For Adults Only: The Summer’s 7 Biggest Movies Just For Grown Ups – Forbes

As you know, summer starts this weekend with the global release of Avengers: Endgame. The MCU epic will kick off four months of sequels, toons, horror flicks and relative franchise fare, including many of the kinds of “big” movies that used to be exclusive to this season. While there will be plenty of stereotypical summer movies (Detective Pikachu, Toy Story 4, Spider-Man: Far from Home, Hobbs & Shaw, etc.), there will also be more than enough multiplex fare for adults.

Heck, I’m not even counting the various horror movies opening between Brightburn on May 24 and 47 Meters Down: Uncaged on August 16 or the handful of R-rated action flicks (John Wick 3, 21 Bridges, etc.). There are enough arguably “for grown-ups” movies even just among the wide releases that I was able to create this list of what will arguably/hopefully be the five biggest such titles playing between May and August. So, in order of release date…

Long Shot (May 3)

Lionsgate has been screening this Seth Rogen/Charlize Theron comedy out the wazoo since its successful SXSW premiere (barring a fluke, I’m seeing it tomorrow), so the studio clearly has faith in the R-rated, politically-minded romantic comedy. The film features Rogan as a political journalist who ends up working as a speechwriter for his former babysitter (Theron), who is the current Secretary of State now considering a run for the Presidency. While we’re a long way from a movie like Neighbors opening with $50 million over the second weekend of summer, a decent debut followed by a leggy run as the season’s most prominent rom-com could be in store for this Jonathan Levine-directed flick.

Poms (May 10)

This STX Entertainment release is obviously angling itself as the Book Club of summer 2019. The comedy, about senior citizens who start their own cheerleading club in their retirement community, stars Diane Keaton, Pam Grier, Jacki Weaver and Rhea Perlman, is clearly playing to older adults (its Thursday previews start as early as 3:00 pm), and it’s helmed by Zara Hayes who co-directed the underseen/underappreciated Battle of the Sexes. This is a textbook STX release, with adult-skewing movie stars playing to type, and it should have a ridiculous multiplier (Book Club earned $68 million from a $13.5 million debut last May) no matter how high it opens against Detective Pikachu.

Rocketman (May 31)

In terms of (probably) domestic and (almost certainly) global grosses, this will almost certainly be the biggest-grossing “for adults” multiplex release this summer. Dexter Fletcher’s (allegedly) R-rated Elton John biopic, starring Taron Egerton as the Pinball Wizard himself, will be getting a splashy debut at this year’s Cannes Film Festival, so presumably, Paramount/Viacom thinks it’s at least pretty good. Since it will appeal to folks who want a splashy jukebox musical biopic from/about Sir. Elton John, it will almost not matter if the movie is any good should it provide the surface level pleasures. No, it won’t do Bohemian Rhapsody-level business, but live-action musicals are among the biggest/safest theatrical genres around at the moment.

Late Night (June 7)

Amazon spent $14 million picking up this buzzy Sundance flick. The Nisha Ganatra-directed comedy, about a female talk show host (Emma Thompson) who hires her first female staff writer (played by the film’s screenwriter, Mindy Kaling), is absolutely selling itself as the kind of adult-skewing movie that Hollywood barely makes or releases anymore. And while the theatrical release is arguably glorified promotion for its Amazon Prime debut, the streaming giant has pulled decent numbers from the likes of Manchester by the Sea and The Big Sick (both of which earned over $40 million). Both of those films had distributing partners (Roadside and Lionsgate) so this could be a test for Amazon scoring a theatrical hit while going solo.

Yesterday (June 28)

Universal/Comcast Corp. will release this Danny Boyle-directed and Richard Curtis-penned melodrama in the heart of the summer. The high concept (What if you woke up and you were the only person who remembered/knew about the Beetles?) lends itself to fan-friendly musical sequences and nostalgic fan service, and the trailer seems to promise a unique theatrical experience amid the more traditional summer fare. It’ll probably make more money in Europe than in North America, but if the reviews are good, then the Himesh Patel/Lily James flick has an inside shot at a halfway decent sum. I hope so because I want a sequel in which one person discovers he or she is the only one who knows about Weird Al Yankovic.

Once Upon A Time… in Hollywood (July 26)

Tarantino’s ninth first film is positioning itself as the event movie of the summer for movie nerds. It stars both Leonardo DiCaprio and Brad Pitt along with Margot Robbie as Sharon Tate in what looks to be an outrageous bit of Hollywood meta-fiction. I don’t think Tarantino cast Mike Moh as Bruce Lee just so Brad Pitt could beat him in a fight. I don’t think Tarantino is going to offer an extended and graphically violent reenactment of the Tate-LaBianca murders. General audiences won’t care about these online controversies if the film works as high-quality popcorn entertainment. DiCaprio alone should guarantee a solid gross, whether or not it earns enough for Sony to recoup its alleged $100 million budget.

The Kitchen (August 9)

Released by Warner Bros. and New Line, this film’s inclusion is a bit of wishful thinking on my part. Sure, the Internet will rave about the notion of an Andrea Berloff-directed-and-written gangster flick starring Melissa McCarthy, Tiffany Haddish and Elizabeth Moss, but will they actually support it in theaters when the time comes? To be fair, this could be a less grim and intense than Widows, and WB does have a knack for turning the likes of The Great Gatsby and Crazy Rich Asians into blockbusters. The film, about mob wives who take over their imprisoned husbands’ business, need not do Magic Mike numbers, but it would be lovely if those who claim to want movies like this would vote with their wallet.

Epilogue:

As noted above, I didn’t include the R-rated horror flicks or the R-rated actioners most to prove a point about what’s available. You can add the likes of Child’s Play, Ma, Brightburn and Annabelle Comes Home or John Wick Chapter 3, Shaft, Angel Has Fallen and 21 Bridges if you so choose. That designation also applies to the allegedly enjoyable Dave Bautista/ Kumail Nanjiani action comedy Stuber (about an Uber driver who has to help a cop chase down bad guys), and we’ll see how well Disney can sell a stereotypical Fox flick on July 12.

A24’s The Farewell (starring Awkafina as a woman who goes back to China to be with her dying grandmother) could be a demographically-specific hit when it opens on July 12. United Artists’ The Hustle (a Dirty Rotten Scoundrels remake starring Anne Hathaway and Rebel Wilson) could appeal to those who just like the cast and the high concept when it opens on May 10. And while they are clearly R-rated, we’ll see what demographics do or don’t flock to Universal’s Good Boys (August 16) and United Artists’ Booksmart (May 24) when the time comes.

I can’t say for sure which of these movies will break out alongside the tentpoles, but this list will prove valuable when your friend or family member complains about there not being any movies for adults this summer. They are out there, each and every week alongside the superhero movies and kid-targeted toons. These are the kinds of movies that filmmakers think about making when they dream about growing up to make movies. Whether these films will still exist on a studio level over the next few years is entirely up to you, dear moviegoer, and your willingness to put your money where your mouth is.

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