The sun is shining and Regal’s Studio Ghibli Fest is back for 2025, so you know what that means. It’s hot Ghibli summer! Throughout the summer, Regal theaters nationwide are celebrating the 40th anniversary of the legendary Japanese animation studio with both subbed and dubbed showings of eight of its masterpieces.
Studio Ghibli Fest kicked off in May with “Kiki’s Delivery Service,” followed by “The Secret World of Arrietty” in June, but there’s still time to catch the remaining six shows with showings every month until November.
July 19 (dub) & 21 (sub): “My Neighbor Totoro”
Two sisters move into an old country house with their father as their mother is in the hospital. While exploring their new home, they discover magical forest spirits, including the iconic Totoro.
August 10 (sub): “Grave of the Fireflies”
Set in Japan during World War II, this emotional masterpiece follows a teenage boy and his little sister as they struggle to survive after being separated from their parents. A haunting and deeply moving reflection on the human cost of war.
August 23 (dub) & 25 (sub): “Ponyo”
When a goldfish princess befriends a human boy who gives her the name Ponyo, their friendship sets off a magical adventure that threatens to upset the balance of nature.
September 20 (dub) & 22 (sub): “Howl’s Moving Castle”
A young woman cursed into old age finds refuge with a mysterious wizard and his magical walking castle and fire demon as they escape war.
October 18 (dub) & 20 (sub): “Spirited Away”
After her parents are transformed into pigs, a young girl must navigate a fantastical spirit world to rescue them and return home. One of Studio Ghibli and Hayao Miyazaki’s most revered works, “Spirited Away” was the first hand-drawn, Japanese anime and non-English-language animated film to win the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature.
November 15 (dub) & 17 (sub): “The Boy and the Heron”
A grieving boy is led by a mysterious heron into a surreal world where the line between life and death blurs. Released in 2023, “The Boy and the Heron” is Ghibli’s newest creation, a “big, fantastical film” that keeps the Ghibli spirit of fantasy, childhood wonder, and love of weird little guys alive.
If animated movies aren’t your style, this summer’s blockbuster lineup is adding new installments to beloved franchises and rebooting iconic oldies. Catch the new “Jurassic World” and look out for the sequel to “Freaky Friday,” appropriately named “Freakier Friday.”
July 2: “Jurassic World Rebirth”
Scarlett Johansson stars as Zora Bennett, a covert operative recruited for a top-secret mission to recover biomaterials that can provide life-saving benefits to mankind from an island research facility for the original Jurassic Park.
July 11: “Superman”
The launch of the DC Universe, David Corenswet is Superman as he struggles to reconcile his alien heritage with his human upbringing.
July 18: “I Know What You Did Last Summer”
For horror fans, the fourth installment of the “I Know What You Did Last Summer” franchise brings back Freddie Prinze Jr. and Jennifer Love Hewitt from the original film together with a new cast of five friends who are taunted by a stalker who knows their secret.
July 25: “Fantastic Four: First Steps”
In the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s newest film, the Fantastic Four must defend Earth from Galactus and Silver Surfer. Pedro Pascal leads the ensemble cast as Mister Fantastic, joined by Vanessa Kirby as Invisible Woman, Ebon Moss-Bachrach as The Thing, and Joseph Quinn as Human Torch.
August 8: “Freakier Friday”
Jamie Lee Curtis and Lindsey Lohan are back as Tess and Anna in the sequel to “Freaky Friday,” following a grown-up Anna who now has a daughter of her own and a soon-to-be stepdaughter.
