April belonged to Ryan Coogler and Michael B. Jordan. Their new horror movie, Sinners, opened to an impressive $48 million domestically, beating out A Minecraft Movie for the top spot. With strong word of mouth and critical acclaim, Sinners could leg out a box office total of over $200 million, an impressive feat for an original horror.
May kicks off summer blockbuster season, and first up is Marvel with Thunderbolts*. Tom Cruise races into theaters with Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning three weeks later. Those two films will dominate the May box office. However, smaller movies opening throughout May might pique your interest. Our suggestions include a strange comedy, an airplane action romp, and a folk horror.
When you’re done here, check out the best new movies to stream this week, the best movies on Netflix, the best movies on Hulu, the best movies on Max, the best movies on Amazon Prime Video, and the best movies on Disney+.
Friendship (May 9 in theaters)
SNL really dropped the ball with Tim Robinson. The most famous sketch show fired Robinson as a performer after one season, though he stayed on as a writer for four. Robinson’s cringe and offbeat humor has thrived on Netflix’s I Think You Should Leave. Now, Robinson heads to the big screen in a new comedy, Friendship.
A24 has been vague in revealing the plot details, a welcome change from studios spoiling major story decisions in trailers. Craig Waterman (Robinson) is infatuated with his new neighbor, Austin Carmichael (Paul Rudd). Craig tries to form a friendship, but it eventually backfires and threatens to ruin their lives. Early reviews have described it as a 97-minute ITYSL sketch, which, if true, fans are in for a treat.
Fight or Flight (May 9 in theaters)
Fight or Flight — John Wick on a plane? Sort of. John Wick producer Basil Iwanyk is involved in Fight or Flight, hence the comparison. All things considered, Bullet Train is the better correlation. Regardless, Fight or Flight plays a comedic action movie with fun sequences and violent hand-to-hand combat.
Josh Hartnett stars as Lucas Reyes, a mercenary forced to capture a black hat terrorist. Lucas receives intel that his target will be on a plane. If Lucas brings the terrorist back alive, he will get his life back. Easier said than done, considering the plane is full of assassins looking to kill the terrorist for a bounty.
The Severed Sun (May 16 in theaters and on digital)
In the best way possible, The Severed Sun looks like a smaller, bloodier version of a Robert Eggers’ movie. In a secluded religious community, Magpie becomes the group’s outcast after killing her abusive husband. Unbeknownst to Magpie, the murder awakens a supernatural creature, the Beast.
The Beast then wreaks havoc on the community, leading to a violent witch hunt that causes a schism in the group. The Severed Sun stars Emma Appleton, Lewis Gribben, Toby Stephens, and Barney Harris. It’s a gory folk horror with some serious scares.