Summer movie heat gets turned up early

Matt Damon stars as David Norris in the thriller "... — Matt Damon stars as David Norris in the thriller " The Adjustment Bureau" as a man who glimpses the future Fate has planned for him and realizes he wants something else. To get it, he must pursue the only woman he's ever loved, Elise Sellas (EMILY BLUNT), across, under and through the streets of modern-day New York. Universal Pictures Credit: Universal Pictures Photo/

By RAFER GUZMÁNrafer.guzman@newsday.comFebruary 11, 2011

Would you believe it's almost summer?

It may feel like February, but the summer movie season is practically here. That's because the upcoming season is so packed with potential blockbusters - essentially one a week from May through July - that the studios are releasing a slew of other summery films even earlier. Between now and the end of April, we'll see a whopping 39 releases, a 34 percent increase over the same time frame last year, according to Variety.

Some of these movies look like major popcorn-sellers. Among them are the Matt Damon sci-fi romance "The Adjustment Bureau," due March 4; Warner Bros.' "Sucker Punch," a female-oriented actioner from director Zack Snyder ("300"), due March 25; and "Fast Five," the latest in the "Fast and the Furious" franchise, set for April 29.

The spring tide also includes six animated films, including Fox's "Rio" (from the creators of "Ice Age"), Universal's pre-Easter release "Hop" and Paramount's "Rango," featuring Johnny Depp. During this time last year, there was only one animated release, "How to Train Your Dragon."

But wait - we haven't even started talking about the actual summer movies. Starting May 6 it's one hopeful hit after another, including superhero films like "Thor" and "Captain America," J.J. Abrams' much-hyped sci-fi thriller "Super 8," the long-awaited comedy sequel "The Hangover II" and the latest installments of massive franchises from "Transformers" to "Harry Potter."

Can you see them all? At $13 a ticket, probably not, which means some of these multimillion-dollar movies are destined for a belly flop. For the studios, this could be one cruel summer.