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12 Best Summer Movies to Watch This Year

12 Best Summer Movies to Watch This Year

You want to watch something that feels like summer — something that lifts your mood, pulls you into another world, and makes you forget about everything else for two hours.


That feeling is real, and it is available to you right now.


Summer movies are a special category. They are not just films — they are memories. They are the ones you quote with friends for years. They are the ones you put on when the weather gets warm and you want to feel alive, carefree, and like anything is possible. They are the films that make a good day great and a quiet evening feel like a full experience.


This list covers the 12 absolute best summer movies you should watch this year — ranging from feel-good musical adventures to iconic blockbusters, tearjerker teen classics to razor-sharp comedies. Every single one earns its place for a different reason, but they all share that same quality: they feel like summer.


Whether you are planning a solo movie night, a couples evening, a family watch party, or just need something wonderful to put on right now, you will find your next favorite film here.


They are ranked in descending order — from a very worthy #12 all the way to the movie that earns the top spot as the single best summer film you can watch this year.


Every title includes where to stream or watch, what makes it special, who it is perfect for, and the kind of snacks and vibes it calls for.


Let's get into it 👇

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12. Jaws (1975)

Three men on a boat pull ropes over choppy water, faces tense, with the ocean filling the background.

Genre: Thriller / Adventure Director: Steven Spielberg Starring: Roy Scheider, Robert Shaw, Richard Dreyfuss Rating: PG Where to Watch: Peacock, Amazon Prime Video (rent/buy)


Why It Made the List


There is no summer movie list on earth that is complete without Jaws, and that is not hyperbole — it is film history. Steven Spielberg's 1975 thriller essentially invented the concept of the summer blockbuster. It was the first film to prove that a single movie, released at the right time with the right marketing, could consume an entire culture. Before Jaws, summer was a slow season for movies. After it, summer became the biggest season in cinema. That legacy alone earns it a place on this list.


But legacy is not the only reason to watch Jaws this summer. The film holds up with an almost unfair level of craft. The shark — famously malfunctioning throughout production, forcing Spielberg to keep it mostly off-screen — remains terrifying to this day, and the technique of implying the danger rather than showing it is more effective than almost anything CGI can produce. You feel the shark before you see it. That is masterful filmmaking.


The three-man cast at the heart of the film is extraordinary. Roy Scheider as the anxious police chief who is afraid of water, Robert Shaw as the grizzled, seasoned Quint, and Richard Dreyfuss as the young, enthusiastic marine biologist — these three men stuck on a boat together make the second half of Jaws one of cinema's greatest chamber pieces. The famous monologue about the USS Indianapolis is one of the finest pieces of acting and writing in any movie from the 1970s.


Who It Is For Anyone who has ever stood in the ocean and thought — for just a second — about what might be beneath them. That is everyone. Jaws is for everyone.


The Vibe Late night, lights low, a bowl of popcorn within reach, and the AC on full blast.

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11. The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants (2005)

Four women in colorful summer clothes stand on a windy beach, looking ahead with focused expressions and ocean behind them.

Genre: Coming-of-Age / Drama / Friendship Director: Ken Kwapis Starring: Amber Tamblyn, America Ferrera, Blake Lively, Alexis Bledel Rating: PG Where to Watch: Max, Amazon Prime Video (rent/buy)


Why It Made the List

Few films capture the particular texture of being young and female in summer as well as The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants. Based on Ann Brashares's beloved novel, it follows four best friends — Tibby, Carmen, Bridget, and Lena — as they spend their first summer apart, connected by a single pair of jeans that magically fits all of them despite their different sizes. The pants travel from girl to girl, each one wearing them through the most defining moments of her summer.


What sounds like a gimmick is, in practice, a deeply affecting structure that gives the film room to explore four completely different emotional stories simultaneously. Tibby is moody and disconnected, working a dead-end job and filming a documentary. Carmen feels abandoned by her divorced father who is building a new family. Bridget, impulsive and grieving the loss of her mother, throws herself into a summer soccer camp and a forbidden connection with her coach. Lena, shy and reserved, finds unexpected love in Greece.


Each story resonates. But together, they make something that feels genuinely complete — a full emotional meal about friendship, loss, heartbreak, and the specific terror and exhilaration of being fifteen and figuring out who you are. The cast was remarkable at the time and remains remarkable now, particularly America Ferrera and a pre-Gossip Girl Blake Lively. And the ending — reuniting those four girls at summer's close — lands with real force.


It remains the gold standard of summer friendship films.


Who It Is For Every woman who has had a best friend. Everyone who remembers what the first summer away from home felt like. Anyone who wants to cry in the best possible way.


The Vibe Afternoon on the sofa, tissues nearby, comfort food on the coffee table.


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10. Palm Springs (2020)

Man in red jacket and woman in leopard coat sit by a campfire at night, looking worried against a dark outdoor background.

Genre: Romantic Comedy / Sci-Fi Director: Max Barbakow Starring: Andy Samberg, Cristin Milioti, J.K. Simmons Rating: R Where to Watch: Hulu, Amazon Prime Video (rent/buy)


Why It Made the List

Palm Springs is exactly what a great summer movie should be: smart, funny, surprisingly moving, and built for rewatching. Starring Andy Samberg and Cristin Milioti as two strangers who meet at a wedding in the California desert only to find themselves trapped in a time loop together, it takes a premise that sounds gimmicky and turns it into one of the most genuinely inventive romantic comedies of the past decade.


What makes Palm Springs special is that it never lets the time loop concept become the point. The concept is a vehicle for exploring something much more interesting: what do two people do when they are stripped of consequences, stripped of the pressure of a future, stripped of every social expectation that shapes how we present ourselves to each other? The answer, in this film, is both hilarious and quietly heartbreaking, and the romantic arc that emerges from that question feels completely earned.


Milioti is exceptional — she brings a sharpness and a sadness to Sarah that elevates every scene she is in, and her chemistry with Samberg is real and undeniable. The film is also loaded with visual warmth, saturated desert colors, vibrant blues and warm golds that make it feel like sunlight has been baked into every frame.


This is a film loaded with summer vibes, humorous bits, and plenty of "lounging by the pool" energy. It premiered at Sundance and earned rave reviews. It deserved every one.


Who It Is For Anyone who loves a smart romantic comedy. Anyone who has ever felt stuck. Anyone who wants something funny, warm, and quietly profound.


The Vibe Evening watch with a cold drink, couch lights dimmed, someone to quote it with immediately after.


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9. Adventureland (2009)

Three carnival workers and a young man stand at a ride, one holding a clipboard, in front of red-and-white striped panels.

Genre: Comedy / Drama / Romance Director: Greg Mottola Starring: Jesse Eisenberg, Kristen Stewart, Ryan Reynolds, Bill Hader Rating: R Where to Watch: Amazon Prime Video, Tubi


Why It Made the List


Adventureland is criminally underrated — a film that arrived in 2009 to modest box office returns but has quietly become one of the most beloved coming-of-age movies of its era among the people who discovered it. Set during the summer of 1987 at a rundown Pittsburgh amusement park, it follows James (Jesse Eisenberg), a recent college graduate whose Europe trip falls through, forcing him to take a lowly job at the park's games section. There he meets a group of misfits, falls for the complicated Em (Kristen Stewart), and navigates his first real experience of adult disappointment and adult feeling.


What separates Adventureland from other summer-job comedies is its emotional honesty. Greg Mottola is interested in the specificity of that age — the late-20s crash that comes right after the high of graduation, the gap between who you thought you would be and who you are, the first relationships that feel real and high-stakes rather than teenage. Eisenberg plays James with a kind of earnest, exasperated intelligence that is easy to love, and Stewart gives one of her most nuanced early performances as Em — a person carrying more than she shows.


The soundtrack is spectacular. The humor is warm without being toothless. And the whole thing is soaked in that golden-hour, end-of-summer feeling that makes it genuinely nostalgic even if you never worked at a theme park in your life.


Who It Is For People who loved their 20s and hated their 20s simultaneously. People who like their comedies with a real emotional core. Fans of coming-of-age stories that respect the intelligence of their characters.


The Vibe A lazy Sunday afternoon, something cold to drink, feel slightly nostalgic about the past.

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8. The Way Way Back (2013)

Men and boys at a lively party play with colorful water guns, smiling amid string lights, cups, and a dartboard backdrop.

Genre: Coming-of-Age / Comedy / Drama Director: Nat Faxon & Jim Rash Starring: Liam James, Sam Rockwell, Toni Collette, Steve Carell Rating: PG-13 Where to Watch: Max, Amazon Prime Video (rent/buy)


Why It Made the List

The Way Way Back is one of those films that sneaks up on you. It is quieter and more personal than most of the summer movies on this list, but it earns its place here because it understands summer — specifically the transformative summer, the one that changes who you are — better than almost any other film ever made.


Fourteen-year-old Duncan (Liam James) is dragged on a beach vacation with his mother (Toni Collette) and her controlling, quietly cruel boyfriend Trent (a brilliantly cast Steve Carell, playing against type). Duncan is awkward, withdrawn, socially invisible. Then he discovers Water Wizz, a local water park where he gets a job and comes under the wing of Owen (Sam Rockwell), the park's irreverent, surprisingly wise manager. For the first time, Duncan finds somewhere he belongs.


Sam Rockwell delivers one of the warmest, funniest, most generously human performances in recent memory as Owen. Every scene he shares with Liam James crackles with an authenticity that feels almost documentary — this is genuinely how a good adult talks to an uncertain kid. The beach house scenes are equally strong, quietly devastatingly about the things children see and understand in their parents' relationships that parents imagine are invisible.


By the end, The Way Way Back has built to something genuinely earned and genuinely moving.


Who It Is For Anyone who had a difficult summer as a teenager and found their own version of Water Wizz. Anyone who loves Sam Rockwell. Anyone who has ever felt invisible and then, suddenly, not.


The Vibe Evening, warm light, something bittersweet to drink, be prepared to feel things.


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7. The Sandlot (1993)

Excited boys crowd around a teen in a Dodgers cap and jersey on a baseball field, cheering with raised fists outdoors.

Genre: Family / Comedy / Drama Director: David Mickey Evans Starring: Tom Guiry, Mike Vitar, James Earl Jones Rating: PG Where to Watch: Disney+, Amazon Prime Video (rent/buy)


Why It Made the List

"You're killing me, Smalls." If you know, you know. And if you know, you have probably already started smiling.

The Sandlot is one of the most purely joyful summer movies ever made. Set in the summer of 1962 and narrated by an adult Scotty Smalls looking back at the best summer of his life, it follows a group of kids who play baseball at a local sandlot — and the wild, funny, occasionally terrifying adventures that unfold when Scotty accidentally loses his stepfather's prized baseball over the fence into the yard of The Beast, a legendary dog of mythic proportions.


The film is structured as a series of vignettes rather than a tight narrative, and this loose structure is exactly right for its subject matter. Summer itself feels like that — a series of afternoons and evenings strung together, one leading to the next, each one separate and vivid in memory. The Sandlot captures that texture with absolute fidelity.


It combines all the essential elements of a childhood summer: baseball, mischief, fun, and friends. The sequence in which the boys eat chewing tobacco, ride a carnival ride, and spectacularly regret both decisions is one of the funniest scenes in any family film of the 1990s. And the emotional core — about belonging, about finding your people, about what a good summer can do for a lonely kid — is real and resonant.


Who It Is For Families with kids aged 8 and up. Anyone who grew up in the 1990s. Anyone who had a group of friends defined by one shared obsession. Everyone who still quotes this movie.


The Vibe Saturday afternoon, family on the sofa, s'mores to follow.

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🎧 Mid-list reminder: That Love Podcast has 45+ original audio drama series waiting for you. Listen right now: thatlovepodcast.com/episodes


6. Luca (2021)

Two animated boys smile and hold ice cream cones by the seaside, with blue water and sky behind them.

Genre: Animated / Family / Adventure Director: Enrico Casarosa Starring: Jacob Tremblay, Jack Dylan Grazer, Emma Berman Rating: PG Where to Watch: Disney+


Why It Made the List


Pixar's Luca is the purest, most unguarded celebration of summer friendship in animation. Set on the sun-drenched Italian Riviera, it follows Luca — a young sea monster who can transform into a human boy when out of the water — as he ventures onto land and befriends the bold, street-smart Alberto. Together, they dream of winning a local race to buy a Vespa and explore the world. Everything about Luca is summer.


What makes Luca extraordinary, beyond its gorgeous animation (every frame looks like an Italian postcard soaked in golden light), is its emotional intelligence. The film is about acceptance, about the terror and exhilaration of being different, about the friendships that define your childhood, and about the specific grief of knowing a perfect summer is ending. These are real themes handled with real delicacy, and they land with children and adults equally.


The film is also simply wonderful to look at. The Italian seaside town is one of the most beautiful fictional settings Pixar has ever created, and watching Luca and Alberto race through its streets and dive into its harbor is a genuinely joyful experience.


Pixar's Luca is the epitome of summer magic, with themes of acceptance, prejudice, and being true to yourself woven into every beautiful frame.


Who It Is For Every family. Every person who has a friend who changed their life. Anyone who wants to feel 10 years old again for 90 minutes.


The Vibe Saturday morning, breakfast in hand, sun streaming through the windows.

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Poster collage of animated boys holding ice cream by the sea above bold text: 12 BEST SUMMER MOVIES TO WATCH THIS YEAR; CLICK HERE

5. Top Gun: Maverick (2022)


Close-up of a serious man in tactical gear, with blurred red caution tape in the background.

Genre: Action / Drama Director: Joseph Kosinski Starring: Tom Cruise, Miles Teller, Jennifer Connelly, Glen Powell Rating: PG-13 Where to Watch: Paramount+, Amazon Prime Video (rent/buy)


Why It Made the List


Top Gun: Maverick is one of the most purely entertaining big-screen experiences of the past decade, full stop. It was the highest-grossing film of 2022 and earned its enormous success through the rarest of qualities in modern Hollywood: it is genuinely, repeatedly, unironically spectacular.


Tom Cruise returns as Pete "Maverick" Mitchell, now a test pilot being called back to TOPGUN to train a group of elite young pilots — including the son of his late best friend Goose — for an impossibly dangerous mission. What follows is a film that manages to be simultaneously a thrilling action spectacle, a surprisingly moving meditation on legacy and mortality, and an absolutely perfect summer movie.


The practical, in-camera stunt work is breathtaking. Kosinski and his team actually put the cast in jets, actually filmed them pulling real G-forces, and the result is action sequences that feel viscerally, physically real in a way that CGI simply cannot replicate. When Maverick and Rooster are being chased through a mountain range in a stolen enemy jet, you are there with them. Your heart rate goes up. You cannot look away.


But Top Gun: Maverick also works because it genuinely cares about its characters and earns its emotional beats with patience and craft. The scenes between Cruise and Miles Teller, and particularly the climactic exchange between Maverick and Rooster mid-mission, would land in any drama. Here, surrounded by that action, they land like something extraordinary.


Who It Is For Action lovers, fans of the original, anyone who wants to feel pure exhilaration for two hours. Anyone who doubted Tom Cruise.


The Vibe Big screen if possible. Surround sound at home. No distractions. Fully commit.

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4. Crazy Rich Asians (2018)

Three elegantly dressed people converse in a bright restaurant kitchen, with flowers and chefs in the background.

Genre: Romantic Comedy / Drama Director: Jon M. Chu Starring: Constance Wu, Henry Golding, Michelle Yeoh, Awkwafina Rating: PG-13 Where to Watch: Netflix, Amazon Prime Video (rent/buy)


Why It Made the List


Crazy Rich Asians is everything a summer romantic comedy should be — glamorous, funny, heartfelt, and bursting with visual life. Based on Kevin Kwan's bestselling novel, it follows Rachel Chu (Constance Wu), an economics professor at NYU who travels with her boyfriend Nick (Henry Golding) to Singapore for his best friend's wedding, only to discover that Nick is not merely well-off — he is one of the wealthiest heirs in all of Asia, part of a family whose world of old money, towering expectations, and fierce social hierarchies she is entirely unprepared for.


What elevates Crazy Rich Asians above a simple fish-out-of-water premise is its emotional intelligence about family, identity, and the specific pressure of assimilation. Rachel's battle is not just with Nick's disapproving mother — it is with the question of what she is willing to change about herself and what she is not. And Michelle Yeoh, as Nick's magnificent, formidable, ultimately human mother Eleanor, is one of the great performances in any romantic comedy of the 21st century.


The film is also visually intoxicating. Singapore has never looked more beautiful on screen, and the wedding sequence alone — a breathtaking, water-filled ceremony that moves from funny to devastating to something close to transcendent — is one of the most arresting set pieces in any romance film of its era.

It is a glamorous and romantic escape filled with laughter and heart, and summer is the perfect time to surrender to it completely.


Who It Is For Romance lovers, fans of big romantic set pieces, anyone who has ever felt like an outsider in a room full of insiders, everyone who has ever loved someone whose world is different from their own.

The Vibe Saturday evening, something fancy to drink, dress up just a little.


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3. Barbie (2023)

Barbie and Ken ride a pink convertible through a desert, laughing, with a pastel Barbie sign and rainbow in the background.

Genre: Comedy / Fantasy / Drama Director: Greta Gerwig Starring: Margot Robbie, Ryan Gosling, America Ferrera, Kate McKinnon Rating: PG-13 Where to Watch: Max, Amazon Prime Video (rent/buy)


Why It Made the List


Barbie was the defining cultural event of 2023 and one of the most genuinely surprising major studio films in years. Marketed as a movie for people who love Barbie and also for people who hate Barbie, Greta Gerwig's cotton candy-hued spectacle delivered on both promises while somehow also becoming a meditation on femininity, mortality, identity, and what it means to choose to be human. Nobody expected it to go this hard. It went this hard.


Margot Robbie is perfect as Stereotypical Barbie — a woman who has never had a difficult thought in her life until suddenly, terrifyingly, she does. The moment she looks down at her flat feet and realizes something is wrong is one of the funniest and most unsettling comedy beats of recent years. Ryan Gosling as Ken, meanwhile, is a genuine revelation — a comedic performance of depth, commitment, and ridiculous charm that somehow steals scenes from everyone while never once feeling out of place.


But the heart of the film is America Ferrera's monologue — a speech about the impossible double standards women navigate that landed with audiences like a thunderclap and is still being quoted, shared, and discussed. It is that rare moment when a blockbuster reaches past entertainment into genuine catharsis.

The film can be hysterically funny, with giant laugh-out-loud moments generously scattered throughout its runtime.


Barbie is pure summer cinema. It is pink and joyful and surprisingly devastating and completely alive.


Who It Is For Everyone. This is the rare film that genuinely has something for every kind of viewer. Go with your people.


The Vibe Pink outfit strongly encouraged. Group watch preferred. Have a pink cocktail ready.

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🎧 One more before the top two: Listen to That Love Podcast — original audio dramas you will absolutely love: thatlovepodcast.com/episodes


2. The Parent Trap (1998)

Two smiling young women in white shirts hug outdoors against a blurred leafy background.

Genre: Family / Comedy / Romance Director: Nancy Meyers Starring: Lindsay Lohan, Dennis Quaid, Natasha Richardson Rating: PG Where to Watch: Disney+


Why It Made the List

The Parent Trap is one of the most purely delightful films ever made, and it holds an unusual distinction: it genuinely works for every member of a family at the same time. Children love it for the scheming and the adventure and the fact that Lindsay Lohan plays twins. Adults love it for the Nancy Meyers touches — the beautiful houses, the crisp linen, the devastatingly warm chemistry between Dennis Quaid and Natasha Richardson — and for something else, something deeper. They love it because it is about second chances.


The setup is now legendary: Hallie and Annie are identical twins separated as babies by their divorcing parents, neither of whom knew the other existed. When they meet at summer camp and realise they are sisters, they hatch a plan to switch places and reunite their family. The summer camp sequences — the pranks, the rivalry that becomes friendship, the secret discovery in the mirror — are among the most joyful scenes in any family film of the 1990s.


But it is the second half of The Parent Trap that elevates it from a very good film to something genuinely special. The scenes between Quaid and Richardson as Elizabeth and Nick, rebuilding something they lost, are warm and wise and achingly romantic. Their reunion is not rushed or convenient — it is earned, moment by moment, and the ending, when it comes, feels like a full emotional release.


Nancy Meyers's direction creates a world of beautiful light, warm tones, and textures that feel like a dream of how summer should look. It is one of the great summer aesthetics in cinema.


Who It Is For Every family. Anyone who loves Nancy Meyers. Anyone who has ever wanted their parents to get back together. Everyone who still knows the Annie game from the opening of the film.


The Vibe Sunday family movie, something delicious to cook alongside it, warm lighting, no phones.

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1. Mamma Mia! (2008)

Genre: Musical / Romance / Comedy Director: Phyllida Lloyd Starring: Meryl Streep, Amanda Seyfried, Pierce Brosnan, Colin Firth, Stellan Skarsgård Rating: PG-13 Where to Watch: Peacock, Amazon Prime Video (rent/buy)


Why It Made the List


Mamma Mia! is number one on this list not because it is the most technically accomplished film here — it is not — but because no other movie on this list, or arguably any list, captures the feeling of summer as completely and as joyfully as this one does.


Set on a fictional Greek island that is so beautiful it almost hurts to look at, Mamma Mia! follows Sophie (Amanda Seyfried), a young woman about to get married who invites her mother's three ex-lovers — Sam, Harry, and Bill — to her wedding without telling her mother Donna (Meryl Streep), hoping to discover which one is her father before she walks down the aisle. Chaos, music, comedy, and unexpected emotion ensue.


The film is built around the songs of ABBA, and the musical sequences — Meryl Streep singing "The Winner Takes It All" alone on a cliff in the golden evening light, the entire cast belting "Dancing Queen" into the Aegean Sea, the unbridled joy of "Voulez-Vous" — are some of the most unself-conscious, ecstatic moments in mainstream cinema of the 2000s. Nobody in this film is trying to be cool. Everyone is having the time of their life. That unselfconsciousness is the whole point and the whole power of the experience.


Meryl Streep is extraordinary. She plays Donna — a woman in her 40s who built her life without apology, who raised a daughter alone, who is now watching that daughter leave — with a complexity that the film's surface gaiety does not demand but that Streep delivers anyway. The scene in which she sings to Sophie the morning before the wedding is genuinely moving in a way that surprises you every single time.


These films top countless summer lists for their breathtaking landscape and fantastic ABBA music. The Greek island setting is not a backdrop — it is a character. Every shot of whitewashed walls and turquoise water is a reminder that beauty exists and that summer is its proper home.


There is a reason Mamma Mia! became one of the most beloved musical films of its generation. There is a reason people rewatch it every summer. There is a reason its sequel, Here We Go Again, felt like a homecoming rather than a cash-grab. It is because Mamma Mia! makes you feel something specific and irreplaceable — the particular happiness of being exactly where you are supposed to be, surrounded by people you love, with music playing.


That is summer. That is this film. That is why it is #1.


Who It Is For Everyone, but especially: mothers and daughters. Families. Anyone who loves ABBA. Anyone who has ever danced in public without caring who was watching. Anyone who wants to feel genuinely happy for two hours.


The Vibe Evening, volume up, something fruity and cold to drink, everybody sings along, no apologies.

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Conclusion


Summer does not need a reason to feel special — but a great movie makes it feel even better. Whether you spend this season watching a shark terrorize a small town, dancing along with Meryl Streep on a Greek island, or crying at the airport scene in a film about four best friends and a magical pair of jeans, these 12 movies will give your summer a soundtrack, a story, and a feeling you will not forget.


Every film on this list has earned its place. Every one of them is worth your time. And every one of them — from the blockbusters to the quiet gems — understands something essential about summer: that it is short, that it is precious, and that the best way to honor it is to be fully present in it.


Go watch something wonderful.


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10 FAQs: Best Summer Movies to Watch This Year

1. What is the best family-friendly summer movie on this list? Luca (Disney+) is the perfect family pick — it is beautifully animated, emotionally intelligent, appropriate for all ages, and universally beloved. The Parent Trap (1998) and The Sandlot are also excellent family choices with more dialogue-driven, live-action humor that slightly older children especially enjoy.

2. Which summer movie on this list is best for a first date or couple's night? Crazy Rich Asians and Palm Springs are the two strongest picks for a couples' night. Crazy Rich Asians is glamorous and genuinely romantic, while Palm Springs is funnier, quirkier, and a perfect choice if you and your partner enjoy smart comedies you can discuss afterward.

3. Where can I stream Mamma Mia! for free? Mamma Mia! is currently available on Peacock, which offers a free ad-supported tier in the US. It can also be rented or purchased on Amazon Prime Video and Apple TV+.

4. Is Jaws suitable for younger children? Jaws is rated PG, but it earns that rating for genuine tension and some frightening scenes. Most film guidance suggests it is best for children aged 12 and up. Younger children sensitive to scary content or animal-related tension should probably wait.

5. What are the best summer movies for a girls' night in? Mamma Mia!, Crazy Rich Asians, Barbie, and The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants are all exceptional girls' night picks. Each one brings a different energy — joyful musical, glamorous romance, feminist comedy, and emotional friendship drama — so you could build an entire girls' weekend marathon from just these four.

6. Which of these summer movies is the most underrated? Adventureland (2009) and The Way Way Back (2013) are the two most underrated films on this list. Both received positive critical reception but modest commercial performance, and both have quietly built devoted audiences over the years. If you have not seen either, they are genuine discoveries.

7. Is Top Gun: Maverick better if I have seen the original Top Gun? Knowing the original enriches Maverick — particularly the emotional stakes around Goose's legacy and Maverick's relationship with Rooster. However, Top Gun: Maverick is completely compelling as a standalone film and makes all necessary context clear within its own narrative. You do not need to have seen the original to love it.

8. What is the age rating for Palm Springs? Palm Springs is rated R in the United States for language, some drug use, and brief sexual content. It is best suited for adults and mature teenagers 17 and up.

9. Are any of these movies based on books? Yes — several. The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants is based on Ann Brashares's novel of the same name. Crazy Rich Asians is based on Kevin Kwan's bestselling novel. Barbie is an original screenplay inspired by the toy line. Jaws is based on Peter Benchley's 1974 thriller novel.

10. What are the best summer movies to watch if I love romantic comedies specifically? If romantic comedies are your thing, this list has you covered. Palm Springs, Crazy Rich Asians, Mamma Mia!, and The Parent Trap are all exceptional romantic comedy choices across different tones — from smart and sharp to purely joyful to warmly nostalgic. Work through all four and you will have one of the best movie weekends of your summer.

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Episode of the Week

That Love Podcast presents: American Bollywood — Official Trailer

Format/Genre: A cinematic coming-of-age audio rom-com and romantic audio drama about first love, impossible dreams, Bollywood dancing, friendship, family, and finding the courage to finally be seen.

Logline: When high-school senior Izzy Lopez discovers that Miles Pires Shah — the boy she has secretly loved for years — is leaving town in just eight weeks, she creates an outrageous plan to learn Bollywood dancing, perform at prom, and make him fall in love with her before time runs out.

AMERICAN BOLLYWOOD — OFFICIAL TRAILER

His name is Miles Pires Shah.

Izzy Lopez has loved him from a distance for years, but she has never found the courage to tell him how she feels. Then everything changes when Izzy discovers that Miles is leaving town in only eight weeks, giving her fifty-six days to do something she has spent years avoiding: make sure he finally sees her.

Her solution is completely reasonable.

Learn Bollywood dancing.

Perform at the school prom.

Make Miles Pires Shah fall hopelessly in love with her.

There is just one fairly serious problem.

Izzy cannot dance.

As Izzy throws herself into an impossible eight-week challenge, she enters a world of disastrous dance lessons, unexpected friendships, family complications, romantic misunderstandings and feelings that refuse to follow her carefully constructed plan. What begins as an attempt to win one boy’s heart slowly becomes something much bigger — a journey about confidence, identity, friendship, first love and discovering that becoming worthy of someone else may matter far less than believing you were already enough.

American Bollywood is a warm, funny and emotional love story podcast filled with romantic tension, Bollywood-inspired energy, coming-of-age chaos and characters searching for the courage to tell the truth about what they really want.

Sometimes getting someone to finally see you begins with learning to see yourself.

American Bollywood begins September 7th on That Love Podcast.

Starring Berr Kell and Emerson Peery

Written by Joao Nsita

SPONSORED

Sponsored by That Love Podcast

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This article is proudly supported by That Love Podcast — a destination for modern romance, lifestyle inspiration, and captivating audio storytelling.

Featured partnership opportunities are limited to one brand per month.

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