August is here, and that means summer is drawing to a close as everyone gears up to head back to school. That doesn’t mean the summer movie season is over, though. August brings some big movies to theaters, from a star-studded action-comedy thriller to start the month and a sweeping fantasy epic to close it out. In between, there are a few great horror movies and thrillers, some fantastic comedies, and one ambitious rock opera anime heading our way.
Here are all the wide-release movies coming to theaters in August 2022. Get tickets here.
Bullet Train – Release Date: Friday, August 5
Cast: Brad Pitt, Joey King, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Brian Tyree Henry, Andrew Koji, Hiroyuki Sanada, Michael Shannon, Benito A Martínez Ocasio, Sandra Bullock, Zazie Beetz, Karen Fukuhara, Logan Lerman, Bad Bunny, Masi Oka
Director: David Leitch
John Wick and Deadpool 2 director David Leitch returns with another action-packed movie in Bullet Train. Ladybug is an assassin who has been cursed with terrible luck and a string of jobs that have gone off the rails. All he wants is his new mission, a simple retrieval job on a bullet train, to go smoothly. But he soon finds himself crossing paths with some of the world’s most dangerous assassins and soon they all realize that they’ll have to go through each other if they want to complete their jobs.
Bodies Bodies Bodies – Release Date: Friday, August 5
Cast: Amandla Stenberg, Maria Bakalova, Myha’la Herrold, Chase Sui Wonders, Rachel Sennott, Lee Pace, Pete Davidson, Conner O’Malley
Director: Halina Reijn
When a hurricane hits, a group of rich and spoiled 20-somethings plan a hurricane party at a remote family mansion in Bodies Bodies Bodies. But their party games soon go awry in the blackly comedic slasher when the catty backstabbing turns into real backstabbing and someone turns up dead. Now they have a killer in their midst and they have to figure out who did it before someone else gets got. With friends like this, who needs frenemies?
Easter Sunday – Release Date: Friday, August 5
Cast: Jo Koy, Jay Chandrasekhar, Jimmy O. Yang, Tia Carrere, Brandon Wardell, Eva Noblezada, Lydia Gaston, Rodney To, Eugene Cordero, Tiffany Haddish
Director: Jay Chandrasekhar
Part fiction, partly based on reality, Easter Sunday is set to be the funniest movie of the summer. The story is centered on a family gathering on Easter Sunday to celebrate the holiday. When a struggling actor and comedian returns home to the family, he soon finds himself trapped in the middle of his chaotic, judgmental, hilarious, loving relatives in a story based on Jo Koy’s experiences growing up and his stand-up comedy.
Inu-Oh – Release Date: Friday, August 12
Cast: Avu-chan, Mirai Moriyama, Kenjirô Tsuda, Yutaka Matsushige, Tasuku Emoto
Director: Masaaki Yuasa
The anime event of the year has arrived. Inu-Oh is the fictionalized story of Inu-oh, a 14th-century Japanese musician and performer. The story unfolds at the time of its transition from the folk art of sarugaku (“monkey music”) into the formalized traditions of Noh and kyôgen. What follows is a tour-de-force animated rock opera that’s both electrifying and moving, unlike anything else on the screen this month–if not the whole year.
Mack & Rita – Release Date: Friday, August 12
Cast: Elizabeth Lail, Wendie Malick, Diane Keaton, Aimee Carrero, Patti Harrison, Dustin Milligan, Simon Rex, Lois Smith, Martin Short
Director: Katie Aselton
In Mack & Rita, Mack is a 30-year-old homebody with little social life. When she reluctantly agrees to a wild weekend in Palm Springs for her best friend Carla’s bachelorette party, Mack wakes up to find she’s suddenly transformed into her 70-year-old future self. Going by the name “Aunt Rita,” Mack suddenly finds herself free of expectations and social conventions and becomes the extrovert she’s always wanted to be. Along the way, she even finds a bit of romance with her dog-sitter, Jack.
Beast – Release Date: Friday, August 19
Cast: Idris Elba, Sharlto Copley, Iyana Halley, Leah Jeffries
Director: Baltasar Kormákur
After his wife unexpectedly passes away in Beast, a new widow tries to assuage his grief by taking his two teenage daughters on a long-planned trip to South Africa, the place where he met his wife. His plan is to meet up with his old friend, a wildlife biologist, on his game reserve. But what starts out as a journey of healing turns into a fight to survive when a bloodthirsty lion decides they’re his new targets. Now, they’re prey.
Orphan: First Kill – Release Date: Friday, August 19
Cast: Isabelle Fuhrman, Rossif Sutherland, Julia Stiles, Hiro Kanagawa, Stephanie Sy, Jade Michael, Lauren Cochrane
Director: William Brent Bell
The anticipated prequel to the surprise hit The Orphan arrives with Orphan: First Kill. After escaping from an Estonian psychiatric facility, Esther travels to America by impersonating the missing daughter of a wealthy family. Yet, an unexpected twist arises that pits her against a mother who will protect her family at any cost.
The Invitation – Release Date: Friday, August 26
Cast: Nathalie Emmanuel, Alana Boden, Stephanie Corneliussen, Sean Pertwee, Thomas Doherty, Courtney Taylor, Hugh Skinner
Director: Jessica M. Thompson
In The Invitation, a young woman named Evie finds her world turned upside-down after the death of her mother. With no other known relatives, Evie takes a DNA test and discovers a long-lost cousin she never knew she had. When she’s invited by her newfound family to spend a weekend at a lavish estate in the English countryside, at first she’s elated about her fresh start. But her dream weekend turns into a nightmare of survival as she uncovers the twisted secrets long held in her family and discovers the horrifying intent behind their generosity.
Samaritan – Release Date: Friday, August 26
Cast: Sylvester Stallone, Javon “Wanna” Walton, Pilou Asbæk, Dascha Polanco, Moises Arias, Martin Starr, Natacha Karam, Michael Aaron Milligan
Director: Julius Avery
Twenty-five years ago, a famous superhero was thought to have died in an epic battle and the world hasn’t seen him since. But when 13-year-old Sam sees something strange, he starts to suspect his reclusive neighbor, Mr. Smith just might be that superhero. Sam is determined to find out once and for all if he is indeed the superhero known as Samaritan in a dark reimagining of the superhero genre.
Three Thousand Years of Longing – Release Date: Friday, August 31
Cast: Idris Elba, Tilda Swinton, Alyla Browne, David Collins
Director: George Miller
Mad Max: Fury Road director George Miller directs Three Thousand Years of Longing, an epic fantasy drama wrapped in romance. Alithea Binnie is a brilliant scholar who thinks she’s content, but suddenly realizes how lonely she is on a trip to Istanbul. While there, she encounters a Djinn who offers to grant her three wishes in exchange for her freeing him. What she wants is love, but their conversation leads to circumstances and consequences neither could have imagined.
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