Top 50 Most Anticipated Movies of 2026
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Happy New Year everyone! I hope that you all had a great New Year’s Eve and that 2026 will bring nothing but prosperity to you. As you know, it’s a tradition of mine to drop the list of my top 50 most anticipated movies and in looking at 2026, we might be in for the strangest movie year in a good long while. Lots of sequels and returns of superheroes are mixed in with some wild swings of noted auteurs. Should be fun!
Top 50 Most Anticipated Movies of 2026
Aanikoobijigan [ancestor/great-grandparent/great-grandchild]
Dir. Adam Khalil, Zack Khalil
Synopsis: Trapped in museum archives, Ancestors bend time and space to find their way home. History, spirituality, and the law collide as tribal repatriation specialists fight to return and rebury Indigenous human remains, offering a revealing look at the still-pervasive worldviews that justified collecting them in the first place.
Release Date: Premiering at Sundance
Amarga Navidad
Dir. Pedro Almodóvar
Writer: Pedro Almodóvar
Starring: Bárbara Lennie, Victoria Luengo, Quim Gutiérrez, Leonardo Sbaraglia, Patrick Criado, Aitana Sánchez-Gijón, and Milena Smit
Synopsis: A woman being abandoned by her partner during Christmas time.
Release Date: March 26
American Doctor
Dir. Poh Si Teng
Synopsis: When three American doctors — Palestinian, Jewish, and Zoroastrian — enter Gaza to save lives, they find themselves caught between medicine and politics, risking everything to expose the truth.
Release Date: Premiering at Sundance
Avengers: Doomsday
Dir. Anthony and Joe Russo
Writer: Michael Waldron and Stephen McFeely
Starring: Chris Hemsworth, Vanessa Kirby, Anthony Mackie, Sebastian Stan, Letitia Wright, Paul Rudd, Wyatt Russell, Tenoch Huerta Mejía, Ebon Moss-Bachrach, Simu Liu, Florence Pugh, Kelsey Grammer, Lewis Pullman, Danny Ramirez, Joseph Quinn, David Harbour, Winston Duke, Hannah John-Kamen, Tom Hiddleston, Patrick Stewart, Ian McKellen, Alan Cumming, Rebecca Romijn, James Marsden, Channing Tatum, Pedro Pascal, and Robert Downey Jr.
Synopsis: Fourteen months after the events of Thunderbolts* (2025), the Avengers, Wakandans, Fantastic Four, New Avengers, and the “original” X-Men team up to face Doctor Doom.
Release Date: December 18
Big Girls Don’t Cry
Dir. Paloma Schneideman
Writer: Paloma Schneideman
Starring: Ani Palmer, Rain Spencer, Noah Taylor
Synopsis: Over one transformative summer in rural New Zealand in 2006, 14-year-old Sid Bookman discovers desire, identity, and the internet as she imitates the people she longs to be loved by.
Release Date: Premiering at Sundance
Bucking Fastard
Dir. Werner Herzog
Writer: Werner Herzog
Starring: Kate Mara, Rooney Mara, Orlando Bloom, and Domhnall Gleeson.
Synopsis: The film follows the twins’ quixotic quest for an imagined land of true love, which leads them to start tunneling through a mountain range.
Release Date: TBD
Burning Rainbow Farm
Dir. Justin Kurzel
Writer: Dean Kuipers, Tommy Murphy
Starring: Leo Woodall, Sebastian Stan
Synopsis: A pair of marijuana advocates try to hold their own against the FBI in a brutal five-day standoff.
Release Date: TBD
Clayface
Dir. James Watkins
Writer: Mike Flanagan and Hossein Amini
Starring: Matt Hagen, Naomi Ackie, and Max Minghella
Synopsis: Hagen is an actor whose face is disfigured, and he turns to a scientist (Ackie) who transforms his body into clay.
Release Date: September 11
Coyote vs. Acme
Dir. Dave Green
Writer: Samy Burch
Starring: John Cena, Will Forte, Lana Condor, P. J. Byrne, Tone Bell, Martha Kelly, and Eric Bauza
Synopsis: After every product made by the ACME Corporation has backfired on Wile E. Coyote in his pursuit of the Road Runner, down-and-out human billboard attorney Kevin Avery represents Coyote in a lawsuit against Acme. A growing friendship between Coyote and Kevin motivates their determination to win the court case, as it pits them against Buddy Crane, the intimidating boss of Kevin’s former law firm, who now represents Acme.
Release Date: August 28
Digger
Dir. Alejandro G. Iñárritu
Writer: Alejandro G. Iñárritu, Sabina Berman, Alexander Dinelaris Jr., Nicolás Giacobone
Starring: Tom Cruise, Jesse Plemons, Sandra Hüller, Riz Ahmed, Sophie Wilde, Emma D’Arcy, Robert John Burke, Burn Gorman, Michael Stuhlbarg, and John Goodman
Synopsis: The world’s most powerful man accidentally causes a global disaster and then frantically tries to redeem himself as humanity’s savior before everything is destroye
Release Date: October 2
Disclosure Day
Dir. Steven Spielberg
Writer: David Koepp
Starring: Emily Blunt, Josh O’Connor, Colin Firth, Eve Hewson, and Colman Domingo
Synopsis: If you found out we weren’t alone, if someone showed you, proved it to you, would that frighten you?
Release Date: June 12
Dune: Part Three
Dir. Denis Villeneuve
Writer: Denis Villeneuve, Jon Spaiths
Starring: Timothée Chalamet, Zendaya, Florence Pugh, Jason Momoa, Josh Brolin, Rebecca Ferguson, Robert Pattinson and Anya Taylor-Joy
Synopsis: The third and final installment in Villeneuve’s Dune film trilogy.
Release Date: December 18
Flowervale Street
Dir. David Robert Mitchell
Writer: David Robert Mitchell
Starring: Anne Hathaway, Ewan McGregor, Maisy Stella, and Christian Convery
Synopsis: A family starts to notice unusual happenings in their neighborhood.
Release Date: August 14
Frank & Louis
Dir. Petra Volpe
Writer: Petra Volpe, Esther Bernstorff
Starring: Kingsley Ben-Adir and Rob Morgan
Synopsis: A prisoner finds redemption when he starts helping fellow inmates who have health problems.
Release Date: Premiering at Sundance
Ha-Chan, Shake Your Booty!
Dir. Josef Kubota Wladyka
Writer: Josef Kubota Wladyka, Nicholas Huynh
Starring: Rinko Kikuchi, Alberto Guerra, Alejandro Edda, YOU, Yoh Yoshida, Damián Alcázar
Synopsis: Haru and Luis love competing in Tokyo’s ballroom dance scene, but after tragedy strikes, Haru withdraws into isolation. When friends coax her back to the studio, she develops an infatuation with the new instructor. She must face what comes next as sparks fly.
Release Date: Premiering at Sundance
How to Rob a Bank
Dir. David Leitch
Writer: Mark Bianculli
Starring: Nicholas Hoult, Anna Sawai, Pete Davidson, Zoë Kravitz, Rhenzy Feliz, John C. Reilly, and Christian Slater
Synopsis: A crew of bank robbers has been using social media to document heists that they have pulled off, leading to pursuit from the police.
Release Date: September 4
If I Go Will They Miss Me
Dir. Walter Thompson-Hernández
Writer: Walter Thompson-Hernández
Starring: Danielle Brooks, J. Alphonse Nicholson
Synopsis: Twelve-year-old Lil Ant struggles to connect with his father when he begins to see surreal, almost spectral visions of boys drifting around his neighborhood. Their presence reveals a link between father and son, laying bare the threads that bind family, legacy, and place.
Release Date: Premiering at Sundance
I Love Boosters
Dir. Boots Riley
Writer: Boots Riley
Starring: Keke Palmer, Demi Moore, Naomi Ackie, Eiza González, Taylour Paige, Poppy Liu, and LaKeith Stanfield
Synopsis: The story follows the Velvet Gang, a crew of young shoplifters whose latest target is a ruthless CEO of a designer brand.
Release Date: May 22
In the Blink of an Eye
Dir. Andrew Stanton
Writer: Colby Day
Starring: Rashida Jones, Kate McKinnon, Daveed Diggs, Jorge Vargas, Tanaya Beatty
Synopsis: Three storylines, spanning thousands of years, intersect and reflect on hope, connection, and the circle of life.
Release Date: Premiering at Sundance
Is God Is
Dir. Aleshea Harris
Writer: Aleshea Harris
Starring: Kara Young, Mallori Johnson, Janelle Monáe, Vivica A. Fox, and Sterling K. Brown
Synopsis: Twin sisters with disfiguring burn scars are ordered by their bedridden mother to kill their abusive father who caused their scars. They must decide whether to seek vengeance or find mercy.
Release Date: May 15
I Want Your Sex
Dir. Gregg Araki
Writer: Gregg Araki and Karley Sciortino
Starring: Olivia Wilde, Cooper Hoffman, Charli XCX, Daveed Diggs, Mason Gooding, Chase Sui Wonders, Johnny Knoxville, Margaret Cho and Roxane Mesquida
Synopsis: Elliot lands a job for renowned and provocative artist Erika Tracy. His fantasies come true as Erika hires him to become her sexual muse.
Release Date: Premiering at Sundance
Leviticus
Dir. Adrian Chiarella
Writer: Adrian Chiarella
Starring: Joe Bird, Stacy Clausen, Mia Wasikowska, Jeremy Blewitt, Ewen Leslie, Davida McKenzie
Synopsis: Two star-crossed teenage boys must escape a violent entity that takes the form of the person they desire most — each other.
Release Date: Premiering at Sundance
Masters of the Universe
Dir. Travis Knight
Writer: Chris Butler
Starring: Nicholas Galetzine, Jared Leto, Camila Mendes, Alison Brie, Idris Elba, Morena Baccarin, Jóhannes Haukur Jóhannesson, James Purefoy, Charlotte Riley, Sasheer Zamata and Kristen Wiig
Synopsis: Ten-year-old Adam Glenn crash-lands on his mother’s home planet Earth, separating him from his ancestor’s Power Sword of Grayskull. Two decades later, he takes his sword back and bears on the mantle of He-Man as he battles for his home planet, Eternia, against the evil forces of Skeletor.
Release Date: June 5
Moses the Black
Dir. Yelena Popovic
Writer: Yelena Popovic
Starring: Omar Epps, Wiz Khalifa, Quavo and Chukwudi Iwuji
Synopsis: Released from prison, a feared Chicago gang leader returns home to avenge the murder of his closest friend. As rival gangs and a corrupt cop close in, he must confront a past that refuses to let go.
Release Date: January 30
Narnia: The Magician’s Nephew
Dir. Greta Gerwig
Writer: Greta Gerwig
Starring: Emma Mackey, Carey Mulligan, Denise Gough, Daniel Craig
Synopsis: Based on the 1955 novel The Magician’s Nephew, the sixth published and first chronological novel in the children’s book series The Chronicles of Narnia by C. S. Lewis.
Release Date: November 26
Once Upon a Time in Harlem
Dir. William Greaves, David Greaves
Synopsis: A decade after his death, genre-defying filmmaker William Greaves has one last trick up his sleeve with what he considered the most important event he captured on film: a 1972 party he engineered with the living luminaries of the Harlem Renaissance. World Premiere. Documentary.
Release Date: Premiering at Sundance
Paper Tiger
Dir. James Gray
Writer: James Gray
Starring: Adam Driver, Scarlett Johansson, and Miles Teller
Synopsis: Two brothers pursue the American Dream but get entangled in a dangerous Russian mafia scheme that terrorizes their family, testing their bond as betrayal becomes possible.
Release Date: TBD
Parallel Tales
Dir. Asghar Farhadi
Writer: Asghar Farhadi
Starring: Isabelle Huppert, Virginie Efira, Vincent Cassel, Pierre Niney, Adam Bessa
Synopsis: The film’s plot remains under wraps,
Release Date: TBD
People We Meet on Vacation
Dir. Brett Haley
Writer: Yulin Kuang,
Starring: Emily Bader, Tom Blyth, Lukas Gage, Jameela Jamil, Alan Ruck, and Molly Shannon
Synopsis: Poppy wants to explore the world and Alex prefers to stay home with a good book, but somehow they are the best of friends. They live far apart, but for a decade they have spent one week of summer vacation together.
Release Date: January 9
Power Ballad
Dir. John Carney
Writer: John Carney, Peter McDonald
Starring: Paul Rudd, Nick Jonas, Jack Reynor, Havana Rose Liu and Sophie Vavasseur
Synopsis: Depicts a conflict between a rock star and a wedding singer.
Release Date: June 5
Project Hail Mary
Dir. Phil Lord and Christopher Miller
Writer: Drew Goddard
Starring: Ryan Gosling, Sandra Hüller, Lionel Boyce, Ken Leung, and Milana Vayntrub
Synopsis: Astronaut Ryland Grace awakens on a spacecraft with no memory of himself or his mission. He slowly deduces he is the sole survivor of a crew sent to the Tau Ceti solar system in search of a solution to a catastrophic event on Earth. In his search for answers, Grace must rely on his vast array of scientific knowledge, sheer ingenuity, and human will – but he may not have to search alone.
Release Date: March 20
Ready or Not 2: Here I Come
Dir. Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett
Writer: Guy Busick and R. Christopher Murphy
Starring: Samara Weaving, Kathryn Newton, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Shawn Hatosy, Néstor Carbonell, Kevin Durand, Olivia Cheng, Nadeem Umar-Khitab, David Cronenberg, and Elijah Wood
Synopsis: Grace MacCaullay, the sole survivor of a brutal “game” that resulted in the deaths of her husband and in-laws, learns that her victory comes with a price: now, the wealthiest and most influential families on Earth have to kill her in a new game – or risk losing their power and fortunes.
Release Date: April 10
Remain
Dir. M. Night Shyamalan
Writer: M. Night Shyamalan
Starring: Jake Gyllenhaal, Phoebe Dynevor, Ashley Walters, Julie Hagerty, and Jay O. Sanders
Synopsis: New York architect Tate Donovan heads to Cape Cod to design a summer home for his best friend, seeking a fresh start after being treated for acute depression. Still mourning his sister’s death, he meets Wren, a young woman who disrupts his carefully ordered world.
Release Date: October 23
Scary Movie 6
Dir. Michael Tiddes
Writer: Marlon Wayans, Shawn Wayans, Keenen Ivory Wayans, Rick Alvarez
Starring: Marlon Wayans, Shawn Wayans, Anna Faris, Regina Hall, Jon Abrahams, Lochlyn Munro, Cheri Oteri, Dave Sheridan, and Chris Elliott
Synopsis: It is the sixth installment in the Scary Movie film series and serves as a reboot.
Release Date: June 12
Send Help
Dir. Sam Raimi
Writer: Damian Shannon and Mark Swift
Starring: Rachel McAdams and Dylan O’Brien
Synopsis: Linda Liddle and Bradley Preston are two colleagues who find themselves stranded on a deserted island after they are the only survivors of a plane crash. They must overcome past grievances and work together to survive, but ultimately, it is an unsettling and darkly humorous battle of wills and wits to make it out alive.
Release Date: January 30
Soudain
Dir. Ryûsuke Hamaguchi
Writer: Léa Le Dimna
Starring: Virginie Efira, Tao Okamoto
Synopsis: The connection between two women, a Japanese theatre director and a French nurse.
Release Date: TBD
Soul Patrol
Dir. J.M. Harper
Synopsis: From deep behind enemy lines, a hidden chapter of American military history is uncovered, prompting the question of whether reckoning with the past can bring peace to those who lived it. The Vietnam War’s first Black special operations team reunites to tell their story.
Release Date: Premiering at Sundance
Stop! That! Train!
Dir. Adam Shankman
Writer: Christina Friel, Connor Wright
Starring: RuPaul, Ginger Minj, Jujubee, Brooke Lynn Hytes, Latrice Royale, Marcia Marcia Marcia, Monét X Change, and Symone
Synopsis: Two train stewardess BFFs switch from a dull railway to the luxurious Glamazonian Express. During a massive storm, they must work with snooty first-class crew and President Gagwell to prevent disaster in LA.
Release Date: May 29
Supergirl
Dir. Craig Gillespie
Writer: Ana Nogueira
Starring: Milly Alcock, Matthias Schoenaerts, Eve Ridley, David Krumholtz, Emily Beecham, Jason Momoa
Synopsis: Kara Zor-El celebrates her 23rd birthday by travelling across the galaxy with her dog Krypto. Along the way, she meets the young Ruthye Marye Knoll and encounters a tragedy that leads her on a “murderous quest for revenge”.
Release Date: June 26
The Drama
Dir. Kristoffer Borgli
Writer: Kristoffer Borgli
Starring: Zendaya, Robert Pattinson, Mamoudou Athie, Alana Haim, and Hailey Gates
Synopsis: Days before their wedding, a couple’s relationship is shaken when one partner discovers unsettling truths about the other.
Release Date: April 3
The Friend’s House is Here
Dir. Hossein Keshavarz and Maryam Ataei
Writer: Hossein Keshavarz and Maryam Ataei
Starring: Mahshad Bahram, Hana Mana, Farzad Karen, and Zohreh Pirnia
Synopsis: Set in the underground art world of Tehran, two young women establish a hidden sanctuary of freedom and sisterhood to practice their craft. When their creative circle is exposed, they are forced to fight for each other’s safety and the survival of their community.
Release Date: Premiering at Sundance
The Moment
Dir. Aidan Zamiri
Writer: Aidan Zamiri, Bertie Brandes
Starring: Charli XCX, Rosanna Arquette, Kate Berlant, Jamie Demetriou, Hailey Benton Gates, Isaac Powell, and Alexander Skarsgård
Synopsis: A mockumentary revolving around a pop star gearing up to lead her first headlining tour.
Release Date: Jan 30
The Musical
Dir. Giselle Bonilla
Writer: Alexander Heller
Starring: Nevada Jose, Rob Lowe, Gillian Jacobs
Synopsis: When a frustrated playwright/middle school theater teacher finds out his ex-girlfriend has started dating his nemesis, the school’s principal, he decides to ruin the principal’s chances of winning the Blue Ribbon of Academic Excellence.
Release Date: TBD
The Odyssey
Dir. Christopher Nolan
Writer: Christopher Nolan
Starring: Matt Damon, Tom Holland, Anne Hathaway, Zendaya, Lupita Nyong’o, Robert Pattinson, Charlize Theron, and Jon Bernthal
Synopsis: An adaptation of Homer’s ancient Greek epic the Odyssey, which chronicles Odysseus, the Greek king of Ithaca, and his long and perilous journey home after the Trojan War as he attempts to reunite with his wife, Penelope.
Release Date: July 17
The Social Reckoning
Dir. Aaron Sorkin
Writer: Aaron Sorkin
Starring: Jeremy Strong, Jeremy Allen White, Mikey Madison, Bill Burr, Wunmi Mosaku, Billy Magnussen, Betty Gilpin, Gbenga Akinnagbe, Anna Lambe, Sierra Capri, Portia Doubleday and Tehmina Sunny
Synopsis: It is a companion piece to The Social Network (2010) and is based on the events surrounding the 2021 Facebook leak by whistleblower Frances Haugen, which additionally inspired The Wall Street Journal’s article series and eight-part podcast The Facebook Files (2021).
Release Date: October 9
Troublemaker
Dir. Antoine Fuqua
Writer: Michael Toomey Mann
Synopsis: The struggle against apartheid is recounted through Nelson Mandela’s own voice, drawn from recordings he made while writing his autobiography Long Walk to Freedom.
Release Date: Premiering at Sundance
Werwulf
Dir. Robert Eggers
Writer: Robert Eggers, Sjón
Starring: Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Lily-Rose Depp, Willem Dafoe, and Ralph Ineson
Synopsis: In 13th-century England, a mysterious creature stalks a foggy countryside as local folklore becomes a terrifying reality for the villagers.
Release Date: December 25
When a Witness Recants
Dir. Dawn Porter
Synopsis: In 1983, author Ta-Nehisi Coates learned that a 14-year-old boy was murdered in his Baltimore middle school. Upon revisiting the case, he uncovers the truth: Three innocent teenagers were wrongfully convicted and spent 36 years in prison — creating a lasting impact on the accused, the witnesses, and their community.
Release Date: Premiering at Sundance
Wicker
Dir. Eleanor Wilson, Alex Huston Fischer
Writer: Eleanor Wilson, Alex Huston Fischer
Starring: Olivia Colman, Alexander Skarsgård, Peter Dinklage, Elizabeth Debicki, Marli Siu, Nabhaan Rizwan
Synopsis: A fisherwoman asks a basketmaker to weave her a husband.
Release Date: Premiering at Sundance
Wuthering Heights
Dir. Emerald Fennell
Writer: Emerald Fennell
Starring: Margot Robbie, Jacob Elordi, Hong Chau, Shazad Latif, Alison Oliver, Martin Clunes, and Ewan Mitchell
Synopsis: Passionate and dark story of love, obsession, and revenge between Heathcliff and Catherine Earnshaw on the Yorkshire moors
Release Date: Feb 13
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