for Nolan, the ensemble cast is immense: Matt Damon, Anne Hathaway, Tom Holland, Robert Pattinson, Charlize Theron, Zendaya — and many more stars besides.

If pinpointing the start of summer movie season is tricky, defining its end is just as abstract. This year, though, it's fairly clear: the blockbuster peak concludes with a new film from 88‑year‑old legend Ridley Scott, The Dog Stars, based on Peter Heller's novel and set in a post-apocalyptic world, starring Jacob Elordi, Margaret Qualley, Josh Brolin, and Guy Pearce.

That more or less covers the big picture, though of course dozens of smaller films remain unmentioned. One special recommendation: check out anime screenings, which have been plentiful in recent months. In June, Hayao Miyazaki's films continue to grace theaters, including Oscar winner Spirited Away, Howl's Moving Castle, Ponyo, and The Wind Rises. At the end of May, you can catch All You Need Is Kill, an adaptation of the manga previously known in film form as Edge of Tomorrow, starring Emily Blunt and Tom Cruise. In early August, the Berlin Film Festival-premiered mystery drama A New Dawn will also arrive.

If that's still not enough, early July brings the Valga Hot Shorts festival, offering three days of top-tier short films, and in August the Tartu Love Film Festival (Tartuff) returns with its usual selection of gems. And in June, the Kosmos cinema is set to reopen — a perfect place to escape the heat after a long break.

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