Forget Christmas in July, this year it's Halloween in August.
Summer is coming to an end, and this year, it's ending not with a bang, but with a scream: Horror movies abound this August, with the release of Bodies Bodies Bodies, The Invitation and They/Them, to name a few. Because what's summer without some vampires and an exceptionally sinister summer camp?
If horror isn't your cup of tea, this month delivers a healthy dose of action courtesy of Brad Pitt and Idris Elba, dramas from filmmakers Ron Howard and George Miller, and a documentary about the people's princess. Plus, the chance to see one of the most iconic summer movies of all time on the biggest screen possible: E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial is being re-released on IMAX for one week starting Aug. 12, in celebration of the film's 40th anniversary.
Scroll on for more on all the movies hitting theaters and streaming services this August.
Bodies Bodies Bodies
Light as a feather, stiff as a board has nothing on Bodies Bodies Bodies, the party game at the center of A24's upcoming slasher. Set at a mansion during a hurricane, the film follows a group of privileged Gen Zers, whose binge-drinking and general debauchery leads to a killer round of Bodies Bodies Bodies. The movie stars Amandla Stenberg, Rachel Sennott, Chase Sui Wonders and Oscar nominee Maria Bakalova, plus Pete Davidson and Lee Pace.
Watch: In theaters on Aug. 5
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Bullet Train
Brad Pitt stars as one of a handful of hit men and women aboard the titular high-speed locomotive who discover their missions are entwined. Zazie Beetz, Bad Bunny, Brian Tyree Henry, Joey King, Andrew Koji, Logan Lerman and Aaron Taylor-Johnson round out the colorful cast of assassins, with an ensemble that also includes Hiroyuki Sanada, Michael Shannon and Sandra Bullock.
Watch: In theaters on Aug. 5
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I Love My Dad
A father's desperate attempt to reconnect with his adult son goes very, very wrong in this cringe comedy with a heart. Writer-director-star James Morosini plays Franklin, a young man being catfished by his father (Patton Oswalt) — who desperately wants to reconnect with his son. Rachel Dratch and Lil Rel Howery also star.
Watch: In theaters on Aug. 5
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Luck
Sam Greenfield (voiced by Eva Noblezada) is "the unluckiest person in the world," until she stumbles upon a lucky penny and sees her fortunes change. But when she loses it, Sam will do anything to get it back — even follow a black cat named Bob (Simon Pegg) to the Land of Luck. Two-time Oscar winner Jane Fonda voices a bad luck-sniffing dragon, with Oscar winner Whoopi Goldberg, Flula Borg and Lil Rel Howery rounding out the cast.
Watch: On Apple TV+ streaming Aug. 5
They/Them
Hailing from Blumhouse and producer Jason Blum, They/Them (pronounced "They Slash Them," get it?) follows a group of LGBTQIA+ teens sent away to a week-long conversion therapy camp run by Kevin Bacon's Owen Whistler. If that weren't bad enough, a masked axe murderer is on the loose. The flick marks the directorial debut of John Logan, the three-time Oscar-nominated writer of Gladiator, The Aviator and Hugo.
Watch: On Peacock streaming Aug. 5
Thirteen Lives
Thirteen Lives is the first Hollywood retelling of the true story of the Tham Luang cave rescue of 2018. Two-time Oscar winner Ron Howard directed the drama, about the global rescue effort to save 12 boys and their soccer coach after they were trapped in a cave during a monsoon. Colin Farrell, Viggo Mortensen and Joel Edgerton star as three divers helping lead the mission, alongside Thai actors Nophand Boonyai and Teeradon Supapunpinyo.
Watch: On Amazon Prime Video streaming Aug. 5
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Day Shift
Jamie Foxx delivers a heartwarming father-daughter story with a twist: vampires. The Oscar winner plays a humble pool cleaner in the San Fernando Valley trying to support his kid — but his real job involves killing undead bloodsuckers and selling their fangs. The action movie/horror film/comedy co-stars Dave Franco, Karla Souza and Snoop Dogg.
Watch: On Netflix streaming Aug. 12
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Emily the Criminal
Writer-director John Patton Ford's feature debut stars Aubrey Plaza as the titular Emily, who, saddled with student debt and a criminal record that limits her job options, takes a shady job working with a mysterious local criminal, Youcef (Theo Rossi). What begins with credit card fraud soon snowballs into something more dangerous than Emily could have predicted.
Watch: In theaters on Aug. 12
Mack & Rita
Finally, the tanning bed body swap comedy we’ve been waiting for. Mack & Rita stars Elizabeth Lail as Mack, a writer who goes into a tanning bed as a 30-year-old woman and emerges as her 70-year-old self, Rita (Oscar winner Diane Keaton). The comedy features a stacked cast of scene stealers, including Martin Short, Lois Smith, Loretta Devine, Nicole Byer, Simon Rex, Patti Harrison and Taylour Paige.
Watch: In theaters on Aug. 12
Summering
Four friends find themselves — and a dead body — in this coming-of-age tale from director James Ponsoldt (The Spectacular Now). In the vein of Stand by Me, everything changes when the girls come across a dead body in the woods and decide to find out who he was. Summering also stars Lake Bell, Sarah Cooper, Ashley Madekwe and Megan Mullally in the parental roles.
Watch: In theaters on Aug. 12
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The Princess
This documentary is an "intimate and immersive" look at the people's princess from Oscar-nominated filmmaker Ed Perkins (2018's Black Sheep), who frames her life's story through the media's coverage of her, constructing a complicated portrait of Diana as a mother and a wife, as a royal and a woman using extensive archival footage. The film's debut coincides with the 25th anniversary of Princess Diana's tragic death.
Watch: On HBO Max streaming Aug. 13
Beast
It's Idris Elba versus the king of the jungle in the newest thriller from Baltasar Kormákur. The Icelandic filmmaker has made a career out of movies that explore the very real dangers of nature, like The Deep (2012), Everest (2015), and Adrift (2018); naturally, his latest is about a father (Elba) who must save his two teenage daughters from a rogue lion hunting them in the Savanna.
Watch: In theaters on Aug. 19
The Invitation
Family weddings are their own kind of horror, but in The Invitation, it's of the gothic variety. After her mother dies, Evie (Nathalie Emmanuel) takes a DNA test and discovers a long-lost cousin, who invites her to a lavish wedding in the English countryside to meet the rest of the family she never knew. Unfortunately for Evie, it's an occult wedding involving human sacrifice and she's the bride. Jessica M. Thompson directs from a script she co-wrote with Blair Butler.
Watch: In theaters on Aug. 26
Breaking
John Boyega stars in this fact-based drama as Lance Cpl. Brian Brown-Easley, a Marine veteran who takes a bank hostage. He has no intention of robbing the bank, he tells the police. He just wants the $892 owed to him by the VA. The film won the Special Jury Award for Ensemble Cast (U.S. Dramatic Competition) at this year's Sundance Film Festival and co-stars Nicole Beharie, Selenis Leyva, Connie Britton, and the late Michael K. Williams in his final film role.
Watch: In theaters Aug. 26
Three Thousand Years of Longing
Oscar-winning visionary George Miller's Three Thousand Years of Longing is a romantic fantasia featuring magic, mystery and a pointy-eared Idris Elba. Tilda Swinton plays Dr. Alithea Binnie, an intellectual in Istanbul for a conference who happens upon Elba's Djinn, who offers her three wishes in exchange for his freedom.
Watch: In theaters on Aug. 26
ALSO OUT IN AUGUST:
Easter Sunday (Jo Koy heads home in this love letter to his Filipino family, in theaters on Aug. 5)
Prey (a Predator prequel set 300 years ago in the Comanche Nation, streaming on Hulu Aug. 5)
Fall (two best friends are trapped at the top of a 2,000-foot radio tower, in theaters on Aug. 12)
Secret Headquarters (Owen Wilson's son discovers his dad is a superhero, streaming on Paramount+ Aug. 12)
Orphan: First Kill (Esther is back, in theaters and streaming on Paramount+ Aug. 19)
Funny Pages (A24's coming-of-age comedy about a teenage cartoonist, in theaters on Aug. 26)
Me Time (when the family's away, Kevin Hart and Mark Wahlberg will play, streaming on Netflix Aug. 26)
Samaritan (Sylvester Stallone stars as a retired superhero, in theaters on Aug. 26)
Barbarian (a reminder that if your Airbnb is double booked, find somewhere else to stay! In theaters on Aug. 31 )
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