Preview! These Are the 10 Best Movies of 2026 to Put on Your Must-Watch List—And When They’re Coming Out
Mickey 17. Snow White. I Know What You Did Last Summer. Um, I must admit I highlighted these three flops last year in my roundup of the 10 buzziest movies to watch in 2025. (In my defense, they seemed legitimately appealing!) And, honestly, Snow White wasn’t that awful. But part of the enduring beauty of the movie-watching experience is that for every theoretical sure thing—I did nail F1, Jurassic Park: Rebirth, Superman and Avatar: Fire & Ash, thank you very much—there’s word-of-mouth surprises like Sinners, One Battle After Another, Weapons, Marty Supreme and Materialists. If each movie represents a kernel of popcorn, we love and need to consume the whole darn bucket.
That brings us to 2026. I’m pleased to report that fictional icons ranging from Spider-Man to Miranda Priestly are back in action, while the very real Margot Robbie, Jacob Elordi, Matt Damon and Daniel Craig are bringing some of our most beloved book characters to the screen. (Come to think of it, Spider-Man and Miranda originated on the page too. But you get the point.)
What else does the year have in store for movie lovers? The Sundance Film Festival, in January, brings a slew of indie efforts to Park City, Utah, for the final time before moving to Boulder, Colorado, in 2027. And Tom Cruise is set to make a rare appearance on the prestigious fall festival circuit thanks to his mysterious new movie, Digger.
Alas, there isn’t enough space to list all the high-profile films (honorable-mention shout-outs to The Mandalorian and Grogu, Toy Story 5, Supergirl, The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping, The Adventures of Cliff Booth and Dune 3). So we’ve picked 10 biggies that feature a mix of mega-blockbuster potential, top-of-the-line stars, tantalizing premises and counting-down-the-days anticipation. (Is it healthy to have watched the The Devil Wears Prada 2 teaser dozens of times? Asking for a friend.) We’ve also included both theatrical and streaming selections for your convenience.
So get out those calendars! Here are the 10 must-watch 2026 movies coming soon to a screen near you.
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Wuthering Heights
Release date: Feb. 13
Where to watch: In theaters
Now that the big, bold and sexually charged trailer—scored by Charli XCX!—has dropped online, it’s fair to say this is not your 11th-grade English teacher’s Wuthering Heights. An intense adaptation of Emily Brontë’s classic 1847 Gothic romance set against the West Yorkshire moors, the movie stars two white-hot stunners: Margot Robbie as the strong-willed Catherine Earnshaw and Jacob Elordi as the destructive antihero, Heathcliff. (Mild spoiler: This passionate tale of forbidden love will not end well.) Calling the shots? Promising Young Woman and Saltburn director Emerald Fennell, who refuses to do things by the book.
Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man
Release date: March 6
Where to watch: In theaters, followed by a March 20 premiere on Netflix
Four years after the award-winning television series Peaky Blinders—about a street gang running a criminal enterprise in Birmingham, England, after World War I—aired its last episode, fans once again get to see Cillian Murphy in the iconic role of Tommy Shelby. Set in 1940 amid the chaos of World War II, Tommy is driven back from a self-imposed exile to face “his most destructive reckoning yet,” according to the official description. Stephen Graham (union leader Hayden Stagg), Sophie Rundle (Tommy’s sister, Ada) and Ned Dennehy (“Uncle” Charlie Strong) return as well, with Rebecca Ferguson and Barry Keoghan joining as new characters.
Project Hail Mary
Release date: March 20
Where to watch: In theaters, followed by a release on Prime Video
Ryan Gosling in space, everyone! The early word is already great for this sci-fi thriller, which is based on the 2021 bestseller of the same name by The Martian author Andy Weir. It centers on Gosling’s Ryland Grace, a mild-mannered scientist turned middle school teacher who wakes up on a spaceship with no memory of who he is or how he got there. His mission soon becomes clear: Solve an out-of-this-world problem causing the sun to die out. With his background in molecular biology, Ryland is dubbed Earth’s last-gasp hope (hence the title). Only a fool would bet against Gosling to get the job done.
Michael
Release date: April 24
Where to watch: In theaters
Do several release delays mean a movie is potentially troubled … or make us even more curious to see the final product? The answer is both, obviously. Now it’s finally time to behold the one-of-a-kind story of Michael Jackson, who evolved from Jackson 5 child prodigy to the chart-topping King of Pop. Jaafar Jackson, the late star’s nephew, is really singing and dancing in the titular role. Colman Domingo plays his demanding patriarch, Joe, while Miles Teller is his attorney/manager, John Branca. FYI: Though this biopic does cover the controversies in Jackson’s life, it was made with the full cooperation of his estate.
The Devil Wears Prada 2
Release date: May 1
Where to watch: In theaters
A sequel? In Spring? To quote one of the most beloved comedies in recent memory: Groundbreaking. It’s been a full 20 years since we last saw Anne Hathaway’s Andy Sachs toss her phone (and her job as a much put-upon assistant at Runway magazine) into a Parisian fountain. The glossy media landscape has changed drastically since 2006—and Andy, Meryl Streep’s iconic ice queen editor/tastemaker Miranda Priestly, Emily Blunt’s acidic Emily and Stanley Tucci’s snippy Nigel are now all trying to manage it in their own distinctive ways. At least we know for sure that the fashion will hold up.
The Odyssey
Release date: July 17
Where to watch: In theaters
If anyone can turn Homer’s epic tale into a must-see, it’s Christopher Nolan, the Oscar-winning director who got audiences rushing into the theaters in the summer of 2023 to see the saga of a tormented nuclear physicist in Oppenheimer. A bearded Matt Damon stars as Odysseus, while Tom Holland (Telemachus), Robert Pattinson (Antinous), Zendaya (Athena), Anne Hathaway (Penelope), Charlize Theron (Circe) and more play a role in his hero’s journey. Expect big things from this adaptation of Greek mythology: Nolan used massive animatronics instead of artificial-looking CGI to depict the epic’s mythical creatures, and this is the first feature shot entirely on IMAX film cameras.
Spider-Man: Brand New Day
Release date: July 31
Where to watch: In theaters
To be honest, the MCU-movie track record has been less than stellar over the past few years. But with Spider-Man front and center for the first time in five years—and the totally star-studded Avengers: Doomsday coming Dec. 18—it looks like the mega-franchise is finally on the upswing. This time, Peter Parker (Tom Holland) is struggling with loneliness without MJ (Zendaya) and trying to leave his web-slinging alter-ego behind. Though specific plot details are nonexistent at the moment, it’s been reported that he must battle a crime boss named Tombstone. Jon Bernthal’s Punisher and Mark Ruffalo’s Hulk are along for the ride.
Practical Magic 2
Release date: Sept. 18
Where to watch: In theaters
After 28 long years, you can finally start whipping up those midnight margaritas and magically flipped pancakes. Nicole Kidman and Sandra Bullock are back as Gillian and Sally Owens, the two magical Massachusetts sisters jinxed by their taste in men. The sequel to the witchy ’90s film is based on Alice Hoffman’s 2021 novel, The Book of Magic, which focuses on the Owens’s generational bad luck in love. Dianne Wiest and Stockard Channing reprise their original roles, and Joey King and Maisie Williams join in on the fun and try to defeat the family curse. Will audiences turn out again? Kidman’s teensy Instagram clip from the set last July earned almost 700,000 likes.
The Social Reckoning
Release date: Oct. 9
Where to watch: In theaters
We didn’t just “like” The Social Network: The Facebook origin story remains one of the most powerful films of our time. For the follow-up, Jeremy Strong replaces Jesse Eisenberg as Mark Zuckerberg, and Aaron Sorkin serves as both screenwriter and director. (David Fincher helmed the original.) We’re now in 2021, as data scientist Frances Haugen (Mikey Madison) risks it all to blow the whistle on the social network’s inner workings—including the suppression of research on Facebook’s negative impact on teen mental health. This chapter is adapted from the book Broken Code by Wall Street Journal reporter Jeff Horwitz; Jeremy Allen White plays him onscreen.
Narnia: The Magician’s Nephew
Release date: Nov. 26
Where to watch: In theaters, followed by a Dec. 25 release on Netflix
C.S. Lewis’s Chronicles of Narnia children’s books, including The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe, are some of the most imaginative tales ever written. But there’s a reason Greta Gerwig—whose Barbie was nothing short of visionary—chose to make the sixth installment in the series: By directing what is actually a prequel that details how Digory Kirke (David McKenna) and Polly Plummer (Beatrice Campbell) met in London in the early 20th century, as well as the beginnings of the world of Narnia, she gets to put her own stamp on familiar material. On the grown-up side, Daniel Craig, Emma Mackey, Carey Mulligan and Denise Gough are all confirmed in unspecified roles.
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Sources:
- NME: “Here’s everything we know about ‘Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man’ movie”
- Entertainment Weekly: “All About the Michael Jackson movie and its controversies”
- Variety: “Christopher Nolan shot ‘The Odyssey’ entirely with Imax cameras by creating new equipment so ‘you can shoot a foot away’ from an actor’s face and ‘get usable sound”
- Deadline: “Everything we know about ‘Practical Magic 2’ so far”
- Vogue: “Everything we know so far about Greta Gerwig’s Narnia”
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