Apple cider vinegar Is Pilates for you? 'Ambient gaslighting' 'Main character energy'
MOVIES
Amy Schumer

Funny, fearless ladies rule summer movies

Patrick Ryan
USA TODAY
Meryl Streep stars in 'Ricki and the Flash,' in which she plays a rocker inspired by screenwriter Diablo Cody's mother-in-law.

These girls are aca-mazing.

In just two weeks of release, Pitch Perfect 2 has sung its way to $126 million, according to box-office tracking firm Rentrak — nearly doubling the entire run ($65 million) of its 2012 musical predecessor. The female-led comedy is the latest example of movies for and about women that have become some of the year's highest-grossing films so far, including Fifty Shades of Grey, Cinderella, The Divergent Series: Insurgent and Mad Max: Fury Road.

With more on the way over these next few months, it could signal that Hollywood is finally starting to cater to female moviegoers. "Other years, there's (been) this obsession with making movies for teenage boys in the summer," says BoxOffice.com analyst Phil Contrino. "Hopefully, this is the beginning of a change in what gets made. It's long overdue to have more movies like this in the marketplace," but also to get more women behind the camera as directors (Pitch Perfect 2's Elizabeth Banks) and screenwriters (Trainwreck's Amy Schumer).

Five female-fronted films we can't wait to see this summer:

Spy (June 5)

Since becoming a breakout star — and landing an Oscar nomination — for her outrageous Bridesmaids turn, Melissa McCarthy has headlined a string of box-office champs, including Identity Thief ($134.5 million), The Heat ($159.6 million) and last year's Tammy ($84.5 million, according to Box Office Mojo). This summer, she goes undercover in Paul Feig's comedy Spy, playing a CIA analyst-turned-secret agent who takes on Rose Byrne's nefarious arms dealer. "I refer to this movie as 'Harry Potter for adults,' " Feig told Entertainment Weekly. "It's that thing of — 'Oh, my God, I've got special powers and now I'm actually getting to use them.' "

Given its spy-movie sendup and all-star cast rounded out by Jude Law and Jason Statham, Spy should find a large audience, Rentrak analyst Paul Dergarabedian says. "Add the Paul Feig factor (director of Bridesmaids, The Heat and the upcoming Ghostbusters reboot), a healthy dose of action, and you have the makings of a hit that will likely draw both men and women."

Inside Out (June 19)

Aside from Scottish fable Brave in 2012, Pixar films have long been led by male protagonists, whether they're talking toys or lovable robots. But that's going to change this summer with the arrival of Inside Out, which details the inner workings of a hockey-loving 11-year-old girl named Riley, whose emotions are voiced by Mindy Kaling, Bill Hader, Phyllis Smith, Lewis Black and Amy Poehler. Although Poehler's character, Joy, spends the movie fighting for control of Riley's mind, the Parks and Recreation vet doesn't see herself in her optimistic animated alter ego. "I don't think I'm as bubbly or as nice as Joy," she told USA TODAY. "But I can turn it on when I want to."

"I've never seen a movie quite like it," says Contrino, who caught Inside Out at its CinemaCon convention premiere last month. "I think women more than men will respond" to the movie.

"It's definitely going to be a word-of-mouth hit. It might not break any records opening weekend, but after that, it's going to be off to the races."

Trainwreck (July 17)

Schumer has been offering pointed commentary on relationships, misogyny and pop culture for three seasons on Comedy Central's Inside Amy Schumer. But now she has the opportunity to bring her accessible brand of comedy to a wider audience via Trainwreck, written by and starring Schumer. Directed by Judd Apatow, the R-rated film features Schumer as a hard-drinking, relationship-wary writer for a men's magazine, who finds herself falling for the sports doctor (Bill Hader) she's profiling. "She is a full human being, a sister, a daughter, a friend and not just what on first glance would be just this party girl," Schumer told USA TODAY. "At her core, she's a good gal."

The movie "looks to showcase her talent and put her in (Apatow's) sweet spot of just the right amount of new-school raunch mixed with a bit of old-fashioned romance," Degarabedian says. With that combination, Trainwreck should "be relatable to a huge segment of the female population, and to men as well."

Paper Towns (July 24)

No one gets to the hearts — and tear ducts — of teenage girls quite like author John Green. The film adaptation of his teen-cancer romance The Fault in Our Stars, starring Shailene Woodley, was a weepy box-office winner last summer, earning $124.9 million. But Paper Towns is different from Fault "in every possible way," Green told USA TODAY. While Hollywood is used to franchises, "this is not a series. It's an unrelated story that's beautiful and funny," following dorky boy Quentin, aka "Q" (Nat Wolff), who goes in search of dream girl Margo (Cara Delevingne) after she disappears.

Just as Woodley's portrayal of a cancer-stricken teen added to her dramatic cred, Delevingne could see her profile rise as an actress if she pulls off the popular yet enigmatic heroine. The model certainly received Green's stamp of approval: "She understood Margo in ways that no one I have ever met understands Margo."

With Fault, Paper, and more adaptations on the way, "John Green's kind of becoming the John Hughes for this generation," Contrino says. "He's really tapped into how teenagers today think and feel, and we haven't had something like that in a little bit. It's definitely going to be one of the breakouts of the summer."

Ricki and the Flash (Aug. 7)

Could this be Oscar nomination No. 20 for Meryl Streep? The acting legend dons black leather and a side braid as a singer/guitarist who chases her rock 'n' roll dreams, and later returns home to try and make amends with her family. The uplifting musical drama co-stars Kevin Kline and Streep's daughter Mamie Gummer. Oscar winner Diablo Cody (Juno) wrote the screenplay, inspired by her own rocker mother-in law, Terry Cieri, who has fronted bands Jersey Corn and Silk & Steel. "Rock 'n' roll is her life," Cody told Yahoo Movies. "I think there've been people in her life who've thought it was kind of a silly thing for a mom or grandmother to do and she doesn't give a damn. I love that about her."

Ricki "will test the box-office power of older women, who will likely dig the youthful exuberance and fire of Streep's character," Dergarabedian says. It "may also draw general audiences with its melding of dramatic and comedic elements, music and a solid supporting cast," which includes veteran rocker Rick Springfield.

Featured Weekly Ad