What's being released in July 2020? Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Sky Cinema and Disney+

So here we are, pretty much halfway through the year. 2020 will certainly be a 12-month period that will be talked about for the rest of our lives. Looking back at how we fought over toilet roll, danced on TikTok and had to go online to book a slot in the pub.

We may have survived a heatwave, but just as the government have eased reins, you can almost guarantee that bad weather will be just around the corner. Thankfully streaming services have got some huge films scheduled for release in July.

Below are eight films coming to Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Sky Cinema and Disney+ during July 2020.

Frozen II (2019) – Disney+ and Sky Cinema - Friday, July 3

Directors: Chris Buck & Jenifer Lee – 103mins – Age Certificate: PG

Back in 2013, a Disney animated musical hit the cinemas to little fanfare. It only spent one week in the US and the UK as the highest grossing film of the week, but ended up becoming the fifth highest grossing film of all time (it’s now 16th).

Frozen, coinciding in the same bracket as Moana and Tangled (all available on Disney+), is a film that every young child seems to adore, and parents don't mind watching it on average five times a week. It’s also very much a guilty pleasure to many millennials, too.

After six years of waiting, Frozen II was released last November and is now the 10th highest grossing film of all time. Set three years after the first film, Frozen II sees Elsa (Idina Menzel), Anna (Kristen Bell), Kristoff (Jonathan Groff), Olaf (Josh Gadd) and Sven embark on an adventure to discover the origin of Elsa’s powers.

While Frozen II may lack a hit as iconic and catchy as Let It Go, it’s still beautifully animated and it’s a perfect family film, that may even bring a tear or two to your eyes.

The Old Guard (2020) – Netflix - Friday, 10 July

Director: Gina Prince-Bythewood – 124mins – Age Certificate: 15

As the highly-anticipated super hero films Wonder Woman1984 and Black Widow have seen their cinematic release date pushed back because of COVID-19, Netflix have a chance to bridge that gap with the release of The Old Guard.

Featuring Charlize Theron (Mad Max: Fury Road, Hancock), KiKi Layne (If Beale Street Could Talk), Matthias Schoenaerts (Far From The Madding Crowd, Suite Francaise) and Chiwetel Ejiofor (12 Years a Slave, Love Actually), the film follows a group of immortal soldiers who have the ability to heal from any wound.

However, after discovering a new immortal, they realise that someone is aware of their secrets and face losing their freedom. The first trailer has already been viewed over 3 million times on YouTube, armed with an A-List cast, The Old Guard is certainly a film to look out for.

Hamilton (2020) – Disney+ - Friday, July 3

Director – Thomas Kail – 160mins – Age Certificate: 12

As we’ve seen many film releases pushed back due to the pandemic, COVID-19 has actually meant that Hamilton has been brought forward! Originally due for a cinematic release in October 2021, Disney decided that in order to boost our morale, they’d pop it straight onto Disney+ on July 3.

This film is a live stage recording from the hit Broadway musical – Hamilton has been the highest grossing show on Broadway since its release in 2016, with a ticket costing you between $225 to $1,000 (and that’s not including the black market).

Lin-Manuel Miranda (Mary Poppins Returns) writes, co-produces and stars as the lead in the production. Hamilton tells the story of one of the Founding Fathers of the United States, Alexander Hamilton, who arrives in New York as an immigrant from the Caribbean.

The production has so far gained positive reviews from film critics and is seen as a great alternative for the hundreds of thousands of people who missed out on tickets when it was showing on Broadway.

It Chapter Two (2019) – Sky Cinema - Friday, 10 July

Director: Andy Muschietti – 169mins – Age Certificate: 15

Another sequel coming to Sky Cinema this July, It Chapter Two arrived with big expectations in September 2019 after the release of the commercially and critically acclaimed It (Available on Netflix) in 2017.

Based on Stephen King’s novel of the same title, this supernatural horror takes place 27 years after the first film (It director Andy Muschietti is back to direct this one) with a fantastically selected cast of Jessica Chastain, James McAvoy, Bill Hader, Isaiah Mustafa, Jay Ryan, James Ransone and Andy Bean.

After parting their separate ways at the end of the first film, The Losers Club discover that the fearsome clown who terrorised them 27 years ago, Pennywise (the terrifying Bill Skarsgard), is back. They decide to reluctantly return to Maine to fight the clown again, but despite being grown up, they’re still scarred from their previous encounter.

It Chapter Two is a good film, but seems to lack the charm of the first. The casting of the older characters is a stroke of genius, but the film does seem to follow a repetitive sequence when it comes to individually re-introducing the older characters. If you’ve seen and loved the first film, you must watch this- but don’t have your hopes raised too high.

Ad Astra (2019) – Sky Cinema - Friday, 17 July

Director: James Gray – 124mins – Age Certificate: 12

Just weeks after stealing our hearts as Cliff Booth in Quentin Tarrantino’s Once Upon A Time…in Hollywood, Brad Pitt was back on the big screen in this sci-fi drama.

Directed by James Gray (The Lost City of Z, The Immigrant), Ad Astra tells the story of an astronaut who heads into space to search for his lost father, who’s planning an experiment which could impact the solar system.

Despite underperforming at the box office, critics did seem to really enjoy this movie, however I may need to re-watch to be more convinced. Gray does a fantastic job of showing the relationship of father and son, even in an unusual habitat, and Brad Pitt also puts in a very good performance.

Radioactive (2020) – Amazon Prime Video - Friday, 24 July

Director: Marjane Satrapi – 111mins – Age Certificate: 12

Originally scheduled for a late March cinematic release, before COVID-19 ruled that out, this Amazon Original is a Marie Curie biopic with Rosamund Pike (Die Another Day, Gone Girl) starring as the pioneering French-Polish scientist who is most famous for her work in researching radioactivity.

Based on Lauren Redniss’ 2010 novel Radioactive: Marie and Pierre Curie, A Tale of Love and Fallout, the film explores the relationship with Marie’s husband and how their scientific breakthrough work caused fractions to their marriage.

Currently available to buy on Amazon, the early reviews certainly suggest that this is maybe one for waiting until it’s available to stream later in the month.

Joy (2015) – Netflix - TBC

Director: David O. Russel – 124mins – Age Certificate: 12

On the premise of things, a film about a divorced Mum of two who created a self-rinsing mop in the 1990s isn’t something that may grab your immediate attention. But throw in Jennifer Lawrence (The Hunger Games, Silver Lining Playbook), Bradley Cooper (The Hangover, A Star is Born) and Robert De Niro (The Irishman, Taxi Driver) and it’s suddenly much more appealing.

Jennifer Lawrence is fantastic as Joy Mangano in this rags-to-riches comedy/drama about this single mum who has to remortgage her house and work every hour around the clock to create her ‘magic mop’ when she discovers the idea after cutting her hand rinsing her own mop.

Lawrence was nominated for Best Actress in the 2016 Oscars, and the film also received two Golden Globe nominations. It’s essentially a female-lead Pursuit of Happyness and well worth two hours of your time.

Vivarium (2020) – Amazon Prime Video - Saturday, 11 July

Director: Lorcan Finnegan – 97mins – Age Certificate: 15

Jesse Eisenberg (The Social Network, Zombieland, Now You See Me) continues his recent quest to appear in more small-budget films by co-starring in this sci-fi thriller alongside British actress Imogen Poots (The Awkward Moment, Jane Eyre).

Vivarium, another film hit by the COVID curse and coming straight to streaming platforms, sees couple Gemma (Poots) and Tom (Eisenberg) look for a perfect place to live. They travel to an area where all of the houses look identical, however when they try to leave each road takes them back to where they started.

The film has so far been greeted with mainly positive reviews from critics, citing its creativity and how well executed the sci-fi/horror elements are brought together.