The best and biggest blockbusters to see this summer

From the most anticipated film of the year to explosive and visually overwhelming spectacles - blockbusters have to be experienced in the cool air conditioning of a theatre with popcorn in hand.

These are the best blockbusters you can enjoy this summer.

Release date: Out now

Kick-starting the summer of blockbusters with a movie requiring no introduction with director James Cameron making eager audiences wait 13 long years for its release.

The Way of Water is the sequel to 2009's Avatar, a movie that still holds the record for money grossed worldwide despite a barrage of MCU giants since. Critics are raving about the 3D movie's visual effects and from all accounts, this is a cinema experience if there ever was one. The story picks up in Pandora, with Jake Sully, wife Neytiri, a young family and the rest of the Na'vi still battling invading humans (or Sky People).

Release date: December 23

The Knives Out sequel technically counts for this list because it had a (very) limited theatrical release. Although, it's fair to assume most of us will enjoy it from the comfort of our couches over Christmas. Daniel Craig returns as the smooth-talking Benoit Blanc with yet another stellar cast, extravagant circumstances and another murder to solve, of course.

Release date: January 5

There's perhaps no director in the history of film responsible for more iconic blockbusters than Steven Spielberg (Jaws, Raiders of the Lost Ark, Jurassic Park - enough said). It's fitting then that one of the most anticipated movies of the summer is one about Spielberg's childhood and how he fell in love with film in a post-WW2 America, directed by the great man himself.

Release date: January 12

Sometimes all we're after in a blockbuster is good, old-fashioned entertainment.

And director Guy Ritchie can deliver on that in spades, especially when teamed up with recurring leading man Jason Statham. Like most spy action comedies, the plot is mostly irrelevant (deadly weapon sales, under cover operatives and globe trotting - the usual) because it's all about fun and escapism.

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Release date: January 19

After the success of movies like Whiplash and La La Land, it seems director Damien Chazelle was given a giant cheque and some of the world's biggest movie stars for his latest project - which is good news for us. Headlined by Brad Pitt and Margot Robbie, Babylon is an American epic that promises decadence, excess and depravity during Hollywood's silent film era.

Release date: February 16

It wouldn't be a summer of blockbusters without at least one instalment from the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The latest Ant-Man and the Wasp looks to delve deeper into the mind-bending Quantum Realm where our heroes will run into some pretty strange creatures. Fans are also relishing the debut of the MCU's next great villain (RIP Thanos) with the arrival of Jonathan Majors' Kang the Conqueror.