When I was growing up, I recall escaping to the movie theater or the drive-in fairly often. It wasn’t until I was an adult and saw the “Independence Day” banner attached to an airplane over a beach in Southern California that I realized how much impact that weekend had on our movie-viewing schedule. When it comes to summer blockbusters, that was often the timeframe where our most anticipate release landed. That might not be the case any more as there are great movies releasing every month – like Disclosure Day and Toy Story 5 that hit the theaters in June 2026. This list outlines not just the options for the 4th of July, but those that follow the rest of the month.
Minions & Monsters
Release Date: July 1, 2026 Genre: Animation, Adventure, Family, Comedy Cast: Allison Janney, Christoph Waltz, Jeff Bridges, Jesse Eisenberg, Zoey Deutch, Bobby Moynihan, Phil LaMarr, with Trey Parker and Pierre Coffin
This is the rambunctious, ridiculous and totally true story of how the Minions conquered Hollywood, became movie stars, lost everything, unleashed monsters onto the world and then banded together to try and save the planet from the mayhem they had just created.
Young Washington
Release Date: July 3, 2026 Genre: Action, Adventure, Biography Cast: William Franklyn-Miller, Ben Kingsley, Andy Serkis, Kelsey Grammer, Joel Smallbone, Mary-Louise Parker
Before he was the Father of a Nation, he was a soldier fighting to survive. A single misstep thrusts young George Washington into the center of a global conflict, testing his honor, loyalty, and courage. As alliances crumble and the frontier erupts into war, he must confront not only his enemies but the man he’s becoming. This is the untold story of Young Washington.
Moana
Release Date: July 10, 2026 Genre: Family Adventure Cast: Dwayne Johnson (Maui), Catherine Lagaʻaia (Moana), Rena Owen (Gramma Tala), John Tui (Chief Tui), Frankie Adams (Sina)
In “Moana,” Disney’s live-action reimagining of the beloved Oscar®-nominated animated adventure, Moana (Catherine Lagaʻaia) answers the Ocean’s call and, for the first time, voyages beyond the reef of her island of Motunui with the infamous demigod Maui (Dwayne Johnson) on an unforgettable journey to restore prosperity to her people.
EVIL DEAD BURN unleashes the franchise’s most savage and terrifying ride to date, blazing onto big screens with an all-new chapter of carnage and demonic mayhem. After the loss of her husband, a woman seeks solace with her in-laws in their secluded family home. As one by one they are transformed into Deadites—turning the gathering into a family reunion from hell—she comes to discover that the vows she took in life live on… even in death.
Gail Daughtry and the Celebrity Sex Pass
Release Date: July 10, 2026 Genre: Comedy Cast: Zoey Deutch, Jon Hamm, John Slattery, Ken Marino, Miles Gutierrez-Riley, Ben Wang, Joe Lo Truglio, and Sabrina Impacciatore
Small town hairdresser Gail Daughtry is engaged to her devoted high school sweetheart, Tom. Her life takes a turn when a trip to a book signing leads to Tom meeting – and sleeping – with his “celebrity pass”. Reeling from the betrayal, Gail impulsively joins her friend Otto on a trip to Los Angeles, where a psychic convinces Gail that the only way to save her marriage is to “even the scales” with her own celebrity pass: Jon Hamm. Thus begins an epic journey through Tinseltown as Gail and Otto join forces with a talent agency assistant, a paparazzo, and actor John Slattery, all in the search for Hamm. Along the way, they collide with celebrities and are hunted by a group of Italian assassins as they get ever closer to finding the elusive star.
Night Nurse
Release Date: July 10, 2026 Genre: Thriller Cast: Cemre Paksoy, Bruce McKenzie, Eléonore Hendricks, Colleen Rose Trundy
As a series of perverse scam calls unsettles an idyllic retirement community, a starry-eyed nurse becomes entangled with her mysterious patient.
The Odyssey
Release Date: July 17, 2026 Genre: Action, Mythic, Epic Cast: Matt Damon, Tom Holland, Anne Hathaway, Robert Pattinson and Lupita Nyong’o, with Zendaya and Charlize Theron
Christopher Nolan’s next film, The Odyssey, is a mythic action epic shot across the world using brand new IMAX®film technology. The film brings Homer’s foundational saga to IMAX® film screens for the first time.
The Dink
Release Date: July 24, 2026 Genre: Comedy, Sports Cast: Jake Johnson, Mary Steenburgen, Ed Harris, Ben Stiller, Patton Oswalt, Chloe Fineman, Chris Parnell, Aaron Chen, and Andy Roddick
Washed up former tennis prodigy Dusty Boyd (Jake Johnson) has been reduced to coaching unruly children at his father Chuck’s (Ed Harris) suburban country club. Desperate for his father’s approval, Dusty blindly supports Chuck’s vendetta against the new craze taking over the club: pickleball. But when Dusty reaggravates an old injury, taking away his ability to play tennis, he resorts to the unthinkable in the name of rehab. He not only tries pickleball, but, thanks in part to his enchanting new partner, Candace (Mary Steenburgen), he finds himself actually enjoying it. Torn between two worlds, Dusty is forced to finally face the ghosts of his past athletic failures, including his childhood nemesis, Andy Roddick (Andy Roddick). Ultimately, Dusty is drawn into a desperate battle for the future of the club, his father’s affection and his very identity.
Her Private Hell
Release Date: July 24, 2026 Genre: Thriller, Drama Cast: Sophie Thatcher, Charles Melton, Havana Rose Liu, Kristine Froseth, Dougray Scott, Diego Calva
When a mysterious mist engulfs a futuristic metropolis, unleashing a deadly and elusive entity, a troubled young woman searches for her father. Her quest collides with an American GI on a harrowing odyssey to rescue his daughter from Hell.
Motor City
Release Date: July 24, 2026 Genre: Action, Thriller Cast: Alan Ritchson, Shailene Woodley, Ben Foster, Ben McKenzie, Lionel Boyce, Pablo Schreiber, Amar Chadha-Patel
In 1970s Detroit, John Miller falls for a local gangster’s girl and lands in prison for a crime he didn’t commit. Life ruined, Miller plots revenge against the man who took his girl away.
The Outer Threat
Release Date: July 24, 2026 Genre: Sci-Fi, Thriller Cast: Constance Wu, William Fichtner, Mark O’Brien
An astrophysicist and his family are forced to flee their home, chased by a mysterious pursuer. Their escape tests the limits between cosmic truth and paranoia.
Spider-Man: Brand New Day
Release Date: July 31, 2026 Genre: Action, Adventure, Sequel Cast: Tom Holland, Zendaya, Sadie Sink, Jacob Batalon, Jon Bernthal, Tramell Tillman, Michael Mando, and Mark Ruffalo
After the record-breaking global success of Spider-Man: No Way Home, Spider-Man: Brand New Day marks an entirely new chapter for Peter Parker and Spider-Man. Four years have passed since the events of No Way Home, and Peter is now an adult living entirely alone, having voluntarily erased himself from the lives and memories of those he loves. Crime-fighting in a New York that no longer knows his name, he’s devoted himself entirely to protecting his city — a full-time Spider-Man — but as the demands on him intensify, the pressure sparks a surprising physical evolution that threatens his existence, even as a strange new pattern of crimes gives rise to one of the most powerful threats he has ever faced.
I Want Your Sex
Release Date: July 31, 2026 Genre: Comedy, Romance Cast: Olivia Wilde, Cooper Hoffman, Charli XCX, Daveed Diggs, Mason Gooding, Chase Sui Wonders, Margaret Cho and Johnny Knoxville
When fresh-faced Elliot (Hoffman) lands an exciting job for renowned artist, icon and provocateur Erika Tracy (Wilde), his fantasies come true as Erika taps him to become her sexual muse. But Elliot soon finds himself out of his depth as Erika takes him on a journey more profound than he ever could have imagined, into a world of sex, obsession, power, betrayal and murder.
We have three movies already locked in for this month including another Secret Movie and Supergirl along with Spider-Man: Brand New Day. I’m sure we’ll find time to see at least one or two others, but don’t know which yet.
What heat-free, indoor activities do you participate in during the summer?
