The summer movie season is defined by the blockbusters that bring fans out on opening nights and set the box office on fire. But what if you're not keen on seeing the latest superhero movie or animated comedy? What if you get a headache just thinking about the explosions blasting in surround sound? That's where this summer's indie movies slate can be a great alternative to the typical blockbuster options.
We've already made our picks for the summer blockbuster movies we're looking forward to in 2024, but now let's turn our attention to the hidden gems that are waiting to be discovered at the movies this year. These movies tend to be more adult-driven and tell more intimate stories focused on character and impactful messages rather than spectacle. But many of them are still star-studded, with plenty of familiar faces both in front of and behind the camera.
Check out the 12 indie movies that we can't wait to watch this summer, ranked in order of how excited we are for them.
12. Summer Camp (May 31)
Hollywood has seen in recent years that if they make a movie centered around some of its greatest actresses living their lives into their golden years, then audiences will turn out. We've seen it with The Book Club franchise, 80 for Brady and are poised to see it again for Summer Camp, which stars Diane Keaton, Kathy Bates and Alfre Woodard as three friends who reunite at the summer camp they all met at. Throw in Eugene Levy and Dennis Haysbert for what looks to be a fun, breezy time.
*No UK release date at this time
11. Daddio (June 28)
If you're a fan of acting, then the Dakota Johnson/Sean Penn movie Daddio is something you will definitely want to check out this summer. The movie is a two-hander between the two stars, as Johnson plays a woman who takes a cab ride from the airport, striking up a meaningful conversation with the driver, played by Penn. There may not be anything that is as far from the action-packed blockbusters than Daddio this summer, but if early buzz about the duo's performances is true, then it can prove to be just as riveting.
*No UK release date at this time
10. Tuesday (June 7)
Julia Louis-Dreyfus is one of the queens of indie movies. She starred in one of our favorite summer indie movies in 2023, You Hurt My Feelings, and returns with another entry this year in Tuesday. Though while You Hurt My Feelings was a comedy, Tuesday is very much an emotional drama, with Louis-Dreyfus playing a mother of a sick teenage daughter who must confront death when it arrives in the form of a talking bird. Early critical buzz for the movie previews and a powerful story, so be prepared with some tissues if you go see it.
*No UK release date at this time
9. Firebrand (June 14)
Jude Law is nearly unrecognizable as he plays Henry VIII in the period drama Firebrand. Starring alongside him in the movie is Alicia Vikander as Katherine Parr, Henry's sixth wife, who must fight and scheme to ensure her survival when her alleged sympathies to radical protestants is scrutinized. Law and Vikander are two top notch actors, and getting to see them play with such rich history is going to be quite interesting.
8. The Dead Don't Hurt (May 31)
Moviegoers are getting a massive big screen western in Kevin Costner's Horizon: An American Saga this summer, but Viggo Mortensen is delivering a smaller scale story of the old west in The Dead Don't Hurt that looks like it could be just as entertaining. Mortensen wrote, directed and stars in the movie as a Danish immigrant who settles out west with the woman he loves (Vicky Krieps) but leaves to fight in the Civil War. When he returns, they must confront their different experiences, which includes getting revenge against a corrupt mayor, an unscrupulous rancher and his violent son.
*Releases in the UK on June 28
7. Sing Sing (July 12)
Coming off his first-ever Oscar nomination, Colman Domingo stars in the A24 movie Sing Sing, a prison drama about a wrongly-convicted man finding peace as he joins a theater group set up by other prisoners. What makes Sing Sing even more interesting is that Domingo's co-stars in the movie include Clarence Maclin and Sean Dino Johnson, who both were participants in the real-life theater group that serves as the inspiration for the movie.
*Releases in UK cinemas August 30
6. The Instigators (August 2)
An indie entry that has a bit more intensity to it this summer is the Matt Damon and Casey Affleck crime drama The Instigators. The Good Will Hunting co-stars reunite as reluctant robbers forced to go on the run after their planned heist goes wrong. In need of some counsel, one of them brings along his therapist (Hong Chau) as they try to evade police, corrupt bureaucrats and crime bosses. Road House, Edge of Tomorrow and The Bourne Identity director Doug Liman handles things behind the camera.
*Releases globally on Apple TV Plus on August 9
5. Didi (July 26)
Oscar-nominated director Sean Wang makes his feature narrative debut with his coming-of-age story Didi. The movie is loosely based on his own life and goes all the way back to 2008 to follow an impressionable 13-year-old Taiwanese American Boy who begins to explore life outside of his family, like hanging with friends, flirting and making skateboarding videos. The movie won the Audience Award at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival, so it already has the credentials as a crowd-pleasing favorite.
*Releases in UK cinemas on August 2
4. MaXXXine (July 5)
Ti West is capping off his horror trilogy with MaXXXine. Following in the footsteps of X and Pearl, Mia Goth returns to play Maxine Minx, who looks to break away from the adult film industry and into legitimate acting. But a mysterious killer going after young starlets threatens to expose Maxine's sinister past in a movie that adds a crime thriller aspect to the chills that West's previous entries have delivered. Each entry has been a fun time and we are excited to see how the director ends things with MaXXXine.
3. Thelma (June 21)
In an interesting bit of summer programming, there is no traditional style blockbuster releasing on June 21, so instead that has become the banner week for indie movies this summer, including the three movies we are most excited about. First is Thelma, an action comedy starring 95-year-young June Squibb as a grandmother who goes after a group of phone scammers that took her money. Also starring the late, legendary Richard Roundtree, we can't wait to see Squibb become the indie action star of the summer.
*Releases in UK cinemas July 5
2. Kinds of Kindness (June 21)
Quickly on the heels of his four-time Oscar-winning movie Poor Things, Yorgos Lanthimos has reteamed with Emma Stone on the anthology movie Kinds of Kindness. Also starring Jesse Plemons, Willem Dafoe, Margaret Qualley, Joe Alwyn, Hong Chau, Mamoudou Athie and Hunter Schafer, this is a star-studded affair unlike much else you will see this year. Lanthimos is known for taking on challenging stories and the reaction from the movie's Cannes premiere affirms that, though the response has been positive, with the movie "Fresh" as of publication.
*Releases in the UK June 28
1. The Bikeriders (June 21)
A movie starring Austin Butler, Tom Hardy and Jodie Comer would seem to have the makings of a blockbuster, but The Bikeriders has indie cred through and through. Mostly that comes from its director, Jeff Nichols, who has made some of the most acclaimed movies on the independent circuit over the last 15 years (Loving, Mud, Take Shelter). This story of a 1960s biker gang truly has the potential to be one the sleeper hits of the summer and is the indie movie that we are most excited about over the next few months.
*Editor's note: an earlier version of this list included the movie My Old Ass, but it has been moved from a summer release in movie theaters to September 13.
