After more than a year of benching its biggest spectacles, Hollywood is ready to dazzle again.

From 鈥淔9鈥� and 鈥淚n the Heights鈥� to 鈥淭he Suicide Squad鈥� and 鈥淏lack Widow,鈥� there will be a steady stream of blockbusters populating multiplexes across the country for the first time since March 2020.

For streaming-weary audiences, the promise of air conditioning, popcorn, soda fountains, 60-foot screens and state-of-the-art sound could be a welcome respite from the living room and virtual watch parties. Not to mention the ever-romantic concept of the shared experience.

For beleaguered movie theaters, it鈥檚 not a moment too soon.

The modern summer movie season, which runs from May through Labor Day, regularly accounts for over $4 billion in revenue and makes up around 40% of the year鈥檚 grosses. Last year, summer earnings were $176 million, down 96% from 2019. Although theaters have been ramping up operations for a while, this summer will prove to be the biggest litmus test so far about whether habits have changed irrevocably during the pandemic.

In some ways, the calendar looks like a do-over of last summer. Many of the most anticipated releases were supposed to come out a year ago, including John Krasinski鈥檚 鈥淎 Quiet Place Part II,鈥� up first on May 28, the big screen adaptation of Lin-Manuel Miranda鈥檚 Tony-winning 鈥淚n the Heights鈥� (June 11), the ninth installment of the 鈥淔ast & Furious鈥� series, 鈥淔9鈥� (June 25), Marvel鈥檚 鈥淏lack Widow鈥� (July 9) starring Scarlett Johansson, the Emily Blunt and Dwayne Johnson action adventure 鈥淛ungle Cruise鈥� (July 30) and Nia DaCosta鈥檚 鈥淐andyman鈥� reboot (Aug. 27).

鈥淚n the Heights鈥� director Jon M. Chu had to convince Miranda that it was worth it to wait for a theatrical release. Miranda wanted to get his joyous musical about a bodega owner, Usnavi (Anthony Ramos) and his friends in Washington Heights out to people immediately. But Chu knows just how important a global release is for films with underrepresented casts. Like 鈥淐razy Rich Asians,鈥� 鈥淚n the Heights鈥� features unknowns in key roles who are poised for a breakout given the right platform.

鈥淲e had big dreams for this,鈥� Chu said. 鈥淭o be able to do it on the biggest scale possible meant so much.鈥�

And it鈥檚 not the only blue-sky blockbuster in the bunch. The 鈥淔ast & Furious鈥� series has always been about creating a fun theatrical experience and 鈥淔9鈥� not only brings back a fan favorite 鈥� Sung Kang鈥檚 Han 鈥� but also literally sends cars into space. It鈥檚 expected to be one of the season鈥檚 biggest hits.

鈥淲henever I get together with Vin (Diesel) and everybody to make these movies, we鈥檙e not even talking about the plot or anything like that, but the feeling. I just remember as a kid in the summer saving enough money to go to the movies to share that experience with a bunch of strangers,鈥� said director Justin Lin. 鈥淲hen that moment hits and everyone鈥檚 laughing or cheering together, it is magical.鈥�

Before the pandemic, going to the movies in the summer was a ritual. Audiences made up for last year by screening at drive-ins. Now it鈥檚 a wild card whether the promise of an 鈥渆vent film鈥� will motivate audiences back to theaters, especially if something is also available to watch at home.

鈥淪pace Jam: A New Legacy鈥� director Malcom D. Lee called his film, 鈥淭he epitome of a popcorn movie.鈥� The sequel to the 1996 Michael Jordan pic finds LeBron James now sharing the screen with classic Looney Toons characters.

Those looking for a more R-rated experience can thank James Gunn, who made movie stars out of the once obscure 鈥淕uardians of the Galaxy,鈥� and now is out to do the same for the 鈥渕isfit, Z-grade supervillains鈥� of 鈥淭he Suicide Squad.鈥� He had his pick of DC characters and turned down Superman for Margot Robbie鈥檚 Harley Quinn, Idris Elba鈥檚 Bloodsport and John Cena鈥檚 Peacemaker.

Gunn looked to one of his favorite genres for inspiration: The 1960s war caper. Think, 鈥淭he Dirty Dozen鈥� and 鈥淲here Eagles Dare.鈥�

鈥淭o reinvigorate that genre just using these crappy supervillains as the protagonists was very appealing to me,鈥� Gunn said.

There are many other options too, including a host of big-name documentary titles, from Morgan Neville鈥檚 鈥淩oadrunner: A Film About Anthony Bourdain鈥� (July 16) to Peter Jackson鈥檚 鈥淭he Beatles: Get Back鈥� (Aug. 27). There are family films, like 鈥淧eter Rabbit 2: The Runaway鈥� (June 18) and 鈥淗otel Transylvania: Transformania鈥� (July 23) and horrors like 鈥淭he Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It (June 4), and 鈥淒on鈥檛 Breathe 2鈥� (Aug. 13).

You can see Matt Damon try to save his daughter in the drama 鈥淪tillwater鈥� (July 30) or watch as Gael Garc铆a Bernal starts to age rapidly in M. Night Shyamalan鈥檚 鈥淥ld鈥� (July 23). Ryan Reynolds is in two big action flicks, 鈥淭he Hitman鈥檚 Wife鈥檚 Bodyguard鈥� (June 16) and 鈥淔ree Guy鈥� (Aug. 13). There鈥檚 even an epic Dev Patel-led take on a classic Arthurian legend, 鈥淭he Green Knight鈥� coming July 30.

鈥淚鈥檓 really glad that our movie is one of the ones that was held back because I really I want audiences to get a chance to see it on the big screen,鈥� said 鈥淭he Green Knight鈥� director David Lowery. 鈥淚t was obviously meant to be seen that way but also it鈥檚 a strange movie and I think that the idea of having that experience in a cinema with other people is going to be really, really exciting, especially after a year away from the big screen.鈥�

Some studios have been lately, like 鈥� .鈥� But after seven weeks, even that monster sock 鈥榚m up is still shy of cracking the $100 million mark domestically. And it鈥檚 unclear what the new benchmarks for success will be or if any movie has a chance of hitting anything close to pre-pandemic expectations. The last 鈥淔ast鈥� movie opened to $98.8 million in 2017. 鈥淏lack Widow鈥� was once pegged for at least a $90 million launch. So far this year, .

For moviegoers, it鈥檚 also become hard to keep tabs on ever shifting dates, delays and multi-platform releases. Some summer-ready titles, like 鈥淭op Gun: Maverick鈥� and the new James Bond, 鈥淣o Time To Die,鈥� are waiting until later in the year to debut. 鈥淛urassic World: Dominion鈥� pushed to 2022. And changes are still being made as some offload titles to streaming services. Sony sold its Camilla Cabello and Billy Porter-led 鈥淐inderella鈥� to Amazon Prime and its Kevin Hart as a single dad pic 鈥淔atherhood鈥� to Netflix.

Even the films with theatrical debuts will have either unique hybrid release plans or . including 鈥淚n the Heights,鈥� 鈥淭he Suicide Squad,鈥� 鈥淪pace Jam,鈥� will be available free for HBO Max subscribers for 31 days as well as in theaters. Most Disney movies, including 鈥淐ruella鈥� (May 28), 鈥淏lack Widow鈥� and 鈥淛ungle Cruise鈥� are opening both in theaters and on Disney+ as a premium $29.99 rental. Their Pixar title 鈥淟uca鈥� is going straight to Disney+, free for subscribers, on June 17. And the Sundance breakout 鈥� 鈥� is getting a simultaneous release in theaters and on Apple TV+.

For theaters and studios, the unknowns are many. Are movie theaters even on people鈥檚 re-opening priority lists? Will there be a $100 million opening weekend any time soon? Will there ever be a $250 million opening weekend again? The filmmakers aren鈥檛 trying to concern themselves with that. But everyone is feeling emotional that moviegoing might finally become normal again.

鈥淚 think about it all the time,鈥� said Gunn. 鈥淚 can鈥檛 wait to sit in a theater with a group of people and watch films again. It is a true joy in life. It鈥檚 a magical space for me and has been since I was a very little boy.鈥�

鈥� Lindsey Bahr, The Associated Press