The summer blockbusters of 2024 that could still save the box office

So far, the summer blockbusters of 2024 aren't busting too many blocks. With some notable exceptions — Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes has been a success — the biggest movies have been met with a lukewarm stream of cinemagoers nabbing their tickets in disappointing numbers.

Ryan Gosling-fronted action spectacular The Fall Guy was a big casualty earlier in May. It floundered so comprehensively at the box office that it's already available on premium video-on-demand services in the USA less than a month after its opening weekend at the multiplex.

A similar fate could well come for Mad Max prequel Furiosa, which topped the charts with a fairly meagre $32m (£25m) over the supposedly lucrative Memorial Day weekend. In fact, it was the worst total for a Memorial Day chart-topper since Casper in 1995.

Talk of the sky falling in over all of this is a little premature, of course. We shouldn't put everything on the opening weekend alone, with recent examples like Anyone But You and Elemental showing how films can continue to pick up multiplex steam like the rampaging boulder in Raiders of the Lost Ark.

Read more: Anyone But You's Glen Powell reveals favourite movie he's ever made (Digital Spy)

And also, the summer is still young. There are plenty of big blockbusters with serious pedigree to get those numbers flying through the roof. Let's have a look at some of the most exciting movies still to come between June and August.

Bad Boys: Ride or Die (5 June)

In 2020 — just before cinemas shut their doors due to the pandemic — Bad Boys for Life became one of the highest-grossing January releases of all time. It smashed the box office takings of the two previous films in the franchise, showing that there was life yet in the team-up between Martin Lawrence and Will Smith as bickering Miami detectives Marcus Burnett and Mike Lowrey.

Four years later, directing duo Adil & Bilall — after dusting themselves off in the wake of the Batgirl fiasco — are back in this world for more with Bad Boys: Ride or Die. This time, they have to work outside the law while investigating possible Mafia involvement within the police department. Expect jokes, running, and shooting.

Read more: Will Smith reflects on ‘chemistry’ with Bad Boys co-star Martin Lawrence (PA Media)

The box office success of Bad Boys for Life came as something of a surprise and it's certainly the case that Smith has had some ups and downs since then. But there's every possibility that this proves to be another financial winner.

Inside Out 2 (15 June)

Inside Out might just be the best movie Pixar has ever made. It delivered a nuanced and fascinating journey into the inner workings of a tween mind, while providing a host of colourful characters in the shape of young Riley's five emotions. Now, there are more emotions joining the fray for Inside Out 2, with director Pete Docter — now rather busy running the whole studio — replaced by Kelsey Mann.

Read more: Every Pixar film ranked from worst to best according to fans (Yahoo Entertainment)

The first Inside Out movie made a very handsome $859m (£675m) at the box office, and sequels to beloved Pixar movies tend to do well. Just look at the likes of Incredibles 2, Finding Dory, and the entire Toy Story franchise.

It's true that Pixar has seen a box office drop due to its Disney+ strategy during the pandemic but, if any franchise is immune to that, it could definitely be one as well-liked as Inside Out.

Despicable Me 4 (12 July)

Scheduled for a month after Inside Out 2 in order to carve out a prime spot at the beginning of the school summer holidays, the smart money is on Despicable Me 4 to be the biggest grosser of the summer. There's no more reliable path to box office success in the 21st century than the minions. The five movies in the franchise have an average gross just shy of a billion dollars. That's exceptional.

Read more: Why are there no female minions? (Yahoo Entertainment)

The plot, such as it matters, sees Gru and his new family — including mini me infant Gru Jr — threatened by an escaped supervillain voiced by Will Ferrell. But it's name recognition that will get audiences through the door, and they'll come in droves. At a time when very few movies break through that billion-dollar barrier, this one is a sure thing.

Twisters (19 July)

Twisters is perhaps a slightly tougher sell than some of the other movies on this list. It's a sequel to the 1996 movie Twister, which was a box office hit on release — only losing out on the year's top spot to the might of Independence Day. Three decades later, does anyone care enough about this property to go to see Twisters?

Read more: Glen Powell on Why He Feared He “Ruined” ‘Hidden Figures’ (The Hollywood Reporter)

The answer is actually that it doesn't matter much. The movie is a standalone experience with a cast made up of some of the buzziest young stars in Hollywood, uniting romcom king Glen Powell with Normal People's Daisy Edgar-Jones and Hamilton standout Anthony Ramos. Those guys plus tornadoes? The disaster movie might just be back on top.

Deadpool & Wolverine (25 July)

The hefty break between Marvel Cinematic Universe films has felt like a balm, if truth be told. The Marvels was vastly underrated, but it has been nice to have a bit of a breather between that and Deadpool & Wolverine. The foul-mouthed, violent mercenary is finally joining the family-friendly world of the MCU, and he's bringing the F-bombs with him. Wolverine's coming too.

Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman are a terrific double act and that should be enough to make this movie work, as long as it doesn't get dragged too deeply into tangled multiverse storytelling. Ultimately, fans just want a Deadpool movie to be funny, self-referential, and splattery.

Read more: Ryan Reynolds reveals backstory on how Hugh Jackman landed in the MCU for ‘Deadpool 3’ (Yahoo Entertainment)

Unlike some other films on this list, Deadpool & Wolverine's R-rating in the States — it will likely be a 15 in the UK, but could even cross over into the 18 certificate — could hamstring its box office. But with the name value of the characters and the stars, this will still be one of the summer's biggest hitters. It could spark an MCU revival, at last.

Borderlands (9 August)

It has been a decade-long journey to bring the Borderlands video game to cinemas. But now, with Eli Roth behind the camera and some suitably bold visuals, it's finally happening. Cate Blanchett plays the outlaw Lillith, who is joined by a group of misfits on a sci-fi quest. Expect chaos.

Read more: The Borderlands movie will kick off the "Borderlands Cinematic Universe" (Total Film)

As for box office potential, this one could go either way. Recent video game films have raked in the cash, but the likes of Super Mario and Sonic the Hedgehog definitely have more name value than Borderlands. Fans will carry this through its opening weekend, but it will need to live up to the hype in order to show off its legs at the multiplex.

Alien: Romulus (16 August)

Perhaps wisely, the newest take on the Alien franchise has decided to swerve away from the complex mythology and philosophy of Ridley Scott's recent movies. In fact, director Fede Álvarez — who made the fantastic Evil Dead remake in 2013 — has gone right back to basics, setting Alien: Romulus directly between Scott's original Alien and James Cameron's sci-fi war movie Aliens. Cailee Spaeny, fresh from standout performances in Priscilla and Civil War, plays one of a group of colonists who end up face-to-face with a familiar alien critter.

Read more: The terrifying, long-lost Xenomorph prototype never before seen in public (Yahoo Entertainment)

The Alien movies have a varied, up-and-down history at the box office, but this might well come down purely to quality. It might have a bit of a soft opening weekend — it's difficult to forget the stink of Covenant — but good word of mouth could propel it to success.