20 Summer 2018 Films You Aren't Excited About (But Should Be)

Not long ago, conventional wisdom had it that summertime was the time for big movies, the studios pushing out their most expensive, attention-grabbing releases while the temperature's high and the kids are off school.

However, this old way of looking at things isn't necessarily holding up so well. 2017's three biggest box office successes - Beauty and the Beast, The Fate of the Furious (AKA Fast & Furious 8), and Star Wars: The Last Jedi - opened in March, April and December respectively. And in 2018, we have not one but two Marvel movies, Black Panther and Avengers: Infinity War, landing in screens before we even reach May.

On top of this, Hollywood is still licking its wounds from summer 2017. The typically uber-profitable season saw its lowest returns in over a decade last year, with many anticipated box office hits (among them Transformers: The Last Knight and Pirates of the Caribbean: Salazar's Revenge) proving far less profitable than expected.

However, taking a close eye at the releases lined up for summer 2018, we might almost believe Hollywood has been listening to its critics and thinking outside the box for a change. Sure, there are still a good few blockbuster franchise entries lined up - notably Deadpool 2, Ocean's 8, Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom and Ant-Man and the Wasp - but there's plenty more besides.

Comedy star Melissa McCarthy is back, with this latest collaboration with director/husband Ben Falcone, the duo having previously given us Tammy and The Boss.

Also co-written by McCarthy and Falcone, Life of the Party casts its leading lady as a middle-aged mother who, after being dumped by her husband, decides to go back to college - only to end up on the same campus as her daughter (Molly Gordon).

McCarthy has long since proven her comedy chops, and it's no stretch to envisage her as one of the most embarrassing movie mums ever. We can feel ourselves cringing already.

Maya Rudolph, Julie Bowen, Gillian Jacobs, Debby Ryan, Matt Walsh and Jacki Weaver co-star.

Release: 11th May.