The ABCs of the summer 2024 movie season: Every big movie you need to know about, from A-Z

Summer's here — at least according to Hollywood, that is, as Friday's launch of "The Fall Guy" signals the start of the summer box office season.

It's a season light on superhero offerings but still heavy on sequels, reboots and repurposings of projects that are already near and dear (or, at the very least, familiar) to our hearts. Making something new out of something old is the name of the game, especially during summer, the time when we traditionally turn off our brains — even more so than usual — and just go where the popcorn takes us.

There is at least one high-profile superhero offering on the schedule, a mashup of sorts between two very popular characters, and several other films that look promising, engaging or otherwise interesting. That's the optimistic view of things, at least, and if nothing else, summer is a time for optimism.

So here's a guide to what's hitting theaters and streaming services between now and the end of August, laid out from A-Z. See you at the movies, and remember, release dates are always subject to change.

A: 'Axel F'

Eddie Murphy's Detroit-bred police officer Axel Foley returns in "Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F.," the fourth installment in the action comedy series which kicked off in 1984 and left off with 1994's "Beverly Hills Cop III." Many of the series originals are back, including Judge Reinhold, Paul Reiser, Bronson Pinchot and John Ashton, and while the movie mostly takes place in Los Angeles, some pickup shots were filmed in the Motor City in November 2022. (July 3, Netflix)

B: 'Bad Boys 4'

In 2020, before things got weird for the world (and for Will Smith), "Bad Boys for Life" was a smash hit, the return of Smith and Martin Lawrence's Miami cops after nearly 20 years off-screen. Now comes "Bad Boys: Ride or Die" — which probably should have been the title for the third one, to clear the way for "Bad Boys 4 Life" — which is a key building block in Smith's image rehab, following that slapping incident at the 2022 Oscars. (June 7, in theaters)

C: Costner

Call it summer's biggest gamble. Kevin Costner writes, directs and stars in "Horizon: An American Saga," a two-part Western epic, set during the Civil War and focusing on America's expansion west. Costner reportedly put up a large sum of his own money to help get the project made, and it features a huge cast that includes Sienna Miller, Sam Worthington, Luke Wilson, Giovanni Ribisi and more. Let's roll the dice and see what happens. (June 28 and Aug. 16, in theaters)

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