Want to know what’s coming to a cinema near you this July? Look no further…

SUNDAY 1 JULY

The Opera House (Susan Froemke)

New York’s Metropolitan Opera House is opened up as never before in this documentary. The film, first screened last January in the House itself, boasts rare archival footage and a soundtrack from the site’s own history.

WEDNESDAY 4 JULY

The First Purge (Gerard McMurray)

A fourth outing for the dystopian franchise about a future America in which a twelve hour period of legal crime is held every year.

FRIDAY 6 JULY

Flying the Nest (Ari Asgeirsson)

This Icelandic-Belgian animation is called PLOEY – You Never Fly Alone in its home nations. Jamie Oram voices Ploey, a flightless plover chick, who is left behind when his family migrate for winter.

Ideal Home (Andrew Fleming)

Paul Rudd and Steve Coogan feature as a bickering gay couple whose lives turn upside down when forced to raise a ten-year-old boy.

In Darkness (Anthony Byrne)

Anthony Byrne is the TV director of Ripper Street and Peaky Blinders and so arrives on the big screen with quite the CV. In Darkness sees him co-write, with star Natalie Dormer, the tale of a blind musician caught in London’s criminal underworld.

Mary Shelley (Haifaa al-Mansour)

The writer of Frankenstein is given the biopic treatment.

Postcards from the 48% (David Nicholas Wilkinson)

Wilkinson sees his documentary as a tool to stop Brexit. Bob Geldof, Miriam Margoyles, Patrick Stewart and Nick Clegg are among those to lend their voices.

Swimming With Men (Oliver Parker)

Billed as ‘The Full Monty in Speedos’, this comedy sees Rob Brydon play a middle-aged man trying to win back his wife (Jane Horrocks) by joining a male synchronised swimming team.

Terminal (Vaughn Stein)

Two assassins; one mission; a sprawling city; and a woman who may have more to do with the case than they realise. With Margot Robbie.

The More You Ignore Me (Keith English)

Jo Brand – writer of The More You Ignore Me – is known both for her acerbic wit and social healthcare awareness. The film blends both, featuring: mental illness, Morrissey and guinea pigs.

Uncle Drew (Charles Stone III)

Originally conceived by Pepsi, Uncle Drew as been a fan-favourite for over five years. Formerly an online series, the screen just got a whole lot bigger.

Whitney (Kevin Macdonald)

The second Whitney Houston documentary in as many years. This one claims to have ‘never before seen footage’ – where have they been keeping all of it?

FRIDAY 13 JULY

Skyscraper (Raison Marshall Thurber)

Dwayne Johnson plays a wanted man in this film about a war veteran turned skyscraper safety assessor.

Ex-Libris: The New York Public Library (Frederick Wiseman)

Fans of documentaries about New York cultural landmarks are being spoilt this month. Wiseman’s film is fascinating. Ssh!

First Reformed (Paul Schrader)

A priest of a small congregation in upstate New York grapples with mounting despair brought on by tragedy, worldly concerns and a tormented past. From the writer of Taxi Driver and Raging Bull.

Incredibles 2 (Brad Bird)

Pixar wheeled out three Cars films in the time it took for them to come up with a sequel to 2004’s The Incredibles. It’s worth the wait.

Mario (Marcel Gisler)

Max Hubacher and Aaron Altaras star as Swiss footballers whose love of the game becomes entwined with their increasing love of each other.

Path of Blood (Jonathan Hacker)

Al Qaeda filmed their side of the early noughties war in Saudi Arabia. It’s a difficult and controversial documentary that shows that footage.

Pin Cushion (Debora Haywood)

Haywood’s directorial debut stars Joanna Scanlan as a scarred woman desperate to see her daughter escape the long-term trauma of school bullying that she never did.

Racer and the Jailbird (Michael R. Roskam)

Matthias Schoenaerts returns to his home tongue in this French-Belgian crime romance about a gangster and an upper-class racer.

Soorma (Shaad Ali)

Former captain of India’s national hockey team Sandeep Singh was paralysed for two years after an accidental shooting in 2006. Diljit Dosanjh plays Singh in that story.

Summer 1993 (Carla Simon)

After her mother’s death, six-year-old Frida is sent to her uncle’s family to live with them in the countryside. But Frida finds it hard to forget her mother and adapt to her new life.

The Butterfly Tree (Priscilla Cameron)

A father and son compete for the affections of ex-burlesque queen Evelyn (Melissa George) in Australia’s latest comedy drama.

The Secret of Marrowbone (Sergio G. Sanchez)

Though The Secret of Marrowbone is the directorial debut of Sergio G. Sanchez, his writing credits include J. A. Bayona’s The Impossible and The Orphanage. Bayona, in return, is producer this time.

Vertigo (Alfred Hitchcock – 60th Anniversary)

The film that eclipsed Citizen Kane in Sight and Sound’s all-time film ranking gets a birthday re-release.

FRIDAY 20 JULY

A Prayer Before Dawn (Jean Stephane Sauvaire)

Peaky Blinders’ Joe Cole stars in true story of an English boxer incarcerated in one of Thailand’s most notorious prisons. To earn his freedom he must fight. 

Dhadak (Shashank Khaitan)

Set in Rajasthan, this Hindi love story sees Parthavi (Janhvi Kapoor) and Madhukar (Ishaan Khattar) deal with issues like differences between castes and honour killings.

Escape Plan 2 (Steven C. Miller)

Sylvester Stallone returns for a sequel to Mikael Håfström’s Escape Plan. There’s no return for Arnold Schwarzenegger this time but Dave Bautista is a more than capable substitution.

Extinction (Salome Lamas)

Sci-fi thriller about a father who dreams of losing his family only to find his nightmare become a reality. With Michael Peña.

Generation Wealth (Lauren Greenfield)

A multi-platform project, Generation Wealth – a documentary about the contemporary obsession with fortune – has been in production for ten years. Along with the film, a museum exhibition and photographic monogram can be found.

Hotel Artemis (Drew Pearce)

Jodie Foster, Sofia Boutella and Jeff Goldblum make for an exciting cast in Pearce’s new dystopian neo-noir crime film. Foster plays a nurse who runs a hospital for criminals in a future Los Angeles.

Madame (Amanda Sthers)

Fresh from Hereditary, Toni Collette returns to screens for the story of a wealthy couple who move to Paris to spice up their love life. A dinner party, however, sends them down a much more twisty path.

Mamma Mia: Here We Go Again! (Ol Parker)

Has it really been a decade since Mamma Mia danced into our lives and introduced us to a singing Pierce Brosnan? The sequel adds Lily James and Cher to the cast, plus even more ABBA!

One or Two Questions (Kristina Konrad)

Konrad’s documentary examines Uruguay in three decades since the 1986 amnesty granted for all crimes and human rights violations committed by the military and police during the dictatorship of 1973-85.

Spitfire (David Fairhead and Ant Palmer)

No British combat aircraft has been produced in greater numbers than the Spitfire. This documentary explores the endurance of the RAF’s beloved flyer.

Teefa in Trouble (Ahsan Rahim)

Pakistani action-comedy about a man who goes to Poland to marry the daughter of a gangster.

The Receptionist (Jenny Lu)

Jenny Lu’s 2016 drama finally gets a UK release. It is based on an illegal massage parlour in London, seen through the eyes of a Taiwanese graduate employed as a receptionist.

Thomas & Friends: Big World! Big Adventures! The Movie (David Stoten)

The popular British children’s franchise about a steam train chugs into cinemas for another big screen outing. 

WEDNESDAY 25 JULY

Mission: Impossible Fallout (Christopher McQuarrie)

In the words of August Walker: ’How many times has Hunt’s government betrayed him, disavowed him, cast him aside? How long before a man like that has had enough?’

THURSDAY 26 JULY

Of Gods and Warriors (David LG Hughes)

Terence Stamp features as Odin in Hughes’ limited-release fantasy film.

FRIDAY 27 JULY

Apostasy (Daniel Koktajlo)

A faithful Jehovah’s Witness is forced to shun her own sister because of a religious transgression. As the separation draws out, she starts to question the meaning of God’s love.

Cocote (Nelson Carlo de Los Santos Arias)

A film about AfroAntillean spirituality and Dominican religious syncretism, telling the story of a garden worker (Vicente Santos) who returns to his home town for the funeral of his father.

Detective Dee: The Four Heavenly Kings (Hark Tsui)

Chinese action-adventure fantasy sequel to 2013’s Young Detective Dee: Rise of the Sea Dragon.

Hotel Transylvania 3: A Monster Vacation (Grenndy Tartakovsky)

The Hotel Transylvania films are bright, breezy and just a bit too loud for adults. Adam Sandler is back to headline the threequel.

Iceman (Felix Randau)

The original title of this German drama translates as: The Man of the Ice, perhaps you can see why its been shortened.

Maurice (James Ivory – 1987)

With Hugh Grant starring as John Thorpe on television makes the re-release of James Ivory’s Maurice rather fitting. Based on the book by E. M. Forster, Maurice is the story of a gay man navigating his way in society. 

The Giant Pear (Amalie Naesby Fick and Jorgen Lerdam)

Originally down for a May release, The Giant Pear arrives at the end of July.

The Nun (Jacques Rivette)

The Hayes twins’ Conjuring franchise has yet to produce an offshoot as successful as its main series. The Nun chronologically precedes those films but can it meet their standards?

Tracking Edith (Peter Stephen Jungk)

Edith Tudor-Hart has been called the spy with a conscience. Her fascinating character and life are explored on screen for the first time in this compelling documentary.