With 2025 just about in the rearview window, tis the moment to take stock of what worked in 2025 before turning ahead to the most anticipated movies of 2026. As usual, the films I responded to most last year weren’t those trying to be agreeable or broad or endlessly franchisable. They were specific, abrasive, messy, and always driven by a strong sense of autership. Horror continued to be the most reliable space for ambition and risk, but plenty of dramas and genre hybrids landed too, largely when they championed mood, performance, and uncomfortable ideas over traditional polish. Even in a year where the industry still felt unsettled, some genuinely great films cut through. And though 2025 on a whole was a bit of a letdown here holistically, it featured some of the very best movies of the entire decade. Let us hope too that 2026 manages to deliver some true uncut gems.
Looking ahead to 2026, that same tension in the theatrical space that defined this year is still very much in play. The film industry remains in flux, theatrical pipelines are thinner, streaming is recalibrating yet again, and nobody seems fully certain what the next stable version of the business looks like. Kicking off the year, the Sundance slate should have a big impact on what clicks immediately, as it often does when things feel shaky, and many of the movies below either emerge directly from that space or are shaped by its influence.
And yes, of course, there’s plenty more coming in 2026 that will dominate the box office and the discourse whether I’m personally hyped or not. There’s a new Star Wars movie in The Mandalorian & Grogu that seems like a depressingly unambitious direction for the propety; another MCU swing with Spider-Man: Brand New Day though my faith in the Marvel brand is at an all-time low; a plethora of legacy sequels that could be decent with Toy Story 5,The Hunger Games: Sunrise of the Reapingm and Scream 7, plus less compelling studio-heavy bets like The Devil Wears Prada 2, Mortal Kombat II, and Masters of the Universe. I’m not rooting against any of these titles and hope some of them surprise me, though history suggests that hoping and expecting are two very different things.
That’s why you won’t see everything you might expect on a typical “most anticipated films of 2026” laundry list here, and that’s the intention. Think of this less as a comprehensive inventory of every upcoming release and more as a snapshot of what I’m personally excited about right now: projects that feel like genuine creative swings rather than tentpole obligations. With that in mind, here are the films that I’m most looking forward to, organized by release date:
Primate
Johannes Roberts (47 Meters Down), trading shark terror for chimp mayhem, directs a creature feature about a family terrorized by their infected pet chimp. In theaters January 9 from Paramount Pictures.
Greenland: Migration
The sequel to the way-better-than-expected disaster movie Greenland continues the story of the Garrity family as they leave the safety of their bunker and attempt to migrate across a radically altered Earth in the aftermath of the extinction-level event. Gerard Butler, Morena Baccarin, and Roger Dale Floyd return. In theaters January 9 from Lionsgate.
28 Years Later: The Bone Temple
Nia DaCosta directs the second film in the revived trilogy, starring Ralph Fiennes, Jack O’Connell, Erin Kellyman, and Alfie Williams. The story follows Spike as he joins a kooky mainland gang of blonde ninjas while a discovery by Dr. Kelson may alter the future of the world. In theaters January 16 from Sony Pictures.
Good Luck, Have Fun, Don’t Die
Gore Verbinski (The Ring, A Cure for Wellness) returns to directing with a genre-blending, time travel sci-fi action comedy starring Sam Rockwell, Haley Lu Richardson, and Michael Peña. The film centers on a time-traveler played by Rockwell who wants to save the world. In theaters February 13 from Briarcliff Entertainment.
Send Help
Sam Raimi (Evil Dead) directs a survival thriller starring Rachel McAdams and Dylan O’Brien as coworkers stranded on a remote island after a plane crash. Described as part survival story and part dark comedy, the film sees Raimi back playing in a gory sandbox of his own making. In theaters January 30 from 20th Century Studios.
Wuthering Heights
Saltburn maestro Emerald Fennell writes and directs this reimagining of Emily Brontë’s novel with Margot Robbie and Jacob Elordi, reframed through her distinctive aesthetic and a gothic psychological lens. I think it’s gonna rip. In theaters February 13 from Warner Bros. Pictures.
How to Make a Killing
Directed by John Patton Ford (Emily the Criminal), How to Make a Killing stars Glen Powell as a poor relative who plots to inherit a fortune by murdering the wealthy heirs ahead of him. The story is a loose remake of Kind Hearts and Coronets. In theaters February 20 from A24.
The Bride!
Maggie Gyllenhaal writes and directs a reimagining of Bride of Frankenstein, starring Jessie Buckley as the Bride and Christian Bale as the monster. Set in 1930s Chicago, the story follows the creation of a woman whose newfound existence sparks a love and mayhem. In theaters March 6 from Warner Bros. Pictures.
Project Hail Mary
Phil Lord and Christopher Miller (The Lego Movie) direct this adaptation of Andy Weir’s popular novel, featuring Ryan Gosling in the pole position. The film follows an amnesiac astronaut who wakes up alone on a spacecraft and slowly has to remember his mission to save Earth. In theaters March 20 from Amazon MGM Studios.
They Will Kill You
This horror-action thriller stars Zazie Beetz as a woman who takes a housekeeping job in a luxury New York apartment building and soon discovers the residents belong to a cult connected to a history of disappearances. In theaters March 27 from Warner Bros. Pictures/New Line Cinema.
Alpha
French New Extremity director Julia Ducournau (Raw, Titane) writes and directs this body-horror drama that follows a 13-year-old girl living with her single mother who, after receiving a tattoo at a party, is feared to have contracted a new lethal bloodborne disease—reviving trauma tied to a family member already infected. In theaters March 27 from NEON.
The Dog Stars
Ridley Scott directs this timely post-apocalyptic drama starring Jacob Elordi, Margaret Qualley, Josh Brolin, and Guy Pearce. After a flu pandemic devastates civilization, a pilot guarding a remote airfield follows a faint radio signal that suggests other survivors may exist. In theaters March 27 from 20th Century Studios.
The Drama
Kristoffer Borgli (Dream Scenario) directs a dark satire starring Zendaya and Robert Pattinson as a couple whose relationship is destabilized shortly before their wedding. The film centers on the fallout after one partner uncovers unsettling truths about the other. In theaters April 3 from A24.
