My Most Anticipated Releases of 2026
2025 was a good year for movies, because if you’re anything like me, every year is a good year for movies. With that being said, 2026 will be a good year for movies. There are some pretty heavy hitters coming out this year and entering into the year I have 87 movies on my 2026 watchlist, a number that will likely grow. In this list I’m going to preview 20 movies that I’m extremely excited for, with 10 quick hits, and 10 a little more in depth. If you’re wondering how to watch these, I’ll include release dates below, but know that all but one of these films will be released in theaters in some capacity. My release dates are accurate as of writing, but we all know they could shift on a dime.
The 10 films that didn’t make my top 10, but I still really wanted to shoutout are:
The Drama (April 3) - The first of three team-ups for Robert Pattinson & Zendaya in 2026, with a promising trailer
Michael (April 24) - Potential to be one of the biggest films of the year, both critically and commercially, delays & real life controversies make me skeptical…
The Sheep Detectives (May 8) - This murder mystery comedy has the potential to be a sleeper hit, or an absolute waste of time. I’m willing to take that chance
Toy Story 5 (June 19) - I think is wholly unnecessary, as was the 4th film. But I will watch it and likely love it
Supergirl (June 26) - Superman set the DCU on a great trajectory that hopefully this film can take advantage of
The Dog Stars (August 28) - Directed by Ridley Scott? Works for me, even with the lackluster performance of his last few
The Social Reckoning (October 9) - The fact this film is distancing itself so much from ‘The Social Network’ concerns me, but it could be genuinely great
The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping (November 20) - I’m neutral, positive-leaning on this franchise, but the casting for this film is INSANE!
Narnia: The Magician’s Nephew (November 26) - A reimagining, not an adaptation of Lewis’s classic books, I hold no partiality towards the books, so I’m just excited for a Greta Gerwig event film. And glad it’s getting a limited theater release before dropping on Netflix
The Adventures of Cliff Booth (TBD) - I have a strong feeling this movie will get pushed to 2027, so maybe you’ll read about it again a year from now.
Now into my Top 10:
#10 - Digger (October 2) - From acclaimed director Alejandro G. Iñárritu (‘Birdman’ and ‘The Revenant’), the synopsis of these film tells that the titular Digger is the most powerful man in the world who must prove he is humanity’s savior before disaster strikes. Cool. But what pushes it over the edge? That Mr. Digger is played by none other than Tom Cruise. Boom.
#9 - 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple (January 16) - ‘28 Years Later’ was one of my favorites of 2025, so this direct sequel, coming out less than a year later, has a lot going for it in my book. Ralph Fiennes, Alfie Williams, & Jack O’Connell will all return from the previous film, and I’m excited to spend more time with all of their characters. What gives me a little bit of pause is the development of a third film and a strong feeling this film will be more of a segue film for that than anything else. The earliest release here, it will hopefully hold me over until the summer blockbusters start releasing.
#8 - The Legend of Aang: The Last Airbender (October 9) - I firmly believe that ‘Avatar: The Last Airbender’ is one of the greatest television shows ever made, and this sequel film will star Aang & friends as young adults in a new adventure. I have extremely high hopes, for the story, animation, and performances. The only detractor I have is that the release date has jumped around a lot and the theater release was pulled, with the film now dropping directly onto Paramount+. BOOOOOOOOOOO
#7 - Spider-Man: Brand New Day (July 31) - On one hand this is the Marvel release that I’m more confident will be good. But on the other hand… we’ll get more into that in entry #4. If there’s anything we know Tom Holland can do, it’s play Spider-Man, so that being the main piece of this film leads me to believe it will a good film. Spider-Man should be one of the characters that is easy to make a good movie about, but there’s also some not good Spider-Man films, so hopefully this doesn’t join the ranks of those movies.
#6 - The Mandalorian and Grogu (May 22) - The first two seasons of ‘The Mandalorian’ are my personal favorite pieces of Star Wars media, with Din Djarin also being my favorite character from the franchise. Even if that wasn’t true, a Star Wars film releasing in theaters is ALWAYS something to be excited about.
#5 - Disclosure Day (June 12) - Steven Spielberg + original idea + sci-fi/alien/UFO story + a cast with Emily Blunt, Josh O’Connor, Colin Firth, & Colman Domingo = My butt in a red cloth seat.
#4 - Avengers: Doomsday (December 18) - This should be #1. Endgame is one of my all-time favorite movies (1 or 2, depending on the day). And even though Marvel has been slacking in some areas, 2025 was overall a net positive. And this features the return of the Avengers name! But there’s just too many moving parts. There are nearly 30 people listed as ‘starring’ in this movie. Not in the cast. Just in a starring role. There’s no way to give all of those characters room, even in what I assume will be a 3.5+ runtime. I already was skeptical of how much was going to be going on in this movie, and then we get the random Chris Evans drop. Plus there are several other actors ‘rumored’ to appear not included in that original chair announcement. I’m excited for so many things happening in this movie. I mean I did sit there and watch the whole several hour announcement with the chairs. And I hope Feige, the Russos, & Marvel prove me wrong. But I could just see this going poorly due to it’s lack of overall direction and vision.
#3 - Project Hail Mary (March 20) - Another one of my favorite films of all-time is ‘The Martian,’ based on all-time favorite novel. Andy Weir wrote that novel. He also the novel this film is based on. Which is another of my all-time favorite books. Then Lord & Miller were slapped on the director’s helm. And Ryan Gosling to star??? Boy oh boy I’m ready for this one.
#2 - The Odyssey (July 17) - How does Chris Nolan follow up his Best Picture darling, commercial, critical, & cultural hit that was ‘Oppenheimer.’ By adapting one of the most iconic stories in the history of the world. With a cast of Matt Damon (my 2nd favorite actor), Tom Holland, Anne Hathaway, Robert Pattinson, Zendaya, Lupita Nyong’o, Charlize Theron, Jon Bernthal, and others, this film is sure to be one of the most talked about of the year in every capacity. Plus it drops on my birthday with a plan already made to drive down to Texas to see it for my birthday? What could possibly keep this from topping the list…
#1 - Dune: Part Three (December 18) - LISAN AL-GAIB! Need I say more?
