Image via Complex Original
The word "blockbuster" conjures a few images: heavy artillery, massive explosions, mind-blowing CGI, bulked up A-list actors (usually in a superhero outfit) and millions of dollars. But let's be honest, no one pays a small fortune for a movie just to see two burly dudes bump uglies.
We're not ashamed to admit that, for us, the real draw is the leading ladies. From Scarlett Johansson in The Avengers to Kate Beckinsale in Total Recall, the women of the biggest summer movies give us a sense of gratification on a variety of levels—not just the desire to watch villains get beaten to a pulp. For a complete list of the actresses we're looking forward to seeing on the big screen, check our list of The 10 Hottest Actresses in Summer Blockbusters.
10. Adrianne Palicki
Movie: G.I. Joe: Retaliation
Release date: June 29
It’s easy to say that Adrianne Palicki is adopting the requisite “hot chick” role from Sienna Miller, who portrayed it in the first installment of the testosterone-oozing franchise, G.I. Joe: Rise of Cobra. But Palicki’s Lady Jaye is much more ballsy than Miller’s Baroness, so to speak. If the film version is anything like the comic book character, expect to see Palicki expertly blasting bad guys with her AK-47 and outwitting the nefarious Cobra Commander.
9. Anne Hathaway
Movie: The Dark Knight Rises
Release date: July 20
Thanks to the secrecy surrounding The Dark Knight Rises, we can only piece together Anne Hathaway’s Selina Kyle, a.k.a. Catwoman, with the scarce tidbits we’ve gotten of the antihero. First, she doesn’t wear the traditional catsuit though she does have Kyle’s same subtly alluring appeal. Second, she’s apparently “Bane’s associate,” though the relationship has yet to be explained. Third, she’s still marked by the same ambivalence towards Batman that makes her character so difficult to villainize. If anything, we can at least ascertain that she is one of the most intriguing characters of summer 2012.
8. Mary Elizabeth Winstead
Movie: Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter
Release date: June 22
If the movie’s title isn’t enough to plant you in a seat at the theater, then Mary Elizabeth Winstead’s role as Lincoln’s wife Mary Todd Lincoln should pique your interest. As Lincoln's right-hand woman, Winstead functions as the sense of stability and support the would-be President needs on his quest to end slavery by ending the blight of vampires. It is still unconfirmed whether or not Winstead wields a stake alongside Benjamin Walker's Lincoln, but given the movie's a stretch of the imagination already, we're not ruling out the possibility.
7. Nicole Scherzinger
Movie: Men in Black 3
Release date: May 25
We sure Simon Cowell asking her to relinquish her judge's seat in the U.S. version of The X-Factor will seem like a miniscule bump in the road after millions of people flood the theaters to see the highly anticipated three-quel, MIB3. Although Scherzinger's had a few forgettable roles in movies prior, the former Pussycat Doll makes her biggest feature film debut as Lilly, Agent J’s (Will Smith) alien girlfriend whose motives turn out to be more sinister than first expected.
6. Emma Stone
Movie: The Amazing Spider-Man
Release date: July 3
Since breaking out in Superbad, Emma Stone has hit all the necessary career checkpoints of a promising young actress. She led the requisite teen movie (Easy A), was part of the ensemble rom-com (Crazy, Stupid, Love) and starred in a critically-acclaimed period piece (The Help). Now, she’s crossing “superhero movie” off her list with director Marc Webb’s Spider-Man franchise reboot, in which she plays Peter Parker’s (real-life beau Andrew Garfield) high school love Gwen Stacy, the intelligent and level-headed daughter of an over-protective NYPD captain who shares Parker’s love of science and offers the wayward web-slinger a sense of stability.
5. Scarlett Johansson
Movie: The Avengers
Release date: May 4
After its 200 million-dollar opening weekend, The Avengers has definitely sent the execs behind the rest of the summer movies into sudden panic attacks. The same goes for actresses having to follow Scarlett Johansson's surprisingly substantial ass-kicking role as the deceptively sexy Black Widow.
Johansson doesn't simply serve as eye-candy in a tight jumpsuit in the film. Rather, she recruits the Hulk (Mark Ruffalo), manipulates the supervillain Loki (Tom Hiddleston) and manages to stay alive during the massive war that erupts in New York with only a gun and martial arts moves at her disposal.
4. Rihanna
Movie: Battleship
Release date: May 18
So far, 2012 has been a big year for Rihanna. The singer’s gained ever more devoted fans after establishing herself as devil-may-care celebrity, she’s one of the few singers who actually received rave reviews after performing on Saturday Night Live and her music video for “Where Have You Been” broke the VEVO record for most views in 25 hours (4.9 million).
Up next, she’s tapping into her arsenal of talent by making her acting debut in the explosive sci-fi film, Battleship (yes, it’s a film adaptation of the board game). In the film, Rihanna plays Petty office Cora Rikes, Lieutenant Alex Hopper’s (Taylor Kitsch) trusty crew mate who specializes in weapons on the USS John Paul Jones.
3. Kate Beckinsale
Movie: Total Recall
Release date: August 3
When Kate Beckinsale isn’t annihilating Lycans in the Underworld movies, she’s playing a wife to one of Hollywood’s leading men in [insert generic action movie here]. In Total Recall, however, those two worlds finally combine. In the remake of the 1990 dystopian flick, Beckinsale plays Lori Quaid, wife to simple factory worker turned secret agent Douglas Quaid (Colin Farrell) who proves to be better at wielding guns than whipping an egg beater.
2. Brooklyn Decker
Movie: Battleship
Release date: May 18
Friday May 18th is a big day for any devoted Brooklyn Decker fan. The swimsuit model has two movies coming out that day, the preggo comedy What to Expect When You’re Expecting and the one we’ll actually see, the sci-fi naval war film Battleship. Decker stars as leading man Taylor Kitsch's headstrong love interest Samantha Shane, the daughter of United States Pacific Fleet commanding officer Admiral Shane (Liam Neeson) who works as a physical therapist for lucky naval officers.
1. Charlize Theron
Movie: Snow White and the Huntsman, Prometheus
Release date: June 1, June 8
After a relatively quiet few years, the Academy Award winner is back on the top of the Hollywood totem pole with two of our most anticipated summer blockbusters. Up first is the action-packed Snow White and the Huntsman, in which she plays the fatally beautiful Queen Ravenna, seeking to devour the heart of the Joan of Arc-esque Snow White (Kristen Stewart) in hopes of achieving infinite beauty. The following week, Theron stars in the biggest movie of the year for sci-fi geeks and die-hard Alien fans, Ridley Scott’s Prometheus, as Meredith Vickers, a guilefully placid Weyland Corporation employee assigned to lead a group of cosmonauts on their mission to pinpoint the origins of humanity.
