With the Covid-19 Pandemic overtaking 2020, movie theaters became an afterthought.

Many highly anticipated movies such as Black Widow, A Quiet Place Part II, and West Side Story (2021) were pushed back to later release dates. Several distribution companies decided to go ahead and release their movies on time, but instead of a theatrical release, they premiered on streaming services such as HBO Max or Disney+. 

Kicking off the summer movie lineup is A Quiet Place Part II. The highly anticipated sequel to the 2018 hit was originally set to be released on May 15, 2020.

This movie, directed by John Kransinski and starring Emily Blunt, will be released in time for Memorial Day weekend, on May 28.

The live action movie inspired by the iconic Disney villain, Cruella, starring Emma Stone as the titular will be released theatrically and will be available on Disney+ Premier Access on May 28. The third movie in The Conjuring series and the eighth movie in The Conjuring universe, The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It, is set to release theatrically and simultaneously on HBO Max on June 4.

The movie stars Vera Farmiga and Patrick Wilson. A week after that release, on June 11, comes the highly anticipated movie adaptation of In the Heights. The movie, produced by Hamilton creator Lin Manuel Miranda, stars Hamilton alumni Anthony Ramos. 

Skipping forward into July, the fifth and final installment in The Purge franchise titled, The Forever Purge, will be released on July 2. Following that is the long-awaited return of the Marvel Cinematic Universe movies. The Black Widow film starring Scarlett Johansson, Florence Pugh, and David Harbour is finally having it’s release on July 9 after being pushed back three previous times.

It is the first movie of Phase 4, and the first of four MCU movies being released in 2021. Wrapping up the most anticipated films of the summer is Space Jam: A New Legacy. This movie starring LeBron James and Don Cheadle serves as the sequel to the 1996 movie starring Michael Jordan. 

Even though we didn’t get the theatrical experience we are used to this past year, there are many movies to look forward to for the rest of the year.