Plus, Jerry Seinfeld’s Pop-Tart movie ‘Unfrosted,’ monkey mania in ‘Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes,’ and John Krasinski and Ryan Reynolds’ ‘IF.’
Are you ready for May’s movies? Because the summer blockbuster season is officially kicking off. Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes begins the franchise’s epic new chapter. Nine years after dropping Mad Max: Fury Road, one of the best action films ever made, George Miller returns to his apocalyptic future with Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga. Ryan Reynolds and John Krasinski take us on a fantastical adventure with IF and Emily Blunt and Ryan Gosling put their lives on the line in the fun action comedy The Fall Guy.
Jerry Seinfeld directs, writes, and stars in Unfrosted, the Pop-Tart origin story you didn’t know you needed. Chris Pine dives into directing with Poolman. We’re living for the swoony idea of Anne Hathaway and Nicholas Galitzine in the rom-com The Idea of You. Do you want to feel terrified in your home? The Strangers: Chapter 1, In a Violent Nature, and I Saw the TV Glow have you covered. Plus, the Amy Winehouse biopic Back to Black, and a certain lasagna-loving, Monday-despising orange tabby hits the screen in all his lazy glory.
Down the Rabbit Hole
Release Date: May 1 on Netflix
In director Manola Caro‘s Down the Rabbit Hole, 10-year-old Tochtli (Miguel Valverde Uribe) has everything he could dream of. His father lavishes the kind, innocent, and imaginative boy with love and riches. Eventually, Tochtli dreams for more: a glimpse outside the literal palace he calls home. Father and son leave to explore the world only for the truth to confuse Tochtli’s personal world: his beloved father leads a criminal cartel.
The Idea of You
Release Date: May 2 on Prime Video
Sparks fly between 40-something art gallery owner Solène Marchand (Anne Hathaway) and 20-something boy band star Hayes Campbell (Nicholas Galitzine) after a chance meeting at Coachella. Solène returns to her regular life, but Hayes is entranced enough to seek her out. Their chemistry proves undeniable. Hathaway teamed with Gabrielle Union to produce The Idea of You, a joyful and sizzling rom-com based on Robinne Lee‘s hit novel.
Turtles All the Way Down
Release Date: May 2 on Max
Aza’s (Isabela Merced) thoughts spiral. It’s part and parcel of having anxiety coupled with obsessive compulsive disorder. Although Aza adores her best friend Daisy (Cree Cicchino), she’s convinced that her mental health won’t let her date. But in this adaptation of John Green‘s novel from director Hannah Marks, fellow high school student Davis Pickett (Felix Mallard) is “smitten” with Aza exactly the way she is.
The Contestant
Release Date: May 2 on Hulu
Clair Titley‘s documentary pulls back the curtain on Susunu! Denpa Shōnen, the controversial Japanese reality series that aired from 1998 to 2002. 30 million people watched Susunu! Denpa Shōnen‘s weekly broadcasts featuring comedian Tomoaki Hamatsu, the series’ first contestant. Hamatsu agreed to stay in an apartment until he won $1 million. He spent 15 months alone, surviving only on the sweepstakes winnings he received, while the cameras rolled and audiences gasped.
Jeanne du Barry
Release Date: May 2 in Theaters
It’s 18th-century France, so of course there’s royal debauchery. The daring Madame Jeanne du Barry (star, director, and co-writer Maïwenn) rises above her humble birth to win the attention and love of King Louis XV (Johnny Depp), becoming his favorite mistress. Such power courts controversy, jealousy, and danger. History’s real Madame du Barry had enemies as powerful as Marie Antoinette.
Tarot
Release Date: May 3 in Theaters
First Ouija, now Tarot. No activity is safe from demons! After a group of friends uses a mysterious tarot deck against their better judgment, the cards spell out their futures. They can’t escape what the deck predicts: gruesome deaths modeled after the card designs. Spenser Cohen and Anna Halberg make their feature-length directorial debut with Tarot.
Unfrosted: The Pop-Tart Story
Release Date: May 3 on Netflix
Kellogg’s might be a cereal company, but when Post, their arch-rival, debuts a sugar-and-fruit-filled breakfast pastry, the competition is on. Behold: this is how the Pop-Tart was born. Well, sort of. It’s very loosely based on reality. Jerry Seinfeld and Melissa McCarthy lead an all-star cast including Amy Schumer, Jim Gaffigan, Dan Levy, Christian Slater, and Hugh Grant in Unfrosted.
Prom Dates
Release Date: May 3 on Hulu
After breaking up with their respective boyfriends right before senior prom, Jess (Antonia Gentry) and Hannah (Julia Lester) join forces to find suitable date replacements. Even though their choices are limited, nothing’s going to stop them — except maybe their own bad luck with romance. Because adolescence is, like, complicated, okay?
Dragonkeeper
Release Date: May 3 in Theaters
A historical fantasy based on author Carole Wilkinson‘s children’s series sees Ping (Mayalinee Griffiths), a child enslaved to a cruel overlord, free a kidnapped dragon. As the young girl and ancient dragon flee their captors together, they forge a rare, deep bond shared only by dragons and their “keepers.” Starring the English voices of Bill Nighy and Bill Bailey, Dragonkeeper is a Spanish-Chinese co-production from director Salvador Simó and Li Jianping.
Mars Express
Release Date: May 3 in Theaters
A futuristic sci-fi noir that debuted at the Cannes Film Festival, Mars Express follows detective Aline Ruby’s (Léa Drucker) investigation into the disappearance of cybernetics student Jun Chow. What could a young woman have done to earn the ire of rogue android assassins? That’s what Aline and her android partner Carols Rivera (Daniel Njo Lobé) must discover, as well as what defines “humanity” in an age of robots.
Slow
Release Date: May 3 in Theaters
Elena (Greta Grinevičiūtė) and Dovydas (Kęstutis Cicėnas) fall in love. Because Dovydas is asexual and Elena is allosexual, their romance isn’t your traditional hot-blooded affair. Instead, their romance redefines intimacy, sex, and love without sacrificing emotional passion. Marija Kavtaradzė‘s Slow was Lithuania’s submission for Best Foreign Language Film at the 2024 Academy Awards.
New Life
Release Date: May 3 in Theaters
Jess (Hayley Erin) keeps to herself. Always looking over her shoulder for danger, she wants to safely cross the Canadian border. Elsa (Sonya Walger), a fixer agent, brings the danger — just unwillingly. Higher powers order Elsa to hunt down Jess for reasons neither woman fully understands. Writer-director John Rosman‘s debut fuses a character-based psychological thriller with apocalyptic body horror.
Lost Soulz
Release Date: May 3 in Theaters
Lost Soulz, a carefully and lovingly crafted debut by filmmaker Katherine Propper, follows Sol (Sauve Sidle), an up-and-coming rapper. After a tense incident at a party, he meets a group of aspiring musicians who share his passion. As the found family journeys across America, they search for meaning and express themselves through their art.
The Fall Guy
Release Date: May 3 in Theaters
Things get awkward for professional stunt performer Colt Seavers (Ryan Gosling) when his newest movie reunites him with Judy Moreno (Emily Blunt), the ex-girlfriend he still loves. It’s especially awkward since Judy’s the director, and her lead actor has disappeared. Colt will do anything to save Judy’s movie, even when it gets him in trouble with criminals — but that’s when his skills come in handy. A love letter to stunt performers, the action genre’s unsung heroes, David Leitch‘s comedy co-stars Hannah Waddingham, Winston Duke, and Stephanie Hsu.
I Saw the TV Glow
Release Date: May 3 in Theaters
Jane Schoenbrun follows up their bold horror film We’re All Going to the World’s Fair with I Saw the TV Glow. High schoolers Owen (Justice Smith) and Maddy (Brigette Lundy-Paine) become friends thanks to their love for a niche ’90s horror series called The Pink Opaque. The show comforts the lonely teens and gives them a sense of identity. But Owen wonders if The Pink Opaque harbors a supernatural evil that’s escaped into the real world.
Wildcat
Release Date: May 3 in Theaters
Flannery O’Connor (Maya Hawke) didn’t write “cute” stories. She ruled the Southern Gothic genre at a time when women writers, let alone those who penned darkly provocative fiction, were viewed as an aberration. In other words, O’Connor was a displaced Wildcat pouring her soul into a typewriter. For this biographical drama, Ethan Hawke directs his daughter alongside Laura Linney, Liam Neeson, Vincent D’Onofrio, and Willa Fitzgerald.
Ethan Hawke & Maya Hawke on ‘Wildcat’ and Telling Flannery O’Connor’s Story | TIFF 2023
They also discuss their time on set, why Maya was never anxious about her father directing, the important part Laura Linney played on set.
Evil Does Not Exist
Release Date: May 3 in Theaters
Mizubiki Village is quiet. The residents live peacefully and respect nature’s beauty. Cue a corporation installing a “glamping” area near the home Takumi (Hitoshi Omika) shares with his young daughter. The bigwigs have dollar signs in their eyes, but in Ryusuke Hamaguchi‘s Evil Does Not Exist, even the smallest capitalist action pollutes the world.
Mother of the Bride
Release Date: May 9 on Netflix
Lana (Brooke Shields) is busy preparing for her daughter’s (Miranda Cosgrove) wedding. The mother of the bride already feels shunted aside, reduced to nothing except “the mom.” Then Lana runs into her college ex, Will (Benjamin Bratt) — who happens to be the groom’s father. Awkward, much? Even though Will left Lana heartbroken decades earlier, they can’t help but reconnect.
Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes
Release Date: May 10 in Theaters
Set 300 years after War for the Planet of the Apes, Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes sees Caesar’s (Andy Serkis) dream of ape prosperity realized. Their culture thrives, their people are free, and they’ve replaced humanity as Earth’s dominant species. Problems emerge when the apes’ newest leader, Proximus Caesar (Kevin Durand), proves himself a tyrant, inspiring Noa (Owen Teague) to resist his king and protect Mae (Freya Allan), a young human girl.
My Ex-Friend’s Wedding
Release Date: May 10 in Theaters
Taylor Jenkins Reid, the author behind the Daisy Jones & The Six book, jumps to movie screens alongside co-writers Ashley Rodger and Kay Cannon with My Ex-Friend’s Wedding. Not to be confused with the Julia Roberts classic My Best Friend’s Wedding, Reid’s debut screenplay (which Cannon directs) has four friends — Ariana DeBose, Liza Koshy, Chloe Fineman, and Amanda Seyfried — crash their ex-friend’s wedding after she leaves them a voicemail admitting she has cold feet.
Lazareth
Release Date: May 10 in Theaters
Lee (Ashley Judd) keeps her nieces Imogen (Katie Douglas) and Maeve (Sarah Pidgeon) safely protected from a pandemic. Then a wounded man appears outside the isolated forest home, asking for help. His presence both intrigues and repulses the sheltered girls and shatters the private sanctuary they call Lazareth. The apocalyptic psychological thriller is written and directed by Alec Tibaldi.
Force of Nature: The Dry 2
Release Date: May 10 in Theaters
In the sequel to 2020’s The Dry, detective Aaron Falk (Eric Bana) searches for Alice Russell (Anna Torv), the only woman out of five who’s still missing. But Alice might not be a hapless victim of whatever sinister things are happening in the woods. She might even have ties to a serial killer. My advice: just stay out of the woods.
Aisha
Release Date: May 10 in Theaters
Nigerian refugee Aisha Osagie (Letitia Wright) lives at the mercy of Ireland’s government. She seeks asylum, which means navigating complicated legal mandates. Aisha is lonely and unsafe, and Irish resident Conor Healy (Josh O’Connor) relates to her. Slowly, a friendship forms between two people who desperately need human connection.
Poolman
Release Date: May 10 in Theaters
What does Darren Barrenman (Chris Pine) do? He cleans pools. He meditates. He protests corruption. He’s also depressed, so he agrees to spy on a corrupt councilman. Darren’s lackadaisical persona doesn’t suit undercover work, but hey: whatever gets the job done. Danny DeVito, Ariana DeBose, Annette Bening, and Jennifer Jason Leigh co-star in Poolman, a modern noir comedy and Pine’s first time in the director’s chair.
The Last Stop in Yuma County
Release Date: May 10 in Theaters
After a bank robbery, the two criminals responsible hold a diner waitress (Joceline Donahue) and a knife salesman (Jim Cummings) hostage. The more people file into the diner, the more they notice that something’s wrong. Guns are drawn, terrible plans are made, and lives are endangered in writer-director Francis Galluppi‘s down-and-dirty Western.
Gasoline Rainbow
Release Date: May 10 in Theaters | May 31 on Mubi
Documentarian duo Bill and Turner Ross transition to fiction with Gasoline Rainbow, but they keep their intimate style. Trying to find a so-called Party at the End of the World, a group of high school graduates from Oregon hit the road in their old van. Followed by the Ross brothers’ naturalistic camera, they hop trains, form new bonds, and discover life’s promises.
The Image of You
Release Date: May 10 in Theaters
What looks like an ideal rom-com becomes a thriller when Nick (Parker Young) learns that Anna (Sasha Pieterse), his fiancée, has a twin. Anna might be besotted with Nick, but Zoe, her twin, doesn’t trust him. She seduces Nick, setting off a chain reaction of toxic love and deadly jealousy in this very unconventional love triangle inspired by Adele Parks‘s book of the same name.
IF
Release Date: May 17 in Theaters
Bea (Cailey Fleming) sees every child’s Imaginary Friend (IF). It’s a rare gift, and a timely one: the IFs need Bea’s help. Once their kids grow up and stop believing in them, the IFs stop existing. Bea joins forces with Cal (Ryan Reynolds), her adult neighbor who also sees the IFs, to pair every friend with a new child. John Krasinski’s modern fairy tale playfully blends live-action and animation.
Back to Black
Release Date: May 17 in Theaters
The timeless Amy Winehouse is a music icon, largely thanks to her Grammy-winning sophomore album, Back to Black. Director Sam Taylor-Johnson‘s biopic, starring Marisa Abela as Winehouse and named after the album, dramatizes the musician’s life and the experiences that led Winehouse to record Back to Black: her grandmother’s death, her time in addiction rehabilitation, and her temporary break-up with Blake Fielder-Civil (Jack O’Connell).
The Strangers: Chapter 1
Release Date: May 17 in Theaters
It’s official: remote vacations never end well. Director Renny Harlin continues The Strangers cinematic universe with The Strangers: Chapter 1, a prequel to the 2008 movie. When Maya (Madelaine Petsch) and Ryan (Froy Gutierrez) take a couples’ trip together, they find their peace disturbed by three sadistic strangers in masks. You can guess the rest. Two more movies are set to follow Chapter 1.
Thelma the Unicorn
Release Date: May 17 in Theaters
After a random accident leaves Thelma the pony (Brittany Howard) permanently covered in purple paint, the aspiring musician makes the most of it. Styling herself as a singing unicorn, Thelma’s voice woos millions. But it’s her old friends who know how special Thelma has always been. Thelma the Unicorn, inspired by author Aaron Blabey‘s series, features the voices of Will Forte, Jemaine Clement, and Zach Galifianakis.
Babes
Release Date: May 17 in theaters
Eden (Ilana Glazer) and Dawn (Michelle Buteau) are best friends. They always help one another, even if prickly banter is their love language. When Eden becomes unexpectedly pregnant, Dawn is already an exhausted married mother at her limit. Eden chooses to become a single parent, but not without raunchy jokes galore. The platonic soulmates discover one another’s deepest truths as Eden navigates the wild world of pregnancy.
The Blue Angels
Release Date: May 23 in Theaters | May 23 on Prime Video
Aside from hopping into a jet, The Blue Angels documentary is the closest viewers can get to a real-life Top Gun experience. Showing only on IMAX screens, director Paul Crowder and producers J. J. Abrams and Glen Powell take the public inside the high-octane world of the Blue Angels, an aerial acrobatic Naval division. Every year, the six pilots perform routines demanding impeccable coordination and control while millions watch from the ground, craning their necks high.
Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga
Release Date: May 24 in Theaters
A George Miller movie is an event, especially one about Imperator Furiosa’s backstory. Anya Taylor-Joy inherits Charlize Theron‘s mantle as the scene-stealing heroine who lives up to her name. Her fury knows no bounds! Stolen from her home by Warlord Dementus (Chris Hemsworth) and turned into an unwilling servant of the desert tyrant Immortan Joe (Lachy Hulme), Furiosa will burn her captors down and return home at any cost.
The Garfield Movie
Release Date: May 24 in Theaters
Life is perfect for Garfield (Chris Pratt) until his estranged biological father, Vic (Samuel L. Jackson), forces his son to help him escape the clutches of an evil cat. Assisted as always by his frenemy Odie the dog (Harvey Guillén), Garfield does his best to help — which isn’t much, but it’s something. Nicholas Hoult, Brett Goldstein, and Snoop Dogg lend their voices to this feline fable.
Atlas
Release Date: May 24 on Netflix
Agent Atlas (Jennifer Lopez) has a complicated relationship with AI. Understandable, since an android from her past, Harlan (Simu Liu), almost destroyed the planet and still wants to eliminate humanity. One spaceship wreck later and with worse catastrophe on the horizon, Atlas has no choice except to set aside her prejudices and trust Smith (Gregory James Cohan), her new AI protector.
My Oni Girl
Release Date: May 24 on Netflix
Tsumugi (Miyu Tomita) might be a demon, but she’s a friendly one. She’s searching for her mother, and navigating the human world is tricky. When she asks high schooler Hiiragi (Kensho Ono) for help, the insecure boy can’t say no. Together, the opposites — demon and human, gregarious and shy — embark on a journey of self-discovery and young love in My Oni Girl.
HAIKYU!! The Dumpster Battle
Release Date: May 31 in Theaters
The fourth feature film in the Haikyu!! franchise continues the anime’s story. Haikyu!! The Dumpster Battle pits short king volleyball player Shoyo Hinata (Ayumu Murase) and his high school team against their rivals in one final match: the titular Dumpster Battle. Shoyo facing off against his direct nemesis, Tobio Kageyama (Ishikawa), ups the ante even higher.
Young Woman and the Sea
Release Date: May 31 in theaters
Sometimes I Think About Dying, Magpie, and now Young Woman and the Sea: we don’t have to wait until her Star Wars movie to know Daisy Ridley‘s back in action. In Young Woman and the Sea, Ridley plays competitive swimmer Gertrude Ederle, a 1920s Olympic Gold Medalist and “the first woman to swim the English Channel.” Ederle made history and let no one stand in her way.
Summer Camp
Release Date: May 31 in Theaters
During a summer camp reunion, childhood friends Nora (Diane Keaton), Ginny (Kathy Bates), and Mary (Alfre Woodard) immediately pick up where they left off. There’s white water rafting, horseback riding, and gossiping about just-missed kisses — because once the camp staff takes their phones away, these women rediscover how to courageously face life by living in the moment.
Ezra
Release Date: May 31 in Theaters
Comedian Max Brandel (Bobby Cannavale) makes jokes for a living. His off-stage life isn’t as easy. He wants to do right by his son Ezra (William Fitzgerald), who has autism, which demands Max balance his life’s many broken pieces: his ex-wife Jenna (Rose Byrne), his father Stan (Robert De Niro), and Ezra himself. Determined to be better, Max takes Ezra on a road trip.
April 29, 1992
Release Date: May 31 in Theaters
Named after the day the 1992 Los Angeles riots began, director Ariel Vromen and co-writer Sascha Penn‘s script unfolds during the night of April 29, 1992. As reported by Variety, “it centers on a custodian” — Tyrese Gibson‘s Mercer — “who brings his son to work that evening, as the two quickly find themselves in the middle of a heist gone wrong.” April 29, 1992 also marks one of the late Ray Liotta‘s final films.
A Part of You
Release Date: May 31 on Netflix
Hailing from Netflix’s Nordic division, A Part of You dives into the complicated dynamic between Swedish sisters Agnes (Felicia Maxime) and Julia (Zara Larsson). In the aftermath of a personal tragedy that fractures her world’s normal domesticity (insecurity, jealousy, and love), Agnes grapples with things no 17-year-old should face while also falling in love. Young Royals star Edvin Ryding plays Noel, Julia’s boyfriend.
In a Violent Nature
Release Date: May 31 in Theaters
Horror classics like Black Christmas and Halloween experimented with “killer cam,” a technique where the camera temporarily assumes the serial killer’s POV. “Temporarily” is the keyword that In a Violent Nature discards. As a masked villain’s kill count rises, Nature follows its slasher assailant from beginning to end, whatever that gory end might be.
Robot Dreams
Release Date: May 31 in Theaters
If dogs are man’s best friend, then who’s a dog’s best friend in a world without humans? For Robot Dreams, the answer’s in the title. Nominated for Best Animated Feature at the 2024 Academy Awards, the tender, dialogue-free story chronicles Dog and Robot’s loving friendship in an alternate 1980s New York City.
The Dead Don’t Hurt
Release Date: May 31 in Theaters
A good Western never goes out of style. Neither does Viggo Mortensen, who writes, directs, produces, scores, and stars as Danish immigrant Holger Olsen in The Dead Don’t Hurt, a revisionist Western with a romantic heart. Despite building a quiet life in America with Vivienne Le Coudy (Vicky Krieps), Olsen feels morally compelled to join the Union during the Civil War. While separated, Olsen and Vivienne fight to survive, witness atrocities, and try to retain their humanity.
This article was originally published on collider.com