Perhaps it’s a coincidence, perhaps not. Either way, May 17 is a big day for sequels to movies in which the death of a beloved pet dog is central to the plot. Strange, but true. There’s probably not a lot of fan overlap between fans of the John Wick series, in which the titular hitman (Keanu Reeves) comes out of retirement to avenge the death of his pooch, and A Dog’s Purpose, in which the same pup keeps dying and getting reincarnated. If there is, indeed, any overlap in the fanbases of John Wick: Chapter 3—Parabellum and A Dog’s Journey, then May 17 will be a day to remember for them.
For the rest of us, there’s an entire month to ease into summer movie season, with promising contenders like Brightburn, which recasts Superman as a horror movie, Booksmart, which gender-swaps Superbad, and Aladdin, which asks, “What if Will Smith were Smurf-colored?” Find out below what else to expect this month, with your creative calendar for May.
Movies in theaters
- Bolden, May 3
- Long Shot, May 3
- Ugly Dolls, May 3
- The Hustle, May 10
- Pokémon: Detective Pikachu, May 10
- Poms, May 10
- Tolkien, May 10
- A Dog’s Journey, May 17
- John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum, May 17
- Rocketman, May 17
- The Sun Is Also a Star, May 17
- The Souvenir, May 17
- Trial by Fire, May 17
- Ad Astra, May 24
- Aladdin, May 24
- Brightburn, May 24
- Booksmart, May 24
- Always Be My Maybe, May 31 on Netflix
- Godzilla: King of the Monsters, May 31
- Ma, May 31
Movies to Watch at Home
- This One’s for the Ladies, May 1
- All In My Family, May 3 on Netflix
- Despite Everything, May 3 on Netflix
- Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile, May 3 on Netflix
- Non-Fiction, May 3
- Foster, May 8 on HBO
- Asako I & II, May 10
- Ask Dr. Ruth, May 10
- ReMastered: The Lion’s Share, May 10 on Netflix
- Wine Country, May 10 on Netflix
- My Dad Wrote a Porno, May 11 on HBO
- Aniara, May 17
- Photograph, May 17
- See You Yesterday, May 17 on Netflix
- Wanda Sykes: Not Normal, May 21
- The Perfection, May 24 on Netflix
- Deadwood: The Movie, May 31 on HBO
- Domino, May 31
- At the Heart of Gold: Inside the USA Gymnastics Scandal, May on HBO
Music
- Bad Religion – Age Of Unreason, May 3
- Big Thief – U.F.O.F., May 3
- L7 – Scatter The Rats, May 3
- Vampire Weekend – Father Of The Bride, May 3
- A.A. Bondy – Enderness, May 10
- Charly Bliss – Young Enough, May 10
- Clinic – Wheeltappers and Shunters, May 10
- Jamila Woods – Legacy! Legacy!, May 10
- Mac DeMarco – Here Comes The Cowboy, May 10
- Mavis Staples – We Get By, May 10
- Meat Beat Manifesto – Opaque Couché, May 10
- Shaggy – Wah Gwaan?!, May 10
- The Get Up Kids – Problems, May 10
- Tim Hecker – Anoyo, May 10
- Steel Pulse – Mass Manipulation, May 17
- The Head and the Heart – Living Mirage, May 17
- The National – I Am Easy to Find, May 17
- Flying Lotus – Flamagra, May 24
- Joan as Police Woman – Joanthology, May 24
- Morrissey – California Son, May 24
- Sebadoh – Act Surprised, May 24
- Sinkane – Dépaysé, May 31
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u3F9n_smGWY
TV
- The Name of the Rose, May 1 on Sundance
- iZombie, May 2 on CW
- Dead to Me, May 3 on Netflix
- Into the Dark: All That We Destroy, May 3 on Hulu
- Tuca & Bertie, May 3 on Netflix
- Undercover, May 3 on Netflix
- Your Pretty Face Is Going to Hell, May 3 on Adult Swim
- The Spanish Princess, May 5 on STARZ
- Chernobyl, May 6 on HBO
- Lucifer, May 8 on Netflix
- Klepper, May 9 on Comedy Central
- Paradise Hotel, May 9 on Fox
- Easy, May 10 on Netflix
- Jailbirds, May 10 on Netflix
- The Mechanism, May 10 on Netflix
- The Society, May 10 on Netflix
- Wu-Tang Clan: Of Mics and Men, May 10 on Showtime
- The Daily Show with Trevor Noah Presents Desi Lydic: Abroad, May 13 on Comedy Central
- What’s My Name: Muhammad Ali, May 14 on HBO
- Catch-22, May 17 on Hulu
- Fleabag, May 17 on Prime Video
- The Rain, May 17 on Netflix
- She’s Gotta Have It, May 24 on Netflix
- What/If, May 24 on Netflix
- The Hot Zone, May 27 on Nat Geo
- Running With Beto, May 28 on HBO
- American Ninja Warrior, May 29 on NBC
- Property Brothers: Forever Home, May 29 on HGTV
- Good Omens, May 31 on Prime Video
- How to Sell Drugs Online (Fast), May 31 on Netflix
- When They See Us, May 31 on Netflix
BOOKS
- Only Human by Martin Parr, May 1
- With the Fire on High by Elizabeth Acevedo, May 7
- Women of Kuwait by Maha Alasaker, May 7
- Furious Hours by Casey Cep, May 7
- The Unpassing by Chia-Chia Lin, May 7
- Rough Magic by Lara Prior-Palmer, May 7
- The Farm by Joanne Ramos, May 7
- Tears of the Trufflepig by Fernando A. Flores, May 14
- Once More We Saw Stars by Jayson Greene, May 14
- Home Remedies by Xuan Juliana Wang, May 14
- Naturally Tan by Tan France, May 16
- Gold by Sebastião Salgado, May 19
- Riots I Have Known by Ryan Chapman, May 21
- Pride: Photographs After Stonewall by Fred W. McDarrah, May 21
- Anthony Bourdain Remembered by CNN, May 28
[Photo Illustration: Samir Abady; Aladdin: courtesy of Walt Disney Studios; All Is True: Robert Youngson/Sony Pictures Classics; Bolden: Fred Norris/Abramorama; Brightburn: courtesy of Sony Pictures; Catch-22: Philipe Antonello/Hulu; Chernobyl: Liam Daniel/HBO; Dead to Me: Saeed Adyani/Netflix; Fleabag: Steve Schofield/Amazon Studios; John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum: Niko Tavernise/Lionsgate; Long Shot: Hector Alvarez/Lionsgate; Ma: Anna Kooris/Universal Pictures; Poms: courtesy of STXfilms; She’s Gotta Have It: David Lee/Netflix; The Hustle: Christian Black/Metro Goldwyn Mayer Pictures; The Perfection: courtesy of Netflix; Tolkien: courtesy of Fox Searchlight Pictures; Tuca & Bertie: courtesy of Netflix; Wu-Tang Clan: Of Mics and Men: Kyle Christy/Showtime]
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