2026 Most Anticipated Films

Maybe it's because there's an Avengers Doomsday shaped cloud blocking cinemas this year, but the scope of this year’s anticipated film releases was far more expansive than I had initially realized. It is a film nerd's (and regular nerd's) dream year! It's halfway through February and we've already had explosive box office buzz from the polarizing Wuthering Heights to the lovable People We Meet on Vacation. The roster of this year films has me laughing at the notion that a few years ago we thought cinemas would go out of businesses..ha, oh how wrong we were. Here's a chronological list of films that you may want to add to your calendar for this year. Who knows, you may even come out of this article thinking "Maybe those AMC Stubs guys aren't that crazy?"

Scream 7

February 27

Yeah, there still doing em.

It's an interesting film to close out February with, but pretty soon we'll have one Scream Movie for every month of the year, hooray! The film will star our original harrowing heroine Neve Campbell as Sidney Prescott, along with Courtney Cox (of course), Isabel May, and Jasmine Savoy Brown. In this twist of the plot, Sidney's daughter Tatum is the newest victim of the infamous Ghost Face Killer. The film is being Directed by Kevin Williamson – the original Scream 1-3 writer. And maybe by Scream 12 or 13 we'll finally get the romantic Ghost Face twist that we've all been dreaming about for so long... just me? Oh, okay.

The Bride

March 6

Frankenstein's companion returns to screen as Jessie Buckley and Christian Bale star in Maggie Gyllenhaal's take on the bride of Frankenstein. Unlike the oriognal 1935 film in which 'the bride' is only on screen for about 2-3 minutes total, this version will dive more into her backstory and her psychological warfare. Could this be a competor for last October's Frankenstein directed by Guillermo del Toro?

No probably not. But, if I've learned anything from American Psycho and Batman, it's don't get on Christian Bale's bad side-so catch me at opening night!

Super Mario Galaxy Movie

April 1

The date has me questioning whether or not it's a prank that I have to write about this movie. This film, not satirical, has the 2nd most star studded cast of the year. It features Chris Pratt, Anya Taylor-Joy, Benny Safdie, Jack Black, Brie Larson, Charlie Day, Kevin Micahle Richardson, and Keegan-Michael Key. With it's PG rating this is in the running to be the most successful box office film of the year. I just hope we get another smash musical hit, following Jack Black's "Peaches".

Michael

April 24

The biopic of the year comes out this spring, following the life of the true king of pop: Michael Jackson. We haven't had a culturally defining biopic since Elvis (2022); this film holds so much weight and if done well could change the genre forever. It stars Colman Domingo, Miles Teller, and Jaafar Jackson as Michael.

The Devil Wears Prada 2

May 1

20 years after the original films release the entire cast returns for the book based sequel of the timeless classic. Emily (who hasn't aged a day in those 20 years) has her own fashion empire that Miranda Priestly is struggling to keep up with. IMDB also lists Lady Gaga, Caleb Hearon, and Rachel Bloom as apart of the cast! It seems like this summer we are in for some fashion emergencies that need our immediate attention – so grab your mom and get excited!

Disclosure Day

June 12

The latest Spielberg craft, the plot, at the moment, has stayed relatively under wraps and ambiguous, leaving audiences curious as to what they will be in for. All we know is it's a science fiction film involving a UFO sighting. It's exciting to see Spielberg returning to his E.T/Close Encounter roots, now that he has finally hit the pinnacle EGOT status. This film stars Emily Blunt, Josh O'Conner, Colman Domingo, and Colin Firth.

The Odyssey

July 17

The front runner for the 2027 Best Picture award comes out this summer; it is a greek mythology story about Odysseus, the legendary Greek king of Ithaca, after the end of the Trojan War. Nolan is known for using practical effects and real locations, so we are expecting a beautiful high budget picture! As far as star power, it blows the other films out of water: Matt Damon, Zendaya, Tom Holland, Anne Hathaway, Mia Goth, and Robert Pattinson. It really seems like instead of hiring a casting team, Nolan just whipped out his contacts.

Spiderman: Brand New Day

July 31

Just two weeks after his first film of the year, Tom Holland graces our screens for a second time this summer – somebody pray for that boy on this never ending press tour. Marvel has been keeping the details of this movie completely under wraps, the only detail we have is that Stranger Things and The Whale star Sadie Sink will play "TBD" in the film. If you want my esteemed hypothesis, she's a ginger Gwen Stacy. Shang-Chi director Destin Daniel Cretton is taking over this film and while there is no official trailer yet, a few leaks may have circulated... but you didn't hear that from me...

The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping

November 20

In our time of heightened political warfare, The Hunger Games movies always have a way of getting us to look at our own society and reflect on the class structures of our world. The 5th installment in this series releases this fall- it is the story of Haymitch Abernathy (taking place 24 years before the first film). The cast was slowly released on instagram in early 2025 and features Jospeh Zada, Elle Fanning, Jesse Plemons, Maya Hawke, Ralph Fiennes, Glen Close, and Kieran Culkin. It has also been officially announced that Jennifer Lawerence and Josh Hutcherson will return as Katniss and Peeta for the epilogue of the movie. Die hard Hunger Games fans, like myself, have been dying to see more from this franchise ever since The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes. Without spoilers, the book has an incredibly compelling story and will definetly be a tear jerker for everyone in the theater.

Jumanji 3

December 11

One of my favorite childhood reboots is getting its 3rd and final series film. All 4 core cast members are set to return, meaning this will have audience members laughing for hours! Definitely going to watch in hopes this film doesn't get completely overshadowed by the next film on my list:

Avengers Doomsday

December 18

The big bad.

Is it safe to call this Marvel's hail Mary? I think it is, especially after they've already announced 10+ retired cast members reprising their roles with Chris Evans as Steve Rogers, Sir Patrick Stewart as Professor Charles Xavier, Ian McKellen as Magneto, Rebecca Romijn as Mystique, and of course Robert Downy Jr as Dr. Doom. As an Xmen apologist, I am cautious to see how the 2026 Marvel Universe is going to take care of our mutants, but only time will tell!

Dune Messiah

December 25

Can you hear Timothée now: "DUNE MESSIAH CHRISTMAS DAY, DUNE MESSIAH CHRISTMAS DAY."

The third film in the long haul we are expected to get in the Dune series. It takes place 12 years after the events of Dune and Dune part 2, Paul Atredies has now taken over as emperor. This being based off the 2nd book in the series which originally served as a subversion to the typical hero's journey we see in parts 1 and 2. It may just be the perfect Christmas gift for your nerdy family members and friends!

So it's a year of Sci-Fi, sequels, and Scream 7. It's already been a pretty unhinged year inside the cinemas (and outside of them), and once this long award season finally wraps up it'll be time to roll out the red carpet for the year ahead brimming with excellent movies– Oh! And also the live action Moana!