I neglect who stated it first (possibly it was Thomas Edison?) however it actually is true: We come to the films for magic. We’d like 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 films not simply to be entertained, however one way or the other reborn (collectively), it was a surprisingly good summer season on the films — 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 one in all this yr’s summer season’s tales felt good and highly effective. Perhaps the highs in film theaters weren’t all the time that excessive. However the lows had been not often 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 huge 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 the direction of the underside of this checklist.) 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 Greatest Summer season Motion pictures of 2024
It was a very enjoyable summer season on the films — listed here are one of the best of one of the best.
READ MORE: The Greatest Motion pictures of the Decade
The Worst Billion-Greenback Blockbusters
All of those films grossed greater than $1 billion on the field workplace. And so they all stink.
