This summer, several new hot films are taking over the cinema. With popular releases like Deadpool and Wolverine, Alien: Romulus, Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, Despicable Me 4, Twisters, and the Quiet Place prequel all on the big screen, audiences may want to refill their popcorn buckets. 

Lancaster High School science teacher Amanda Thompson said her entire family are looking forward to watching minions in the theater.

 “Despicable Me 4 would be a big hit with my children. They love Despicable Me, they’ve seen all of them, I think they probably have all of the characters– they love the minions and it’s a great comedy for kids and adults alike,” said Thompson. 

“I don’t go to a lot of movies, it’s mostly because of the price of food and having a large family, but we’re all excited about what’s new. It’s just a matter of planning,” she said.

Some other LHS teachers who have children said they are looking forward to seeing many new releases with their kids; Despicable Me 4 being a popular one. 

“My son loves minions, I love minions, and I wish minions were real so we could keep them as pets. We’re all looking forward to the next Despicable Me. My family and I are big movie people– our son turns four in nine days and he does so well with movies, and my husband has probably seen every movie ever made. We’re excited and we’re gonna see all the new movies,” said Heather Ingram, an LHS teacher and coach. 

LHS wrestling coach Dugan Bentley said that his family is looking forward to the new movies.

“A Quiet Place and the Alien: Romulus movie look pretty scary, but there are many movies I’d like to see. My kids have always loved Despicable Me and all the minions, and I think Inside Out 2 would be a good one,” said Bentley.

The minion-infested movie will present some fresh but familiar faces to the animated franchise. Will Ferrell, Joey King, Sofia Vergara, Stephen Colbert, Chloe Fineman and Madison Polan will all play additional roles in the motion picture (University Pictures, 2024). 

With close to thirty million views for Deadpool and Wolverine’s teaser on Ryan Reynolds’s YouTube page, theaters will likely be packed due to its high popularity. Bentley expresses slight concern on the inappropriate nature of the film.

“I have two young kids, one that is ten, one that is twelve, and now that they’re getting older, some of them like Deadpool. We’ve had that conversation about it being on the fringe of whether it’s acceptable for young kids or not, but they’re starting to get older so it might be a little more acceptable,” Bentley said.

Here are some movie trailer and teaser links for a few of the upcoming movies that are appropriate for most audiences: Despicable Me 4, Inside Out 2, Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, Alien: Romulus, Twisters, and A Quiet Place: Day One. 

It’s been decades since the Halloween sci-fi-comedy Beetlejuice, the Tim Burton directed original will be returning for more scares and laughs. 

“I heard about Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, and I loved the first one. It was very sci-fi, the monsters are funny, and Betelgeuse is terrifying. I’ll likely see the second one,” explained Ingram. 

Some returning actors will make an appearance in the 2024 renewal. Michael Keaton, Catherine O’Hara, and Winona Ryder, just to name a few. The movie will also highlight the talents of Jenna Ortega, William Dafoe, and Justin Theroux (Saunders).

Some movie sequels appear to be bringing some people back to the theaters.

“I haven’t really been watching movies lately but I’m pretty excited for Inside Out 2.

Some of the newer kid’s movies were becoming too bland for me. But Encanto was really good, it had great graphics and a great story, so I’m looking forward to the new Inside Out, and I hope it brings that same energy,” said LHS sophomore Cameron Pico-Tate. 

“I don’t have the attention span to sit through a whole movie, because I like to talk a lot when I’m watching something, but I might actually watch the new Despicable Me because it looks hilarious. The new Inside Out looks really funny because one of the characters looks like CaseOh [a Twitch and Youtube content creator]. I’m pretty excited for Beetlejuice Beetlejuice too, I love him,” said Taylor Randolph, a freshman at LHS.