Promotional material for Finding Dory Photo: IC

Promotional material for Warcraft Photo: IC

Promotional material for Three Photo: IC

Summer always brings the heat in China, no matter if it's the weather or cinemas.

Looking at the slate of films set for June, the list contains a considerable range of choices for moviegoers. The beginning and end of the month looks like it will be crowded with blockbusters, while the middle of the month will be a little less competitive.

Early June

The month kicks off with the arrival of superhero action flick X-Men: Apocalypse, the sixth installment in the X-Men films. While not as well received by movie critics as Captain America: Civil War, the arrival of the film's director Bryan Singer and two lead actors to China to promote the film has built up anticipation among Chinese audiences.

Set for June 3, Apocalypse focuses on the different philosophies regarding mutant-human relations held by Professor X's X-Men team and an ancient mutant who takes survival of the fittest to the extreme. Set during the 1980s, the story continues that of the films X-Men: First Class (2011) and X-Men: Days of Future Past (2014).

Preview screenings of the film have resulted in a score of 7.6/10 from some 35,000 reviewers on IMDB, while it currently holds a 7.3/10 on mtime.com and 8.4/10 on movie.douban.com, two popular mainland review sites.

Following on Apocalypse's heels comes another Hollywood blockbuster: Warcraft. A major release for Universal Pictures this year, the film is based on the Warcraft series of video games and novels. The story takes place on the world of Azeroth, where the peaceful lives of humanity are suddenly interrupted when a gateway known as the Dark Portal opens releasing hordes of orc warriors fleeing from an ancient evil.

In addition to starring Daniel Wu, an Chinese-American actor popular in the mainland, the video game has a hefty following in China, so the film already has an in-built audience base ready to see the film when it debuts in the mainland on June 8 in time for the Dragon Boat holiday.

Mid-June

Scheduled for June 17, Finding Dory is one of the month's most eye-catching films, especially for the kids.

A sequel to the 2003 Pixar animated film Finding Nemo, Finding Dory takes place six months after the original. Dory, the Pacific blue tang, suddenly recalls a childhood memory. Determined to find her parents, Dory is companied by her clownfish friend Marlin and his son Nemo. During their journey, they meet new friends such as Bailey, a white beluga whale, Destiny, a whale shark, and an octopus named Hank.

Behind the scenes, the film sees Andrew Stanton, director of the first film, joining hands with Angus MacLane, whose works include short film BURN-E and television special Toy Story of Terror!. The English version of the animated film sees Ellen DeGeneres and Albert Brooks return as the respective voices of Dory and Marlin, while newcomer Hayden Rolence takes over the role of Nemo.

Fans of art films actually have something to choose from this month. This year's Father's Day (June 19), sees the release of Seven Days, a black and white silent film that focuses on an elderly Chinese man's lonely life with fishes, birds and a child.

The directorial debut of young filmmaker Xing Jian, the film has already been screened at various film festivals such as the 71st Venice International Film Festival and 67th Cannes International Film Festival.

Easy to be neglected in the commercially dominated Chinese film market, Seven Days has chosen its timing wisely as no big blockbusters are set to debut that weekend. 

Late June

June 24, a Friday, should be one of the hottest times of the month as a total of six films have chosen that day to fight it out for moviegoers' wallets. The three most likely contenders for the throne that day will be Independence Day: Resurgence, Now You See Me 2 and Three.

Roland Emmerich returns to direct Independence Day: Resurgence, a sequel to the 1996 film Independence Day that takes place 20 years after the first film. After defeating the aliens that threatened Earth in the first film, humanity has established the Earth Space Defense, a defense program salvaged from the remains of the alien forces to be used if they ever return. As predicted, the aliens arrive to conquer Earth yet again with an even more powerful battle fleet.

Actors Jeff Goldblum, Bill Pullman and Judd Hirsch return to reprise their original roles, while a group of younger faces, including  Liam Hemsworth and Jessie Usher, join the cast.

For moviegoers in China, what is probably more exciting is that the country will also play a major part in saving the world in the new film.

Magic has always been something fascinating to see, especially when married to almighty film technology. Three years after magicians-as-thieves film Now You See Me left a strong impression on Chinese audiences, the Four Horsemen have returned to wow moviegoers once again. This time the group faces a tech genius who recruits them for their most challenging heist ever.

While the film sees several actors return, the film gets a new director in Jon M. Chu, a far lesser-known quantity. 

Three, a mainland crime-action film, has been highly anticipated by audiences due to the involvement of Hong Kong director Johnnie To, who made a name for himself in this genre. 

The film also features well-known stars Zhao Wei, Louis Koo and Wallace Chung. Three focuses on a confrontation that takes place between a detective, a gangster and a policeman in a hospital over the course of six hours.

While the film has only released a few trailers, comments by netizens have been fairly positive.