What is a summer movie, anyway? Often, the term is used to refer to movies that come out in the summer (and there are plenty to get excited for this year). Studios will often save their biggest and boldest movies for that time of year, where you can cool down in a theater during warm days.
But that’s not what we’re here for today. We’re here to talk about movies that feel like summer. Beach parties, summer camp, hot days — it’s more than a season. It’s a vibe.
So our team of Polygon movie scientists has pulled together the following 17 movies for you to enjoy this summer. That’s 17 movies for 13 weeks of summer, so the adventurous among you can space it out accordingly. Enjoy!
What are you looking for?
Comedy
Horror
Drama
Musical
Action
House
Several girls decide to spend summer vacation in a mansion in the countryside. Too bad it’s haunted by ghosts, spirits, and monsters that perfectly blur the lines between silly, surreal, funny, and scary.
Amazon
HBO Max
Whisper of the Heart
If there’s a movie that will make you nostalgic for experiences you’ve never had, it’s this film about one girl’s summer in 1995 Tokyo.
HBO Max
Target
Stand By Me
Four young boys embark on a hike in search of the body of a missing child and form a lifelong bond of friendship.
Netflix
Target
A League of Their Own
This fictional version of the real story of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League was a smash hit and has an all-star cast, including Geena Davis, Tom Hanks, and Madonna.
Amazon
Target
Stray Dog
One of the first collaborations between Toshiro Mifune and Akira Kurosawa, two legends of Japanese cinema, Stray Dog follows a young police officer who loses his gun on a sweltering summer day and gets more and more panicked as the heat and danger set in.
Amazon
Target
Tubi
Girls Trip
This uproarious raunchy comedy follows a group of friends who take a summer trip together, and was a breakout role for Tiffany Haddish.
Amazon
Apple
Target
Vudu
Spirited Away
Your summer will probably be less eventful than Chihiro’s, but that doesn’t mean you can’t journey to the Spirit World with her.
HBO Max
Dog Day Afternoon
Al Pacino robs a Brooklyn bank on one of the hottest days of the year and things go wrong, leading to a long hostage situation and a very tense movie.
HBO Max
Target
Rear Window
A suspense-filled Hitchcock classic about a man, recovering from a broken leg, who spends his summer watching other people’s apartment windows and becomes convinced he’s witnessed a crime.
Amazon
Apple
Vudu
Everybody Wants Some!!
Technically an end-of-summer movie, Richard Linklater’s comedy is set in the 1980s and follows a college baseball team on the last days before school starts.
Amazon
Apple
Vudu
Sun Jul 17 , 2022
Peach Street Revival performs the upcoming in the Glenwood Springs Summer of Music live performance sequence, July 13 in Two Rivers Park.Glenwood Summer season of New music/courtesy photograph R2 Gallery exhibition opens Friday Carbondale Arts provides a new solo exhibition by painter and sculptor Tania Dibbs, opening at 5:30 p.m. […]
