is shaping up to be epic.
There are superheroes, franchises and thrillers galore with many of the regulars on the lineup: 鈥淢inions,鈥� 鈥淪tar Wars鈥� and 鈥淭oy Story.鈥� But the most eagerly anticipated is not a superhero, toy, or franchise: It鈥檚 one of the oldest stories in Western literature. Christopher Nolan鈥檚 adaptation of 鈥淭he Odyssey鈥� is sailing into theaters, on much smoother waters than Odysseus faced, on July 17.
The Associated Press spoke to over two dozen people involved in some of from studio executives, to filmmakers, writers, actors and those who seem to do it all about their films and the industry. Here are some of the key takeaways from AP鈥檚 Summer Movie Preview.
鈥淭he Odyssey鈥�
For Nolan, 鈥淭he Odyssey鈥� seemed like a foundational piece that deserved to be done on the biggest possible scale, with all the resources modern Hollywood had to offer.
鈥淭here鈥檚 a massive amount of pressure,鈥� Nolan said. 鈥淎nyone taking on 鈥楾he Odyssey鈥� is taking on the hopes and dreams of people for epic movies everywhere and that comes with a huge responsibility.鈥�
It reminded him of working on the Batman films.
鈥淲hat I learned from that experience is that what people want from a movie about a beloved story, a beloved set of characters, is they want a strong and sincere interpretation,鈥� Nolan said. 鈥淭hey want to know that a filmmaker has gone to the mat for it. I really tried to make the best film possible.鈥�
Three summers ago, 鈥淥ppenheimer鈥� made . 鈥淭he Odyssey鈥� has battles, gods, creatures and an army of movie stars 鈥� Matt Damon, Anne Hathaway, Zendaya and Tom Holland included. It鈥檚 also the first movie shot entirely on IMAX film. Tickets for some showings sold out in under an hour a full year in advance.
Other notable summer 2026 releases
Kicking off the season on May 1 is 鈥淭he Devil Wears Prada 2,” followed by (May 22) bringing the franchise back to the big screen after seven years. Later, Steven Spielberg returns to sci-fi with 鈥淒isclosure Day鈥� (June 12). There are superhero movies too, including 鈥淪upergirl鈥� (June 26) and 鈥淪pider-Man: Brand New Day鈥� (July 31).
A lot of power recently has shifted to . This summer has (June 19), 鈥淢inions & Monsters鈥� (July 1), a live-action 鈥淢oana鈥� (July 10) and 鈥淭he Sheep Detectives鈥� (May 8).
Horror fans can find franchises like 鈥淓vil Dead Burn鈥� (July 10) and unnerving indies like 鈥淟eviticus鈥� (June 19) and a new , 鈥淭eenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma鈥� (Aug. 7).
There are smaller gems too, including Daniel Roher鈥檚 鈥淭uner鈥� and Boots Riley鈥檚 colorful shoplifting movie 鈥淚 Love Boosters,鈥� (both May 22), Olivia Wilde鈥檚 chamber dramedy 鈥淭he Invite鈥� (June 26) and the wholesomely raunchy comedy 鈥淕ail Daughtry and the Celebrity Sex Pass鈥� (July 10).
What key figures of 2026 summer movies are saying
Christopher Nolan on 鈥楾he Odyssey鈥� runtime: 鈥淥ne of the things that鈥檚 really important to me is to be showing the film wherever possible on IMAX film, projecting the format, because we shot the entire movie on IMAX film, and the longest we鈥檝e ever been able to get onto the IMAX projector is three hours. So we know it鈥檚 less than three hours. I can say the film is shorter than 鈥極ppenheimer.鈥� It鈥檚 still an epic, it鈥檚 an epic film as the subject matter demands, but it is shorter.鈥�
James Cameron on the business rebounding: 鈥淗ope springs eternal 鈥� We still have a very robust theatrical industry at a time when it was kind of almost pronounced dead.鈥�
DC co-chair and co-CEO Peter Safran on superhero films: 鈥淚 never felt that there was superhero fatigue. I felt it was mediocre movie fatigue. You gotta try something new. You have to change the game a little bit. The essential story on which 鈥楽upergirl鈥� is based is something cool and original and we haven鈥檛 seen before.鈥�
Jon Favreau on made for IMAX films: 鈥淧eople have got great TVs at home. You鈥檝e got to give them a reason to go out.鈥�
Olivia Wilde on taking risks: 鈥淚 think one of the reasons that audiences really enjoy the films that A24 are investing in and putting out into world is they can tell that risk is sort of part of the process for them 鈥� there鈥檚 something exciting about that.鈥�
Marlon Wayans on big screen comedies: 鈥淭he world needs comedy. It鈥檚 a shame that there haven鈥檛 been more comedies in the past 15, 20 years. I think it鈥檚 really hurting our world 鈥� I hope people come out to the theater and they feel good.鈥�
Why the summer movie season is so important
Hollywood doesn鈥檛 save all its blockbusters for the summer anymore, but the 18-week corridor running from the first weekend in May through Labor Day remains the industry鈥檚 most important, accounting for around 40% of the year鈥檚 box office.
And it鈥檚 only surpassed $4 billion once since the pandemic, in 2023 with 鈥淏arbenheimer.鈥� Last summer capped out at just under $3.7 billion, led by Disney鈥檚 鈥淟ilo & Stitch.鈥� It was about the same in 2024, when Pixar鈥檚 鈥淚nside Out 2鈥� topped the charts.
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