Summer Watching: What to catch in the cinema this blockbuster season

30 Jun 2016 BY Cristina Duffy

5 mins
Summer Watching: What to catch in the cinema this blockbuster season

As part of our ongoing campaign to encourage young people to view film legally and to enjoy the big screen experience, we asked a film industry expert Cristina Duffy, from Pearl & Dean, to tell us about this summer's hottest upcoming releases for 5-19 year-olds.

Summer is officially upon us! It's time for sticky sun cream, short shorts, daily ice-creams and - of course - that age-old tradition of visiting a cool, dark auditorium to lose yourself in the latest summer blockbusters.

With something for everyone, this summer's releases are sure to get young audiences out of the sun and into the cinema. The family calendar is packed with films which should all be in the top ten for 2016. We're expecting record breaking numbers from Disney's long awaited Finding Dory (29th July), which will be enticing older fish-fans who were introduced to the characters back in 2003, along with a fresh new audience of tiny swimmers alongside. In the US, Finding Dory grossed $93m on its opening weekend, making it the biggest opening for an animated film of all time. This gives the latest Spielberg spectacular The BFG (22nd July) just one week pre-Dory to bring in the big numbers and entertain audiences from 4 to 94 with its classic Roald Dahl story, already loved by millions. [See the video below for a peek behind the scenes of Finding Dory.]

Also vying for a piece of the box office pie at the start of the school holidays will be Ice Age 5 (15th July). The Ice Age films are the second most successful family franchise ever made, and its adorable characters enjoy a huge following. From one beloved story to another - Disney is releasing Pete's Dragon (August 12th), which promises to be a fantastic live-action adventure and a beautiful re-imagining of the 1977 classic.

Teens and pre-teens have a great line up this summer. Heartthrob Alexander Skarsgard transforms into an impressive Tarzan for the new exciting reboot The Legend of Tarzan (July 8th), while Trekkies finally get the third instalment of the new franchise, Star Trek Beyond (July 22nd), with Idris Elba taking on the role of the new antagonist or super bad guy. Matt Damon is back to what he does best in Jason Bourne (July 29th) playing, well, Jason Bourne, who must return to action and discover yet more truths about his past, leading an all-star cast that includes Oscar-winner Alicia Vikander and Tommy Lee Jones.

Batman v Superman was a huge box office success, in spite of mixed reviews, and the predicted big hitter for August will be bad guys doing good deeds in comic fantasy Suicide Squad (August 5th). The film will see all the well-known villains of the DC comic book series take on black ops missions to lessen their prison sentences in what promises to be a special twist on the normal comic book story.

The end of the summer is packed with comedy releases, from Zac Efron's new brother buddy caper Mike and Dave need Wedding Dates (August 12th), which brings The Hangover-style humour back to the big screen, to David Brent: Life on the Road (August 19th), which sees the much anticipated return of Britain's favourite office manager in his own feature film. Teens today might not remember the success of The Office in 2003, but with the strong response to the trailer, we predict a large 15 to 19 aged audience. 

The summer 2016 line up is stronger than ever. Film lovers are about to see the world come to an end again in Independence Day: Resurgence, meet old friends on new adventures in Absolutely Fabulous: The Movie, and parents will be watching Dory over and over until they scream. I recommend swapping sunglasses for 3D glasses this year, much better for you!

Cristina Duffy

Cristina Duffy, Senior Account Manager and Film Specialist, Pearl & Dean

Cristina Duffy has been at Pearl & Dean since 2010. She loves connecting audiences with great film content and forging great partnerships between brands and films. The film she's most looking forward to in 2016 is The Girl on the Train.

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