May is when the multiplex stops being polite. The AV Club says summer starts big with spin-offs of streaming hits (The Mandalorian, Jack Ryan) and sequels to The Devil Wears Prada and Mortal Kombat, and there is plenty of counterprogramming for people who would rather see a pop concert in 3D, a shoplifting satire or a viral internet horror story. Boston.com adds that the streaming calendar is quieter than usual after a very busy April.
We picked eight releases from the guides at the AV Club, Box Office Pro, RANGE and Boston.com, in release order. Dates are U.S.
The Devil Wears Prada 2 (cinemas, May 1): Runway, 20 years later
Anne Hathaway’s Andy returns to Runway to help Meryl Streep’s Miranda Priestly pitch an old foe, Emily (Emily Blunt), now a Dior executive, on investing in the magazine, per the AV Club, with Stanley Tucci’s Nigel in tow. Box Office Pro expects it to compete with The Mandalorian and Grogu as the month’s biggest movie. See how it opened and the Lady Gaga and Doechii song from its trailer.
Billie Eilish – Hit Me Hard and Soft: The Tour (Live in 3D) (cinemas, May 8): James Cameron’s first non-*Avatar* movie in years
The AV Club calls the concert film a reprieve for fans worn out by Pandora: it is James Cameron’s first non-*Avatar* film since 2005, co-directed with Eilish and captured during two Manchester shows on her world tour. Cameron uses the 3D cameras normally reserved for the Na’vi, and RANGE says the goal is to place viewers directly in Eilish’s shoes.
The 79th Cannes Film Festival (May 12–23): the auteurs take over
With no big studio films and a Park Chan-wook-led jury, Cannes is a month-long art-house calendar. The festival opens with Peter Jackson’s honorary Palme d’Or and a live “Get Back” from Theodora and Oklou, and closes with the Palme d’Or on May 23. We cover the opening and the lineup and the winners.
Obsession (cinemas, May 15): be careful what you wish for
Curry Barker’s horror debut starts with a simple idea: a hopeless romantic (Michael Johnston) cracks a pre-packaged wishbone made of sticks and wishes that his unrequited love (Inde Navarrette) would fall for him. Her obsession quickly turns violent, per the AV Club. RANGE calls it “absurdly simple” at first and then intensely nerve-wracking and darkly hilarious.
Kylie (Netflix, May 20): the pop-star documentary
Netflix’s three-part Kylie Minogue docuseries, directed by Michael Harte, blends new commentary with archival footage and features her sister Dannii, Jason Donovan and Nick Cave. We have the trailer story.
The Mandalorian and Grogu (cinemas, May 22): the first Star Wars movie in seven years
Jon Favreau’s film follows Pedro Pascal’s Din Djarin and Grogu as the New Republic enlists them to contain Imperial warlords, set between the original trilogy and the Disney sequels, according to the AV Club and Box Office Pro. Jeremy Allen White plays Rotta the Hutt. Read how it opened.
I Love Boosters (cinemas, May 22): Boots Riley’s shoplifting gang
The follow-up to Sorry to Bother You is a stylish caper comedy about professional shoplifters, led by Keke Palmer’s Corvette, who target a fashion mogul (Demi Moore) after their designs are stolen. Naomi Ackie, Taylour Paige, Poppy Liu and Eiza González co-star, and RANGE calls it another “raucously zany, anti-capitalist satire,” set in a hyper-saturated, surreal Bay Area.
Backrooms (cinemas, May 29): the YouTube legend goes to A24
Kane Parsons turns his viral YouTube series, itself based on an old creepypasta about endless yellow-walled rooms, into A24’s horror film, per the AV Club and Box Office Pro. Renate Reinsve plays a therapist who follows a missing patient (Chiwetel Ejiofor) through the basement of a furniture store into another dimension, and Looper has the release as May 29. Parsons is A24’s youngest feature filmmaker, RANGE says.
Also this month
Mortal Kombat II brings Karl Urban’s Johnny Cage into the tournament, and Hugh Jackman leads the talking-sheep mystery The Sheep Detectives. John Krasinski’s Jack Ryan: Ghost War hits Prime Video on May 20, and Nicolas Cage voices the hero of Spider-Noir on May 27, per Boston.com. HBO’s biggest title is the new Wuthering Heights with Margot Robbie and Jacob Elordi, and Netflix’s The Four Seasons returns May 28. RANGE’s classic pick is Martin Scorsese’s The Last Waltz on Mubi from May 1.
- Cinemas
- *The Devil Wears Prada 2* (May 1), *Billie Eilish – Hit Me Hard and Soft: The Tour (Live in 3D)* (May 8), *Obsession* (May 15), *The Mandalorian and Grogu* and *I Love Boosters* (May 22), *Backrooms* (May 29)
- Streaming
- *Kylie* (Netflix, May 20), *Jack Ryan: Ghost War* (Prime Video, May 20), *Spider-Noir* (Prime Video, May 27), *The Four Seasons* (Netflix, May 28)
- Festival
- Cannes, May 12–23
Sources
Added to the High Grailed archive on October 12, 2026.
