One of them is even our early pick for the best film of 2023. There are also a handful of prestige films that feel like excellent summer counterprogramming - looking at you, Oppenheimer - and some “smaller” comedies and dramas and docs that are definitely worth leaving the house for.

Many of the 40 movies we’ve singled out for this list definitely fit in the best-seen-on-biggest-screens-possible category, and fit the traditional idea of what gets released between Memorial Day and Labor Day. Or you could go sit in the dark with strangers and have a communal experience, as everyone laughs and cries and becomes immersed in those larger-than-life images. You could wait to watch the latest superhero epic or Fast & Furious entry or a big eye-candy movie like Barbie on the streaming service of your choice. And few things will get people out to theaters more than the event movies we associate with the summer-movie season. At this year’s Cinema Con - the annual gathering of theater owners, industry wonks, and celebrities pitching their upcoming projects - everyone from Martin Scorsese to Warners CEO David Zaslav reiterated why movie theaters remain a vital part of the equation. Summer’s here! And the time is right for seeing lots of blockbusters, sequels, prequels, threequels, and other big-name movies on IMAX-sized screens! The movies have more or less returned to “normal,” even if public moviegoing itself still feels like it’s in danger of becoming the equivalent of gas lamps and hula hoops.

The spy by sophie