July’s New Movies – ‘Deadpool & Wolverine,’ Twisters,’ ‘Maxxxine’ and More

Summer has officially arrived, and it’s time for sand, sunscreen, pools, and more movies. July’s films include family blockbusters, romantic indie dramas, instant horror classics, and much more. Hold onto your seats for Twisters, the standalone sequel to the 1996 blockbuster. Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman take on the multiverse in Deadpool & Wolverine. Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F proves that Eddie Murphy‘s Axel can’t stay away from trouble. For something more family-friendly, there’s the dependable Minions of Despicable Me 4 or My Spy: The Eternal City, starring Dave Bautista.

Horror is ramping up ahead of Halloween between MaXXXine, the third film in writer-director Ti West’s X saga, and Osgood Perkins‘ Longlegs, starring Maika Monroe and Nicolas Cage. House of the Dragon star Matt Smith and The Rings of Power‘s Morfydd Clark dabble in folk horror in Starve Acre, while Game of Thrones‘ Kit Harington becomes a werewolf for The Beast Within. If all those scares demand a palette cleanser, then Channing Tatum and Scarlett Johansson have you covered with their period rom-com Fly Me to the Moon. More independent titles include Dìdi, Chestnut, Crossing, and The Secret Art of Human Flight.

Butter your popcorn and grab your remote! Here are all the movies hitting theaters and streaming this month.

‘Tell That to the Winter Sea’

In director Jaclyn Bethany‘s romantic drama Tell That to the Winter Sea, Jo (Greta Bellamacina) and Scarlet (Amber Anderson) were high school ballet dancers, best friends, and each other’s first love. Separated for 12 years by distance and lingering feelings that neither woman can easily confess, they reunite for Jo’s Bachelorette party. All the women Jo loves the most contemplate and celebrate life together, including actors Jessica Plummer, Josette Simon, and Bebe Cav.

‘Chestnut’

An official selection of the Toronto 2SLGBTQ+ Film Festival and the San Francisco International LGBTQ+ Film Festival, things are going well for Annie’s (Natalia Dyer) city lifestyle. She strikes up a tentative and captivating romance with Tyler (Rachel Keller). At first, it feels like both women understand themselves and one another, but navigating the world while vulnerable is never easy. Chestnut is Jac Cron‘s feature-length film debut.

‘The Secret Art of Human Flight’

We human beings can’t fly. But what if we learned? What if, somehow, poor Ben Grady (Grant Rosenmeyer) could overcome everything holding him back (his vertigo, fear, and evolutionary imperatives)? Something like that would change our world. H.P. Mendoza directs The Secret Art of Human Flight from Jesse Orenshein‘s script, which co-stars Academy Award nominee Paul Raci as Mealworm, an enigmatic flight teacher, as well as Lucy DeVito, Sendhil Ramamurthy, and Maggie Grace.

‘Despicable Me 4’

What’s a reformed supervillain without an arch-nemesis? Despicable Me 4 reunites the unlikely family — Gru (Steve Carell), Lucy (Kristen Wiig), and their three daughters and newborn son — as they fight Maxime Le Mal (Will Ferrell), a notorious figure from Gru’s past. To protect his family, Gru reluctantly joins forces with Poppy Prescott (Joey King), an avid fan, and, of course, his devoted Minions. Sofía Vergara and Stephen Colbert also lend their voices to Illumination’s latest film, which was directed by Chris Renaud and Patrick Delage.

‘Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F’

The action never stops in Beverly Hills. Eddie Murphy returns to the Beverly Hills Cop series for the first time in 30 years with Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F. It’s been a while since Axel Foley (Murphy) was in town. His precinct has new faces, he’s trying to repair his relationship with his estranged daughter, and he’s looking out for an old friend. Axel will do anything to get the job done, even if it’s driving a snowplow through the city. Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Kevin Bacon join the chaos along with director Mark Molloy and writers Will Beall, Tom Gormican, and Kevin Etten for the fourth installment in the hit franchise.

‘Space Cadet’

Prepare for liftoff. Young Rex Simpson (Emma Roberts) always dreamed of being an astronaut when she grew up. As an adult, she’s a bartender who wrestles alligators for show. But getting sidetracked doesn’t mean you still can’t achieve your dreams. NASA accepts this “unconventional party girl” into their candidate program, and Rex won’t look back. Director Liz W. Garcia‘s warm comedy Space Cadet co-stars Tom Hopper, Poppy Liu, and Gabrielle Union.

‘Kill’

Hailed as “the most violent and goriest film India has ever produced” after its premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival, director Nikhil Nagesh Bhat‘s action-thriller Kill takes revenge to a new level. Lakshya makes his feature debut as Amrit, a former soldier and newly engaged man. He and his fiancé, Tulika (Tanya Maniktala), take a romantic train ride to celebrate until a group of bloodthirsty criminals hijacks the train and kidnaps Tulika. Amrit shows his enemies no mercy, tearing his way through with precision.

‘MaXXXine’

She’s a star. After Pearl‘s detour into the past, MaXXXine resumes the story of final girl Maxine Minx (Mia Goth) years after the bloody events of X. More dead-set (pun intended) on fame and fortune than ever, Maxine carves out a name for herself in the 1980s adult film industry. Simultaneously, the Night Stalker serial killer haunts Los Angeles. An all-star cast joins Goth for this third installment, including Emmy Award-winner Elizabeth Debicki, Moses Sumney, Kevin Bacon, Giancarlo Esposito, Michelle Monaghan, Lily Collins, and Grammy Award-nominee Halsey.

‘Mother, Couch’

Mother (Ellen Burstyn) has had enough. Giving no reasons why and refusing to leave, she plops down on a furniture store couch. The absurdity sends her three children into a tailspin of confusion, frustration, and starkly honest conversations. Ewan McGregor, Rhys Ifans, Taylor Russell, and Lara Flynn Boyle star in a story directed by Niclas Larsson and inspired by a Swedish novel by Jerker Virdborg.

‘Murder Company’

From Shane Dax Taylor and screenwriter Jesse Mittelstadt comes Murder Company, a war thriller set during the height of D-Day. As Allied soldiers land on Normandy’s beaches and launch their final initiative against Nazi Germany, a small American army division — including William Moseley, Joe Anderson, and Pooch Hall — receives top-secret new orders. Assisted by a member of the French Resistance (Gilles Marini), they go behind enemy lines to assassinate France’s highest-ranking SS officer before he can flee the country.

‘Dead Whisper’

Warning: don’t sign your name in the guestbook. Haunted by the loss of his daughter, lawyer Elliot Campbell (Sam Dunning) investigates an odd case on an island off the coast of Cape Cod, Massachusetts. Instead of taking his mind off morbid things, Elliot’s excursion into the community’s secrets becomes a fight for his soul. Rob Evan and Tana Sirois co-star in director Conor Soucy‘s dark horror Dead Whisper, which Soucy co-wrote with Colin Charles Dale.

‘Escape’

Lim Gyu-nam (Lee Je-hoon) is a celebrated North Korean soldier on the cusp of an honorable discharge – until he defects, joined by fellow soldier Dong-hyu (Hong Xa-bin). Both men yearn for the freedom to make their own choices. Pursued by the army and Lee Hyeon-sang (Koo Kyo-hwan), a high-ranking National Security officer, Lim Gyu-nam and Dong-hyu will either reach South Korea or “die on my terms.” Sweet Home star Song Kang co-stars in director Lee Jong-pil‘s emotional and high-octane thriller.

‘The Nature of Love’

Opposites attract for the best in the French-Canadian romantic dramedy The Nature of Love by writer-director Monia Chokri. Sophie (Magalie Lépine-Blondeau), a married professor, isn’t looking for true love. She just wants to fix the vacation house she shares with her husband Xavier (Francis-William Rhéaume). When their general contractor Sylvain (Pierre-Yves Cardinal) happens to be handsome and charming, irresistible sparks fly. Unlike Sophie, Sylvian believes in true love; have they stumbled onto the real deal?

‘The Imaginary’

The Imaginary is a hand-drawn animated feature by director Yoshiyuki Momose and Studio Ponoc, the Japanese artists behind Mary and the Witch’s Flower. The young and precocious Amanda (Evie Kiszel) brings her imaginary friend Rudger (Louie Rudge-Buchanan) to life, but no one else can see him. The duo realizes that the world is full of “imaginaries,” magical friends left behind when their human companions become adults and forget them. But Rudger knows Amanda is different.

‘Exposure’

Writer-director Peter Cannon‘s twisty thriller Exposure follows Tanner (Douglas Smith), who lives with OCD and a home invasion phobia. Years earlier, a strange man captured and tortured him. Now, with his assailant having served his prison time, Tanner’s trauma symptoms worsen. He tries to treat his symptoms with intense exposure therapy, but, as the trailer ominously suggests, “Being paranoid about something doesn’t stop it from happening.” Margo Harshman plays Tanner’s wife, Nicole.

‘Divorce in the Black’

“Careful pushing a good woman too far.” Divorce in the Black, the latest thriller-romance from writer-director Tyler Perry, finds Ava (Meagan Good) at a crossroads. She’s dedicated her life to being a perfect wife only for her abusive husband Dallas (Cory Hardrict) to leave her. Once Ava files for divorce and discovers a loving romance with her soulmate (Joseph Lee Anderson), Dallas returns to stalk his ex-wife.

‘Fly Me to the Moon’

An Apple TV+ original, Fly Me to the Moon, debuts in theaters before floating over to the streamer. It’s 1960s America, and the Space Race is heating up. Astronauts scramble to beat Russia to the moon at all costs, which includes filming a “backup” fake landing just in case. Amidst this chaos, NASA director Cole Davis’ (Channing Tatum) meet-cute with NASA’s new marketing strategist, the genius Kelly Jones (Scarlett Johansson), might become something more. Also starring Ray Romano and Woody Harrelson, director Greg Berlanti directs Rose Gilroy‘s rom-com script.

‘Longlegs’

Longlegs, writer-director Osgood Perkins’ newest horror film, hits theaters on the heels of its eerily viral marketing campaign. Rookie FBI Agent Lee Harker (Maika Monroe) pursues Longlegs, a serial killer (Nicolas Cage) known for targeting families. But there’s more to this gruesome case than meets the eye. Longlegs’ occult origins run deep, which clashes with Lee’s religious upbringing. Aided by survivor Carrie Anne Camera (Kiernan Shipka), Lee is the only one who can unravel the mystery.

‘Sing Sing’

Academy Award nominee Colman Domingo leads this fictional drama inspired by the Sing Sing Correctional Facility’s Rehabilitation Through the Arts program, a community of incarcerated men who produce and perform plays. Colman plays real-life program alumni John “Divine G” Whitfield, while alumni Clarence “Divine Eye” Maclin plays himself. Directed by Greg Kwedar from Clint Bentley‘s screenplay, Sing Sing co-stars Sean San José, Paul Raci, and many “formerly incarcerated performers, the majority of them alumni of the RTA program,” as reported by The Hollywood Reporter.

‘Dandelion’

Dandelion (KiKi Layne) and Casey (Thomas Doherty) are dreamers who can’t give up their dreams, no matter how much adversity strikes. A singer-songwriter, Dandelion can’t land a foothold in the music industry. Casey was already in a band that had fallen apart. Success matters, but as Dandelion and Casey fall in love, writer-director Nicole Riegel‘s Dandelion reminds them how to joyfully create art.