What’s Playing and Where To Catch the Hottest Movies This Summer

With temperatures already starting to hit 40 degrees celsius and up, no wonder we’re all looking for indoor entertainment for the kids. Enter this summer’s blockbuster movies and another family-friendly fare that you can catch at most major cinemas around Beijing. Not sure which cinema to go to? We’ll share our favorite spots in the city!

The Flash

The latest of the summer blockbusters to hit the silver screen this summer, you can quench your kids’ thirst for superhero flicks with this fast-paced action movie. Part of the DC universe and following in the footsteps of other, rather recent superhero films that have played with time travel, the film presents a “What If” scenario gone wrong when Barry Allen’s attempt to change a tragedy in his past ends up creating a world without superheroes. Comic actor Ezra Miller is spot-on in the role of the World’s Fastest Man, and the witty dialogue is enjoyable for both young and older.

Rating: PG-13
Runtime: 145minutes
Format: IMAX 2D

Transformers: Rise of the Beasts

Making a comeback after the last couple of disappointing films, the latest installment in everyone’s favorite alien-robots-that-turn-into-vehicles franchise is worth the price of admission for those who enjoy a good ol’ blockbuster film. Featuring the new voice talents of rightfully-Academy-nominated Michelle Yeoh, Peter Dinklage, and Ron Perlman alongside the recognizable vocals of the returning cast, the film offers a run-of-the-mill plot to save the Earth, this time from the planet-devouring Unicron (sound familiar?). Thankfully, the movie carefully doles out its CGI action to avoid overkill, and grounds us by fleshing out the backstory of its human protagonists; a pair of brothers whose relationship checks off the aww- moment in such films.

Rating: PG-13
Runtime: 127 minutes
Formats available: IMAX 3D, IMAX 2D

IMAX films can be best enjoyed in one of the newest cinemas in Beijing – Universal CityWalk. With spacious seats and the latest in AV technology, the Universal movie theatre is right smack in the middle of CityWalk – offering you a great choice of dining options pre and post-movie. The best part is you can also bring a Red Oven Pizza to the cinema with you! Plus it’s largely uncrowded on weekdays in the daytime.

Spider-man: Across the Spider-Verse

I was really looking forward to this one. The long-anticipated follow-up to “Into the Spider-Verse” movie delivers everything we loved about its groundbreaking predecessor – snarky wit, teenage angst, familial ties – plus, at least on my part, quite a bit of confusion. Firstly, minor spoiler alert – this movie ends on a cliffhanger. Next, if you, like me, have trouble keeping track of the logic of multi-verse timelines, then you may not “get” this movie. It also drags its feet a bit, as if it’s trying to fill its bloated run time (2 hours and 20 minutes!). That said, if you’re a fan of the first, you just gotta watch this one, and wait with anticipation for the next…

Rating: PG
Runtime: 140 minutes
Formats available: IMAX 2D

With such a long runtime, you’ll want to settle into some comfy chairs for this movie. Several theaters in town offer VIP 厅 with fully-reclining chairs in a cozy cinema with a maximum capacity of under 20 people. The Landgent Space3 mall in Shuangjing has a VIP cinema that only seats 12 and has super cushy seats.

Elemental

I really wanted to like this one! I’ve been a hardcore Pixar fan since Toy Story and I’m also quite the bleeding heart, so I’m basically the prime audience for this animated tale of a daughter of an immigrant family searching for her true identity. Yet I can’t help but feel that this film is like a store-bought special occasion card – with the right intention but just a tad pointless. It doesn’t help that the plot is completely predictable and you can see the moral of the story from a mile away. Best for less discerning audiences below 10 years old.

Rating: PG
Runtime: 109 minutes
Formats available: 3D

Elemental is the kind of kid’s film that you go enjoy in a place like the Kid’s Cinema 亲子厅 in Hopson One, where there are slides, ball pits, and even a small playground outside to keep them entertained when the movie gets a little slow. To find the Kid’s Cinema near you, look for 儿童厅 or 亲子厅.