June 2022 will see the release of a variety of movies that premiered at the 2022 Cannes Festival, among those a body horror movie from a legendary filmmaker, Pixar’s latest adventure, a musical movie about an iconic singer and actor, a horror movie based on a short story, and the last entry from the Jurassic World trilogy. Although the coronavirus pandemic isn’t over yet, the world has pretty much gone back to normal by now, and theaters all over continue to be open and working as normal. This has allowed studios to finally release all those movies that had to be delayed, and June will see an interesting (and varied) selection of movies hitting theaters.
May welcomed some highly-anticipated movies from different genres and many of them went through various delays, such as Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness and Top Gun: Maverick, and accompanying them were the horror movie Firestarter, Downton Abbey: A New Era, Alex Garland’s Men, and the animated movie The Bob’s Burgers Movie. Of all of May’s releases, the ones that are ready to stream or are available on digital are Firestarter on Peacock and On The Count of Three, while others will have to wait 45 days or more to hit the world of streaming.
June will see many movies that premiered at the 2022 Cannes Film Festival and that have been praised by critics so far, as are David Cronenberg’s latest project and Baz Luhrmann’s newest biographical musical movie, along with Pixar’s newest adventure, a horror movie based on a short story by Joe Hill, and the final chapter in the Jurassic World trilogy. Here’s every movie coming to theaters in June 2022.
Watcher – June 3
Watcher is a thriller movie directed by Chloe Okuno. Watcher follows Julia (Maika Monroe), an American woman who moves to Bucharest with her boyfriend, Francis (Karl Glusman). As she doesn’t speak the language, she becomes isolated while Francis is at work, and in fear of a local serial killer, Julia starts to feel she’s being constantly watched and followed by a suspicious neighbor. Watcher premiered at the 2022 Sundance Film Festival.
Crimes of the Future – June 3
David Cronenberg is back with the body horror movie Crimes of the Future, which shares its title with a 1970 movie also by Cronenberg, but it’s not a remake. Set in a time where the human species adapts to a synthetic environment and thus the body undergoes transformations and mutations, celebrity performance artist Saul Tenser (Viggo Mortensen) showcases the metamorphosis of his organs. Meanwhile, a mysterious group tries to use Saul’s fame to shed light on the next phase of human evolution. Crimes of the Future premiered at the 2022 Cannes Film Festival, where it received a six-minute standing ovation, and it will begin its theatrical run in New York and Los Angeles on June 3, with an expansion on June 10.
Neptune Frost – June 3
Neptune Frost is a musical sci-fi movie directed by Saul Williams and Anisia Uzeyman and produced by Ezra Miller and Lin-Manuel Miranda. An Afrofuturist story, Neptune Frost is set in a village in Rwanda made of computer parts, and follows the relationship between intersex runaway Neptune (Elvis Ngabo and Cheryl Isheja) and coltan miner Matalusa (Kaya Free), whose love leads a hacker collective. Neptune Frost premiered at the Director’s Fortnight section at the 2021 Cannes Film Festival, and it’s finally ready to hit theaters.
Jurassic World Dominion – June 10
The closing chapter in the Jurassic World trilogy will arrive in theaters in June. Titled Jurassic World Dominion, and directed by Colin Trevorrow, it takes place four years after the destruction of Isla Nublar, with dinosaurs now living and hunting alongside humans all over the world. Naturally, this balance will reshape the future and finally determine if humans will remain the apex predators on a planet they now share with dinosaurs. In addition to the main cast of the Jurassic World trilogy – Chris Pratt and Bryce Dallas Howard –, Jurassic World Dominion will bring back the original Jurassic Park trio: Alan Grant (Sam Neill), Ellie Sattler (Laura Dern), and Ian Malcolm (Jeff Goldblum).
Lightyear – June 17
Lightyear is Pixar’s second movie of 2022 and the first one since Onward to be released in theaters. Lightyear is a spinoff of the Toy Story saga and serves as a prequel as it tells the origin story of the fictional astronaut who inspired the famous Buzz Lightyear toy. Buzz Lightyear (voiced by Chris Evans) is a Space Ranger who finds himself stranded on a hostile planet millions of light-years from Earth alongside his commander and crew. On his quest to find a way back home, he’s joined by a group of ambitious recruits and Sox (Peter Sohn), a robot companion cat. However, Buzz’s mission gets complicated with the arrival of Zurg (James Brolin) and his army of ruthless robots.
Elvis – June 24
Baz Luhrmann’s biographical musical movie Elvis is also arriving in theaters in June. Elvis chronicles the life and career of the iconic singer and actor Elvis Presley (Austin Butler), from his childhood to becoming a music icon and movie star, without leaving aside his complex relationship with his manager, Colonel Tom Parker (Tom Hanks), and his personal struggles. Elvis premiered at the 2022 Cannes Film Festival where it received a 12-minute standing ovation, and it will be available to stream on HBO Max 45 days after its theatrical release.
The Black Phone – June 24
The Black Phone is a supernatural horror movie directed by Scott Derrickson and based on the 2004 short story of the same name by Joe Hill. Set in 1978 in a suburban Colorado town where five children go missing, Finney Shaw (Mason Thames) becomes the sixth victim. All these kids have been taken by a serial killer dubbed The Grabber (Ethan Hawke), who in Finney’s case, knocked him unconscious and threw him in a van to take him to a soundproof basement with only a disconnected phone. Finney discovers that the phone transmits the voices of The Grabber’s previous victims, who want to help him escape. Meanwhile, Finney’s sister, Gwen (Madeleine McGraw), begins to experience psychic dreams that could help her find her brother. The Black Phone will be available to stream on Peacock 45 days after its theatrical debut.
Press Play – June 24
Press Play is a romantic drama movie directed by Greg Björkman. It follows Laura (Clara Rugaard) and Harrison (Lewis Pullman), who have a picture-perfect romance built on the foundation of a shared love of music. However, after a deadly accident, Laura discovers she can save Harrison’s life by using a mixtape that can take her back in time. Also starring are Danny Glover, Lyrica Okano, Christina Chang, and Matt Walsh.
