Matt Singer previews summer's biggest movies on CBS Saturday Morning

Matt Singer used his CBS Saturday Morning appearance to make a simple case for theaters: summer 2026 was stacked with enough franchise muscle and studio spectacle to tempt audiences out of their living rooms and back into multiplexes. Singer, the editor and critic for ScreenCrush.com and a member of the New York Film Critics Circle, previewed the season as one of the strongest stretches for mainstream cinema in years.

The segment came as the industry was watching whether the domestic summer box office could reach about $4 billion, a level that would mark the strongest season since 2019. That target reflects more than a single hit movie. It is a test of whether theatrical releases can still draw broad crowds in an era defined by streaming habits, uneven box office weekends and a film calendar that often feels more fragmented than communal.

ScreenCrush set the tone in its April 8 list of the 15 most anticipated summer movies of 2026, describing the season as a pretty strong couple of months for mainstream cinema. The emphasis was firmly on theatrical releases rather than streaming titles. As the site put it, “summer movie” still means “big screens, bigger budgets, and ice cold air conditioning as far as we’re concerned.”

That argument matters because the 2026 lineup includes the kind of titles that have historically sold tickets in bulk: June and July tentpoles, franchise sequels and studio blockbusters built for premium-format screens. Singer singled out one of the biggest draws in the slate, the return of Star Wars to multiplexes for the first time in almost seven years, a comeback that could give the season an early jolt of energy.

For theaters still trying to steady business after years of disruption, the question is not just whether any one movie opens well. It is whether a full summer slate can restore the habit of going out, buying a ticket and watching a film with a crowd. Singer’s preview suggested Hollywood still has a shot, if the movies are large enough, familiar enough and timed well enough to pull people back in.