January often symbolizes a new dawn for many, a month of motivational self-improvement, resolution pledging, and character reforming. Routines are more stringent, willpower is stimulated, and the potential for change seems endless. Gyms are fuller as people attempt to shed the “Christmas weight” and improve their physical appearance. The differences between January and June are aplenty: the weather, the longer days, and the beginning of Summer versus the bleak mid-winter. However, despite the superficial discrepancies, a few things remain the same, one of those being that people are back in the gym still striving to drop those Christmas pounds after a “week’s rest” following the strains of January turned into an entire four months of exercise absence.

Update July 11, 2023: The back-to-school supplies might be out at the store, but summer is still going strong, and this article has been updated with even more great movies around summer vacation.

As people prepare themselves for a swim-short or bikini-clad season (or, in the UK, the weeks-worth of good weather), putting in those extra hours in the gym, rigorously sweating in the delusion that they may miraculously develop a six-pack in three weeks, inevitably leading to disappointment when their summer-body proves to be, well, still their winter one. For film-buffs, the summer often marks an exciting time for the industry with a plethora of new movie releases, and the pressures of attaining that summer body while sitting fully clothed in a dark movie theater considerably diminish for a few hours at least. Some of the best films have had screenplays set in the beaming sunshine in the midst of a Summer holiday, whether they be holiday romances, revelatory dramas, or comedies. Here are some of the best movies set during summer vacation.

10 Palm Springs (2020)

True to its name, this quirky comedy set in Palm Springs is a summer cocktail awash with vibrancy, joy, and excessive, repetitive relaxation (along with some ridiculous slapstick violence). Palm Springs is Gen Z’s answer to Groundhog Day. Whilst at a wedding, fun-loving Nyles (Andy Samberg), trapped in a passionless relationship, meets Sarah (Cristin Milioti from the hilarious show Made For Love). Together, the pair are stuck in a time loop where they're forced to remain in the sunny holiday of Palm Springs and begin to form a fledgling romance. A warming summer rom-com which, like its characters, doesn’t take itself too seriously.

9 Hotel Transylvania 3: Summer Vacation (2018)

In the third installment of the Hotel Transylvania franchise, Hotel Transylvania: Summer Vacation takes movie lovers of all ages on a summer trip with Dracula and Co. as they take a summer vacation on a cruise ship. Little does Dracula, and his family of monsters know that the cruise's captain has a personal connection to Dracula. She will do all she can in an effort to spoil his vacation while also trying to prevent herself from falling in love with him. This all-star cast, which includes Adam Sandler, Kevin James, David Spade, Andy Samberg, Selena Gomez, and others, is sure to make families all over have a fun-filled time on their summer break. This film series continues to prove that monsters are not as scary as they are made out to be.

8 Camp Rock (2008)

In one of the most popular Disney Channel films, Camp Rock is one of the best summer films for elementary-aged kids and up. This 2008 film was the 73rd all-time Disney Channel Original Movie. It follows high schooler Mitchie Torres (Demi Lovato), who has big aspirations of becoming a great singer. In order to do that, she attends the talented Summer music camp known as "Camp Rock," where singers and musicians alike come together in the name of music.

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At camp, she must find a way to become comfortable with her true self and become a confident performer. With an all-star Disney cast that includes the Jonas Brothers, Alyson Stoner, Maria Canals-Barrera, and many others, Camp Rock is a Disney Channel classic that will make kids want to become musicians and singers.

7 Luca (2021)

Disney and Pixar’s Luca is a wholesome, uncontaminated animated film that posits that in a world full of hate, war, and evil, the pure essence of our children remains indiscriminate, optimistic, and widely accepted. Set against the picturesque backdrop of the Italian Riviera, with its cyan waters, colorful and quaint Ligurian architecture, and quintessential piazzas, Luca tells the tale of a budding friendship between two young boys, Luca and Alberto, who spend their summer roaming the streets of the Italian Riviera on their Vespa, taking in everything the pretty seaside town has to offer. Luca’s identity as a sea monster puts the pair in jeopardy due to them being hunted and disliked creatures in the local area.

6 Stand by Me (1986)

Stephen King is a name associated with horror thrillers, but his 1982 book Stand by Me provides welcome relief from the terrifying connotations of IT and The Shining and is instead a great coming-of-age story about a group of four friends on summer break who discover the corpse of a teenager, Ray Brower. In Rob Reiner’s sunny 1986 screen adaptation, the movie hones in on the perturbing reality of death and begins to penetrate through the thinly protective barrier, which is the innocence of youth.

5 Call Me by Your Name (2017)

Luca Guadagnino’s Call Me by Your Name, starring the ever-impressive Timothee Chalamet as Elio and now infamous Armie Hammer as Oliver, won the Academy Award for Best Screenplay at the 2018 Oscars and is the final installment of the director’s “Desire” trilogy. The movie documents Elio Perlman’s love affair with Oliver, an American student, during the Summer of 1983.

This LGBTQ+ coming-of-age drama is a lesson in self-discovery, self-acceptance, and the strides made during the 1980s to make homosexuality a less taboo topic. Despite the subjects of the film being of Jewish background, due to Italy’s Catholic and far-right political stance, societal integration of minority groups proved, for many, to be difficult to accept. Regardless of the outside world, though, the bright summer beauty of these characters' idyllic respite from the world is perfect.

4 Jaws (1975)

A marine scientist, police chief, and fisherman walk into a bar… sounds like the start of one of those supposedly hilarious, original dad jokes, but it’s actually the occupations of the three main protagonists in Spielberg’s Jaws. From the menacing theme tune, the helpless onlookers, the famous “Get out of the water” dolly zoom to the unmistakable, bloodthirsty shark, Jaws is undisputedly a classic of cinema.

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A summer holiday gone hideously wrong, the movie follows the story of a killer shark that torments the island of Amity and has an insatiable appetite for waterborne humans. With today’s technological advancements, especially in CGI, Jaws' production arguably appears rather outdated, yet whatever it lacks in realism, it makes up for in suspense, tension, and seamlessly executed cinematography. The film is considered to be responsible for the 'summer blockbuster movie,' and its detailed summer location certainly helps.

3 Spider-Man: Far From Home (2019)

The second entry in the MCU Spider-Man trilogy is all based around Peter Parker going on summer vacation. While Spider-Man: Homecoming was a traditional high-school movie, Spider-Man: Far From Home naturally follows that up with a movie around summer vacation. Peter Parker and his classmates go on an international vacation that puts them in the crosshairs of the villain Mysterio. Released over the Fourth of July weekend, Spider-Man: Far From Home has the fun, breezy care-free nature one expects from a summer vacation film while also featuring some of the best action in any live-action Spider-Man film.

2 The Talented Mr. Ripley (1998)

Adapted from Patricia Highsmith’s novel of the same name, The Talented Mr. Ripley is a 1999 crime thriller starring Matt Damon and Jude Law as the main protagonists, as well as support from Gwyneth Paltrow, Cate Blanchett and Philip Seymour Hoffman. Set in the late 1950s, Tom Ripley (Matt Damon) is sent to Italy to locate and fetch Dickie Greenleaf (Jude Law) on behalf of Dickie’s business-tycoon father.

After befriending Dickie, Tom is swept away in the whirlwind that is Dickie’s fortuitously rich, ebullient, and luxuriant lifestyle which seems like an endless summer. Becoming infatuated with such a carefree existence, Tom goes to extreme measures to assume Dickie’s actuality, proving that many of us would do whatever it takes to make a summer holiday last forever.

1 Mamma Mia (2008)

Released on July 18th, 2008, Mamma Mia is the ultimate summer film for all families interested in fun, romance, drama, comedy, and everything else in between. With the film's soundtrack based on music from the classic band ABBA, Mamma Mia is one of the best musical movies ever made.

The film follows Sophie Sheridan (Amanda Seyfried) as she is set to be married on her home island of Kalokairi in Greece. However, she is also on a quest to discover who her real father is. So, she invites all three of her mother's (Meryl Streep) past and greatest lovers in the hopes of discovering who the real father is. With a loaded cast that includes Pierce Brosnan, Colin Firth, Stellan Skarsgard, Julie Walters, Christine Baranski, and Dominic Cooper, Mamma Mia is one of those films that will get stuck in your head.