From 'The Acolyte' to 'The Bikeriders,' Here's What We're Watching This Month (2024)

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It’s been a largely unkind summer for movies based on the box office, but June could change that thanks to everything from big-name sequels and an ambitious western from Kevin Costner. Those choosing to stay home will have plenty to watch, too, thanks to the return of favorites like We Are Lady Parts, The Bear, House of the Dragon, and The Boys. But June also has a lot to offer beyond the tried and true on screens big and small. Here are a few of the most promising titles to catch in theaters and on streaming services, from Hulu to Max to Prime Video.

What to Watch June 2024: Movies & TV Shows Guide

From documentaries to highly anticipated new series, here are some of the must-watch series and flicks that should be on your radar this month.

Ren Faire (Max, June 2)

Documentarian Lance Oppenheim has earned a reputation for finding humanity and poetry in some unusual situations thanks to films like Some Kind of Heaven and Spermworld. Oppenheim’s latest is a three-part docuseries following a succession crisis at the Texas Renaissance Festival, where a veteran king is planning to hang up his crown. A medieval-themed story and a tale of succession? It’s a subject seemingly made for HBO. Stream on Max

The Acolyte (Disney+, June 4)

Billed as a “mystery/thriller” the latest Star Wars series arrives, perhaps appropriately, a bit shrouded in mystery. Here’s what we know: Someone is killing Jedi in the High Republic era (that’s about a century pre-Phantom Menace) and it’s up to a veteran Jedi to get to the bottom of it. Also, it stars Lee Jung-jae, Amanda Stenberg, Carrie-Anne Moss and The Good Place’s Manny Jacinto, all good signs. It’s the creation of Russian Doll co-creator Leslye Headland, so expect it to be unpredictable. Stream on Disney+

Clipped (Hulu, June 4)

Subtitled “The Scandalous Story of L.A.’s Other Basketball Team,” the miniseries Clipped revisits the recent history of the Los Angeles Clippers, specifically the moment when the world heard owner Donald Sterling, already a reviled figure, making racist remarks on tape. Ed O’Neil plays Sterling alongside Laurence Fishburne as the Clippers newly arrived coach Doc Rivers. Stream on Hulu

Bad Boys: Ride or Die (Theaters, June 7)

The title of these movies grows increasingly inaccurate, but that now seems to be part of the point. 2020’s Bad Boys For Life made the age of the characters played by Will Smith and Martin Lawrence a running gag and this fourth entry in the Bad Boys series looks like it will be the same. Does the Miami PD have a mandatory retirement age? Apparently not.

The Watchers (Theaters, June 7)

A new generation of Shyamalans steps up to the plate with this debut film from Ishana Night Shyamalan, daughter of M. Night. Based on a novel by A.M. Shine, the film stars Dakota Fanning as a woman apparently trapped alongside others by mysterious creatures. Is there a twist? Don’t rule it out.

Hit Man (Netflix, June 7)

After a short theatrical run, the latest from Richard Linklater arrives on Netflix trailed by fantastic reviews. Based (sort of) on a true story, the film stars Glen Powell (who also co-scripted the film with Linklater) as a New Orleans professor who starts to shed his mild-mannered ways after stumbling into a job posing as hit men in police stings. Stream on Netflix

Fantasmas (Max, June 7)

The cancellation of Los Espookys after two seasons was a bummer but this new series from one of its co-creators, Julio Torres, should help salve the wound. Torres stars as a character in search of a missing earring, an odd premise for what’s sure to be an even odder show. Stream on Max

Presumed Innocent (Apple TV+, June 12)

Previously adapted into a film starring Harrison Ford, Scott Turow’s bestselling 1987 legal thriller gets a new adaptation courtesy of David E. Kelly and J.J. Abrams. Jake Gyllenhaal stars as a prosecutor charged with investigating the murder of a woman with whom he had an affair. Stream on Apple TV+

Brats (Hulu, June 13)

Part of a batch of up-and-coming actors dubbed “The Brat Pack” in the mid-1980s, Andrew McCarthy revisits the phenomenon with this new documentary. Joining him: some, but not all, of his fellow Brat Packers, a group that included Emilio Estevez, Demi Moore, Rob Lowe, and others. Stream on Hulu

Pixar’s Inside Out 2 (Theaters, June 14)

Riley, the emotion-filled girl hero of the 2015 film Inside Out, has grown up a bit in this sequel and adolescence means discovering a host of new emotions. Maya Hawke, Paul Walter Hauser, Ayo Edebiri, and others join the cast.

The Bikeriders (Theaters, June 21)

The latest from Jeff Nichols (Loving, Midnight Special) depicts a decade in the life of Vandals MC, a fictionalized biker gang in Sixites Chicago inspired by real motorcycle clubs. It must be a pretty big club, too, as Jodie Comer, Mike Faust, Tom Hardy, Michael Shannon, Austin Butler, Norman Reedus, and more make up its cast.

Thelma (Theaters, June 21)

This Sundance crowd-pleaser stars June Squibb as a ninetysomething grandma who decides to take the law into her own hands after a phone scammer tricks her out of a small fortune. In his swan song, Richard Roundtree co-stars as her reluctant partner in crimefighting.

My Lady Jane (Prime Video, June 27)

Adapted from a series of comic novels that make no pretense of historical accuracy, this new series stars Emily Bader as Lady Jane Grey, who enjoys a much more adventurous 16th century life than the doomed teenager from history. Stream on Prime Video

A Quiet Place: Day One (Theaters, June 28)

Directed by Pig’s Michael Sarnoski, this third film in the series is a prequel set in New York. Lupita Nyong’o stars as an ordinary woman trying to evade the sharp-eared aliens that terrorized Emily Blunt and her family in the first two films.

Horizon: An American Saga — Chapter 1 (Theaters, June 28)

Kevin Costner went all in on this multi-part epic western, co-writing the story, and assuming both starring and directing duties. It’s a big risk, but so was Dances with Wolves, and that turned out pretty well. This first chapter (of a proposed four) has a three-hour running time and a sprawling cast that includes Sienna Miller, Sam Wothington, Giovanni Ribisi, and too many others to list here.