July is the month the summer calendar has been building to. Two of the year’s biggest films, Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey and Spider-Man: Brand New Day, land two weeks apart, and between them sit a live-action Moana, a Minions movie, an Evil Dead sequel and a pair of streaming debuts that have already made the year’s best-of lists.
We picked eight releases from the guides at Boston.com, Epicstream and JustWatch, in release order. Dates are U.S.
Minions & Monsters (cinemas, July 1): the Fourth of July heavyweight
Illumination’s latest is billed as the “totally true story” of how the Minions conquered Hollywood, became movie stars, lost everything and unleashed monsters on the world. Deadline expected it to rule the holiday weekend with a potential $100 million over five days.
Enola Holmes 3 (Netflix, July 1): Malta
Millie Bobby Brown’s detective follows her “most dangerous case yet” to the shores of Malta, with Louis Partridge, Henry Cavill, Himesh Patel and Helena Bonham Carter returning. Adolescence director Philip Barantini takes over behind the camera, per Epicstream.
Project Hail Mary (Prime Video, July 3): Gosling in space
Ryan Gosling’s sci-fi movie hits streaming after a theatrical run that Variety’s midyear list counted among the year’s “crowd-pleasing behemoths with soul.” It’s the one to watch if you missed it on a big screen.
Moana (cinemas, July 10): live action
Disney’s live-action remake has newcomer Catherine Laga‘aia as Moana and Dwayne Johnson reprising Maui, with Auli‘i Cravalho, who voiced the character in the animated films, as an executive producer. JustWatch’s verdict is wry: “We really, really don’t need a live-action Moana movie at this point.” But they’ll be seated anyway.
Evil Dead Burn (cinemas, July 10): the family reunion from hell
Sébastien Vaniček directs, with Sam Raimi producing, a standalone chapter about a woman who seeks solace with her in-laws in a secluded home after her husband dies, only for the family to turn into Deadites. JustWatch says you can jump in without having seen the earlier films.
The Odyssey (cinemas, July 17): Nolan, IMAX and a rapper bard
Christopher Nolan’s mythic epic follows Odysseus (Matt Damon) home from the Trojan War, with Tom Holland, Anne Hathaway, Robert Pattinson, Zendaya, Lupita Nyong’o and Charlize Theron in the cast. It is the first feature shot entirely on IMAX cameras. Music fans have a reason to look closer: Ludwig Göransson’s score skips the orchestra, and Travis Scott plays a bard. We covered how the film opened and what the score sounds like.
Spider-Man: Brand New Day (cinemas, July 31): Peter, forgotten
Tom Holland’s Peter Parker is committed full time to the job in a world that has forgotten his identity. He watches former friends build lives without him while a strange change in his body spirals, and an invisible threat targets New York. Zendaya, Sadie Sink, Jacob Batalon, Jon Bernthal and Mark Ruffalo star, and Destin Daniel Cretton directed. It went on to a record opening.
The Drama (HBO Max, July 31): the wedding that unravels
A24’s dark comedy, directed by Kristoffer Borgli, puts Zendaya’s Emma and Robert Pattinson’s Charlie days from their wedding when a shock confession upends everything. /Film’s Debopriyaa Dutta says it “wields its edginess with remarkable skill.” It arrives on HBO Max after its theatrical run.
Also this month
Silo returns for a third season on Apple TV on July 3, and Netflix’s Little House on the Prairie and Peacock’s The Five-Star Weekend, with Jennifer Garner as a celebrity chef, both arrive July 9. Shark Week starts its run on HBO Max July 26. The Emmy nominations come on July 8, and tickets for KATSEYE’s WILD HEARTS go on sale July 15.
- Cinemas
- *Minions & Monsters* (July 1), *Moana* and *Evil Dead Burn* (July 10), *The Odyssey* (July 17), *Spider-Man: Brand New Day* (July 31)
- Streaming
- *Enola Holmes 3* (July 1), *Project Hail Mary* (July 3), *The Drama* (July 31)
Sources
Added to the High Grailed archive on October 12, 2026.
