Summer Camp: release date, trailer, cast, plot and everything we know about the Diane Keaton movie

Diane Keaton, Kathy Bates and Alfre Woodard in Summer Camp
Diane Keaton, Kathy Bates and Alfre Woodard in Summer Camp (Image credit: Roadside Attractions)

Many people make lasting friendships at summer camps, and that idea is at the center of the 2024 new movie Summer Camp, with Hollywood legends Diane Keaton, Kathy Bates and Alfre Woodard set to star as the story's trio of friends. This is the latest movie Hollywood has made centering on female friendship in their later years, a subgenre that has proven to have a solid audience.

Recent examples have included The Book Club: The Next Chapter, 80 for Brady, Moving On and others. So what should moviegoers expect with this star-studded ensemble?

Here is everything you need to know about Summer Camp.

Summer Camp release date

Summer Camp has been set to premiere exclusively in US movie theaters on May 31. It is unclear at this time if/when the movie is going to be released in the UK or elsewhere outside the US. 

Other movies set to premiere on May 31 are the comedy Ezra starring Bobby Cannavale and the western The Dead Don't Hurt with Viggo Mortensen.

Summer Camp cast

Again, Hollywood icons Diane Keaton, Kathy Bates and Aflre Woodard lead Summer Camp as the three lifelong friends at its center.

Keaton is an Oscar-winner for Annie Hall, who also starred in The Godfather trilogy, Father of the Bride, Something's Gotta Give, The Family Stone and The Young Pope. She has also starred in a number of movies in this subgenre, including The Book Club, The Book Club: The Next Chapter and Poms.

Bates is another Oscar-winner, earning hers for Misery. Among her most famous roles are Titanic, The Waterboy, About Schmidt, The Blind Side, Midnight in Paris, American Horror Story and Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret. She also is set to star in the upcoming CBS show Matlock.

Woodard, meanwhile, is an Oscar-nominated actress for the 1983 movie Cross Creek. So also has starred in Primal Fear, Star Trek: First Contact, Love & Basketball, Desperate Housewives, 12 Years a Slave, The Book of Clarence and Monsieur Spade.

The rest of the Summer Camp cast includes Eugene Levy (Schitt's Creek), Beverly D'Angelo (True Lies), Dennis Haysbert (Flamin' Hot), Nicole Richie (Good Burger 2) and Josh Peck (Oppenheimer).

Summer Camp plot

Castille Landon wrote the screenplay for Summer Camp. Here is the official synopsis:

"Summer Camp tells the story of Nora (Keaton), Ginny (Bates) and Mary (Woodard), who have been best friends since being inseparable at summer camp. As the years have passed, they've seen each other less and less, so when the chance to reunite for a summer camp reunion arises, they all take it, some begrudgingly and others excitedly. Each of their lives might not be where they’d imagined, but one thing is for sure — Nora, Ginny and Mary need each other, and summer camp reminds them why."

Summer Camp trailer

Watch the Summer Camp trailer right here to see what kind of antics Keaton, Bates and Woodard are getting up to this summer:

Castille Landon movies

In addition to writing the script, Castille Landon also directs Summer Camp. While this marks her most high profile project to date, Landon is not a rookie behind the camera. Here is a list of her feature directing credits:

  • Albion: The Enchanted Stallion (2016)
  • Apple of My Eye (2017)
  • Fear of Rain (2021)
  • After We Fell (2021)
  • After Ever Happy (2022)
  • Perfect Addition (2023)
  • After Everything (2023)

Summer Camp poster

(Image credit: Roadside Attractions)
Michael Balderston

Michael Balderston is a DC-based entertainment and assistant managing editor for What to Watch, who has previously written about the TV and movies with TV Technology, Awards Circuit and regional publications. Spending most of his time watching new movies at the theater or classics on TCM, some of Michael's favorite movies include Casablanca, Moulin Rouge!, Silence of the Lambs, Children of Men, One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest and Star Wars. On the TV side he enjoys Only Murders in the Building, Yellowstone, The Boys, Game of Thrones and is always up for a Seinfeld rerun. Follow on Letterboxd.