What To Watch
17 Summer Movies That Bring Sun and Fun to Your Screens
Action, romance, and escapist getaways ahead — no sunglasses needed.
By Allie Baker and Erin Corbett
June 17, 2026
17 Best Summer-Themed Movies to Help You Beat the Heat - Netflix Tudum
For most of us, summer is synonymous with pool days, barbecues, and ice cream cones. In the world of movies, it’s also the time for steamy flings, explosive stunts, and glamorous vacations. No shade to the other seasons, but summer movies have an extra glow about them.
Whether you’re in the mood for a hot romance, a popcorn blockbuster, or a trip to camp, these 17 films capture that summertime magic with no threat of a sunburn. Dim the lights, turn up the AC, and press play!
Along for the Ride
Ride high on summer love. In this swoon-worthy romance directed by Sofia Alvarez, recent high school grad Auden (Emma Pasarow) moves to her father’s sleepy beachside town for the summer before college. She meets fellow insomniac and mysterious BMX biker Eli (Belmont Cameli), and the two embark on nightly adventures so Auden can experience the carefree childhood she missed out on. Along for the Ride has all the summer rom-com staples — mini golf, drive-in movies, beach bike rides, and (literal and figurative) fireworks.
American Graffiti
Throw it back to the summer of 1962 with this classic coming-of-age film, directed by George Lucas and produced by Francis Ford Coppola. On their final evening of summer vacation before heading to college, a group of friends spend one last wild night cruising around their small Northern California town, getting into trouble, and chasing a mystery blonde in a Ford Thunderbird. You’ll be transported to a time of sock hops, greasers, and the early days of rock ’n’ roll. American Graffiti helped launch the careers of stars like Harrison Ford, Richard Dreyfuss, and Ron Howard. Decades later, it still feels like a timeless tale of summer.
Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F
Get your popcorn ready for a blockbuster smash. In the fourth installment of the Beverly Hills Cop film series, directed by Mark Molloy, detective Axel Foley (Eddie Murphy) is back on the beat and bringing serious heat. When Axel’s daughter Jane’s (Taylour Paige) life is threatened, he joins forces with her ex-boyfriend Detective Bobby Abbott (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) and old pals Billy Rosewood (Judge Reinhold) and John Taggart (John Ashton) to untangle a dangerous conspiracy. Hit play and get hyped for shootouts, car chases, and all the action you crave from the Beverly Hills cop.
Eternal Summer
Eternal Summer is a love story for the ages — and for all seasons. This 2006 Taiwanese film, directed by Leste Chen, chronicles the close yet complex bond between three friends as they navigate yearning, loss, and struggling with their identities. In a seaside town in Southern Taiwan, quiet and studious Kang Cheng-hsing (Ray Chang) befriends his troublemaking classmate Yu Shou-heng (Joseph Chang), and the two become inseparable. But in high school, their world is turned upside down by the arrival of new girl Hui-chia (Kate Yeung). Throughout the years, the trio experiences secret relationships, unrequited love, and enduring friendship.
Extraction 2
Buckle up for a double feature with twice the thrills. In 2020’s Extraction — based on the graphic novel Ciudad by Ande Parks, Joe Russo, and Anthony Russo — you’re introduced to Tyler Rake (Chris Hemsworth), a black ops mercenary on a mission. Now Hemsworth and director Sam Hargrave are back in action with Extraction 2. After narrowly escaping death, Tyler must confront his mysterious past in order to rescue a family imprisoned by a ruthless gangster. The stakes are higher, the stunts are bigger and the drama is even more combustible. The first film boasts a gripping action scene made to look like a single take, and the sequel raises the stakes even higher with a 21-minute sequence featuring a real helicopter landing on a moving train.
Fear Street Part 2: 1978
Nostalgic for your days at summer camp? You probably didn’t go to Camp Nightwing, where a supernatural slasher terrorizes the campers. Based on the book series by R.L. Stine, Fear Street: Part Two is the second installment in a spooky trilogy (its fourth installment, the film Fear Street: Prom Queen, is also now streaming). It stars Sadie Sink, Emily Rudd and Ryan Simpkins as campers and counselors who try desperately to survive when their dream summer turns into a nightmare plagued by curses, witches, and gruesome murders. And you thought having spiders in your camp bunk was scary!
Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery
Sun’s out, knives out. Glass Onion is a stand-alone sequel in writer-director Rian Johnson’s Knives Out whodunit series. Detective Benoit Blanc (Daniel Craig) is back on the case, this time peeling back the layers of a mystery surrounding tech mogul Miles Bron (Edward Norton) and his crew of striving, hanger-on misfits, including fashion entrepreneur Birdie (Kate Hudson), Senate candidate Claire (Kathryn Hahn), scientist Lionel (Leslie Odom Jr.), and macho YouTuber Duke (Dave Bautista). This installment trades chunky knits (who could forget Chris Evans’ famous sweater?) for bikinis and breezy linens, and swaps the New England setting for a picturesque private island in Greece. The movie’s whole vibe screams summer vacation — but for billionaires.
Hello, Goodbye, and Everything in Between
We all know the joy of summer love, but what about a summer breakup? In this YA romance, Clare (Talia Ryder) and Aidan (Jordan Fisher) meet at a Halloween party and by the end of the night, they’re both smitten. One snag: Vowing not to make the same mistake her divorced parents did at her age, Clare is determined to start college the next year with no attachments. So Aidan proposes a “breakup pact.” The two of them will date their senior year, get to the end of the summer, and then go on one last epic date before parting ways. Of course, that final summer night could make them rethink everything.
Hot Summer Nights
It’s 1991, and Daniel (Timothée Chalamet) is sent away by his mother after the death of his father to spend the summer with his aunt in Cape Cod. He falls in with local bad boy and weed dealer Hunter Strawberry (Alex Roe) after helping to hide some marijuana from a cop. Soon, Daniel asks to join Hunter’s operation, and when he proves successful, he devises a plan to scale up. As their drug business grows, Daniel grows bolder, eventually pursuing a relationship with Hunter’s younger sister, McKayla (Maika Monroe), despite Hunter’s threats and warnings to stay away. It’s a summer of money and forbidden love, until Daniel’s ambition gets him into hot water.
The Kissing Booth
A school carnival. A raucous pool party. A rain-soaked cinematic kiss. This one has all the makings of a frothy summer teen rom-com — even though most of it takes place during the school year. Based on the novel of the same name by Beth Reekles, The Kissing Booth stars Joey King as Elle, a late bloomer who falls hard for her best friend’s bad-boy older brother, Noah (Jacob Elordi). They embark on a whirlwind secret romance, while Elle tries to keep the truth from her lifelong bestie, Lee (Joel Courtney). After falling in love with this movie, you can watch its follow-ups, The Kissing Booth 2 and The Kissing Booth 3 — the final film takes place the summer before Elle leaves for college.
The Last Summer
If the title didn’t tip you off, this one’s all about the final summer before college — following a group of connected recent high school graduates determined to make the most of it. First is the artistic boy who finally pursues the artistic girl he’s crushed on forever. Then there’s the high school power couple who break up to explore other relationships, and the horny best friend determined to get through a laundry list of women. There’s a waitlisted student taking on a thankless job while figuring out her life. And last is the nerdy duo who break out of their shells and come up with an unconventional way to get the attention they crave. In the world of this rom-com, who knows where the summer will take them all?
Mother of the Bride
You’re invited to another wedding season rom-com romp — and you’ll want to RSVP “yes” to this sunny love story set in tropical paradise. Directed by Mark Waters, Mother of the Bride centers around a mother-daughter duo. When Emma (Miranda Cosgrove) returns home from traveling abroad, she has some bombshell news for her mom, Lana (Brooke Shields). She’s getting married in Thailand in a month, but there’s a big hitch before they get hitched: Lana learns that the groom’s father is none other than Will (Benjamin Bratt), the man who broke her heart years ago. Here comes the bride’s mom with lots of family drama, awkward run-ins, and just maybe some rekindled romance.
People We Meet on Vacation
Summers are made for traveling, and no one vacations quite as well as the two friends in this rom-com. Poppy (Emily Bader) and Alex (Tom Blyth) couldn’t be more different in their approaches to life but form an unlikely friendship in college. Free-spirited Poppy becomes a travel writer, and routine-loving Alex stays in their small hometown as a teacher. Every summer, the duo reunites on vacation together in new and interesting places. But as they get older, it gets harder to deny that there could be something more between them … if they have the courage to explore it.
Rebel Ridge
It isn’t just the summer heat that sizzles in this thriller; there’s also the heat of anger that builds with each new injustice committed. Terry Richmond (Aaron Pierre), a former Marine, is on his way to bail his cousin out of jail when he’s stopped by two small-town cops who confiscate his cash. Terry remains calm as he pursues every legal avenue he can think of to get his money back, gaining an ally in court clerk Summer (AnnaSophia Robb). What he soon learns is that the corruption in the police department goes all the way up to Chief Sandy Burnne (Don Johnson). The police’s threats to Terry, his cousin, and Summer get more serious, giving Terry little choice but to show these cops just who he actually is, an ex-Marine with some very specialized skills.
Someone Great
Music journalist Jenny (Gina Rodriguez) is not having a great time. After her boyfriend of nine years dumps her right before she leaves New York City for her dream job in San Francisco, Jenny rallies her best friends Erin (DeWanda Wise) and Blair (Brittany Snow) for one last epic romp around the city. This breezy rom-com, written and directed by Jennifer Kaytin Robinson, is a love letter to die-hard friendships, the Big Apple, and that last-day-of-summer feeling when you want to soak up every last moment before the season changes.
Waterworld
If roaming the open seas sounds like the perfect summer excursion, you’ll enjoy this dystopian action adventure with an unending horizon. Set in the distant future, when sea levels have risen high enough to cover all the continents. People live in floating towns, called atolls, made of junk scraps, or they roam the ocean by boat like the Mariner (Kevin Costner), a loner who trades dirt for goods. On a trading atoll, the people try to kill the Mariner for being a genetic mutant with gills that allow him to breathe underwater. Then, pirates, led by Deacon (Dennis Hopper), attack, looking for a young girl (Tina Majorino) who may hold the key to finding the mythical “dryland.” The Mariner agrees to help the girl and her caretaker get away, but Deacon won’t stop in his pursuit.
A Week Away
This pick is for the theater kids. Directed by Roman White, this wholesome musical drama follows troubled teen Will (Kevin Quinn). When he breaks the law and has to face the music, his supportive foster mom, Kristin (Sherri Shepherd), advocates for him to go to church camp. There he bonds with foster brother George (Jahbril Cook) and connects with camp crush Avery (Bailee Madison) to the tune of catchy original songs and choreographed dance numbers.
Additional reporting by Ananda Dillon.
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