The hot months of summer can mean beaches, warm weather and the sight of many tourists in cargo shorts and Hawaiian T-shirts.

But when the sun fades into a beautiful dusk, a swarm of people will flood into their local movie theater in search of fun — and sometimes mindless — entertainment.

This year’s summer blockbuster season is sure to be huge; here’s a list of the most anticipated flicks of the summer, popcorn not included.

Prometheus, June 8

Ridley Scott has kept the details of the sci-fi largely under wraps, save for a buzzed-about trailer — which shows stark similarities to Scott’s 1979 Alien — and some viral marketing, including a commercial for the fictitious Weyland Corporation featuring Michael Fassbender as a remarkably human android.

One of the screenwriters is Damon Lindelof, co-creator and executive producer of Lost, so nothing is off the table.

The bare bones is that the spaceship Prometheus embarks on a journey to discover the meanings of markings created by ancient civilizations, led by archaeologist Elizabeth (Noomi Rapace) and Prometheus captain Janek (Idris Elba) under the watchful eye of Weyland Corporation suit Meredith (Charlize Theron).

Fassbender supposedly modeled parts of his android performance on Blade Runner as well as David Bowie, so that in itself is worth the watch, besides deciphering what the movie’s actually about.

Combined with the phenomenal acting talents of Theron, Rapace and Elba and an edge-of-your-seat pace courtesy of Scott, Prometheus might be one of those rare blockbusters with a plot of gold.

Rock of Ages. June 15

Decidedly different fare than Prometheus, Adam Shankman’s (Hairspray director, So You Think You Can Dance judge) next feature would at first appear to be another throwaway song or dance flick as with the remake of Footloose or Step Up Anything.

But because Rock of Ages is based on the Broadway musical of the same name and features popular ’80s rock hits as well as Tom Cruise, Alec Baldwin, Russell Brand, Julianne Hough and Catherine Zeta-Jones, the film seems guaranteed to fulfill lighthearted thrills. Few actors could believably play a charismatic-but-aging rock star quite like Tom Cruise, and he has charisma in spades.

When the synopsis of the Broadway musical includes “After being forced to give him a lapdance, Sherrie beats him up while dancing — with a medley of ‘I Hate Myself For Loving You’ and ‘Heat Of The Moment’” you know you’ll at least be highly amused.

TEd, June 29

Mark Wahlberg and Mila Kunis play an idyllic couple in love.

Boring movie, right? Well, what if Mark Wahlberg also has a teddy bear that comes to life? What if the teddy bear is cursing, horny, crude and voiced by Seth MacFarlane?

MacFarlane also writes and directs, so if Family Guy humor is not for you, skip this one. Otherwise, the buddy-comedy repartee between MacFarlane and Wahlberg looks to be fun. Even the CGI teddy bear looks well done.

This film could surprise you.  Expect a raunchy, silly bromantic-comedy in the ballpark of Get Him To The Greek.

Design by Christina Ellis

The Amazing Spider-Man, July 3

Andrew Garfield stars in the franchise reboot. If recent superhero films are any indicator, this will be a decidedly darker version of the superhero (read: no emo-haired Peter Parker).

Gravitating toward Parker’s backstory, The Amazing Spider-Man delves into the disappearance of Parker’s parents when he was a child. He heads to Oscorp to learn more from his father’s former partner, and must also face off against The Lizard. Emma Stone plays love interest Gwen Stacy.

There might be some elements of the narrative that are familiar to audiences — Spider-Man 3 was released only in 2007 — but they work to the film’s advantage, enabling the story to go quickly past exposition and into more unfamiliar territory.

Expect a darker, more brooding and complex Spider-Man.

The Dark Knight Rises, July 20

First, if you have no intention of watching this, you are alone.

For the rest of the world, Christian Bale returns as Bruce Wayne/Batman while Michael Caine, Morgan Freeman and Gary Oldman return as Alfred, Lucius Fox and Commissioner Gordon, respectively. New characters include the villain Bane, played by Tom Hardy, and Selina Kyle/ Catwoman, played by Anne Hathaway.

Liam Neeson reprises his Batman Begins role as Ra’s Al Ghul, though the extent of his return is unclear.

Hathaway has received criticism ever since pictures of her catsuit were revealed. Based on Nolan’s previous female casting choices — Katie Holmes as a tough-as-nails lawyer, for example — it wouldn’t be surprising to see a mildly dissatisfying Catwoman amid a slew of other dynamic characters.

And though Hardy will likely not match Heath Ledger’s legendary performance as The Joker, Bane is likely to be one of the most formidable and memorable villains yet. Nolan has a knack for creating monumental villains and considering that this is said to be Bale’s last time playing Batman, the legend surely must end with a bang.