The evolution of the movie release schedule has trained moviegoers to expect different kinds of entertainment from different seasons: a dead zone in the dead of winter, a run of summer blockbusters that blooms earlier with each passing year and a deluge of prestige dramas crammed into those final, pre-awards-season months of the year.
But the first half of the year offers plenty of reasons to shell out for a night at the movies, from indies in the rough to crowd-pleasing blockbusters. So far this year, we’ve seen racism rendered as one of the scariest horror villains yet and Anne Hathaway telekinetically controlling a giant monster. We’ve seen a Busby Berkeley-inspired, psychedelic recreation of a Disney classic and a very tired, very haggard Wolverine. And that’s to say nothing of the high-octane franchise that, in its eighth installment, barreled headlong into a global box office record.
MORE Here Are TIME’s Most Anticipated Movies of the Summer
In the run-up to TIME’s Best Movies of 2017 So Far, weigh in on your favorites in the poll below.
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