26 hottest movies to look out for in 2026 – on Netflix, Prime Video, Disney+ and more
They'll all be coming to your local cinema too
Rik Henderson
Even in the age of streaming services, cinema is far from dead. And don't let anyone tell you otherwise.
We had some great releases in both theatres and online over the last 12 months, and 2026 is looking even better for the industry. There are some huge movies coming throughout the year ahead that should knock your socks off.
So grab yourself a bucket of popcorn and check out our top tips for the hottest films heading your way – all listed in chronological order.
We Bury The Dead
Theatrical release date: 2 January 2026
One of two zombie flicks to kick off the year, this tiny budget, independent horror movie was made and filmed in Australia in 2024, but is finally making it onto the big screen.
It could reinvent actor Daisy Ridley and help her shake off the Star Wars baggage, while the trailers so far very much put it head-to-head with the 28 Years... franchise.
This time we get failed US military weapon tests, weird mutant zombies, and a personal quest for closure. The trailers have been amazing so far, and it looks like we're getting frantic, gory and genuinely unsettling horror to start 2026.
28 Years Later: The Bone Temple
Theatrical release date: 16 January 2026
After the release this year of 28 Years Later this year, we get the second instalment at the start of next.
28 Years Later: The Bone Temple continues the story of Spike (Alfie Williams) and Dr Kelson (Ralph Fiennes) as they navigate their way through a broken and lawless England, pursued by the infected and things a lot worse.
The last film was great, with some truly memorable scenes and a weird but amazing ending. This one promises to expand on that.
Hopefully, it does well enough to prompt the much talked about third outing and finishes it all off perfectly.
The Rip
Streaming release date: 16 January 2026
While Netflix is often criticised for harming cinema attendances, it is also one of the companies investing heavily in new movies. And that's likely to continue even more if the purchase of Warner Bros. goes through.
In the meantime, the streamer will release The Rip – reuniting Ben Affleck and Matt Damon in an R-rated action cop movie. It even throws action star Scott Adkins into the mix, for good measure.
The trailer looks great – gritty, adult and packed full of solid action scenes. Could this become one of the rare straight to Netflix movies that are actually really good?
Mercy
Theatrical release date: 23 January 2026
In the near future, a detective (Chris Pratt) stands on trial accused of murdering his wife. He has 90 minutes to prove his innocence to the advanced AI Judge (Rebecca Ferguson) he once championed, before it determines his fate.
With this premise and a really good cast, this could well prove to be a solid Minority Reports style thriller. And while it's made by Amazon, it'll initially be exclusive to theatres.
Also, let's face it, more sci-fi is never a bad thing – so lets just hope this doesn't go the same way as Electric State.
Send Help
Theatrical release date: 30 January 2026
Sam Raimi is back in the director's chair for the first time since Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness and he's back to arguably what he does best.
Send Help looks a good, old fashioned horror movie. A seemingly power mad business executive and his entourage are caught up in a plane crash with only him and his downtrodden assistant left alive. And stranded on a desert island, it soon becomes very clear that he isn't in charge anymore.
The trailer is great and the movie looks to be an absolute blast. It's pure horror fodder for those of us who love this kind of thing.
Scream 7
Theatrical release date: 27 February 2026
Dogged by behind-the-scenes drama, lawsuits and numerous actors choosing the exit door, Scream 7 will finally hit screens in 2026.
There is hope for it though, with Neve Campbell finally returning to the franchise to take on "Ghostface" once more.
There is a story too, but it is hardly important at this point. People get killed, heroes get chased, there'll undoubtedly be a twist and we'll all move on to the next. It's bound to be pure popcorn cinema, so just enjoy it!
Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man
Theatrical release date: 6 March 2026
Steven Knight's follow-up (and finale) to his award-winning BBC TV series will finally hit cinemas at the start of March, with a Netflix streaming release scheduled for a fortnight later.
It sees Cillian Murphy return to once more fill the boots of Birmingham gangster Tommy Shelby, although this time he'll be joined by a several Hollywood A-listers, including Rebecca Ferguson, Barry Keoghan and Tim Roth. The ever-dependable Stephen Graham reprises his Peaky Blinders character too.
This will be essential viewing for every fan of the series, although it'll be baffling for those who haven't seen the show beforehand. We suggest you do that right away.
The Bride
Theatrical release date: 6 March 2026
It's going to be difficult in 2026 to find a film as strangely ambitious as The Bride.
It's a heavily stylised Frankenstein story, centred on the creatures quest for a companion. And while that tale has been told several times before, this looks especially amazing considering its 1930s gangland Chicago setting.
The cast is huge, and with very little known so far about any wider storyline, it's definitely one to keep an eye on. Seeing Christian Bale as "The Creature" will take some getting used to, for sure.
Project Hail Mary
Theatrical release date: 20 March 2026
Based on the incredible novel by Andy Weir (The Martian) and with Ryan Gosling heading up the cast, Project Hail Mary has the potential to be the biggest sci-fi hit of the year.
The novel is very popular and it seems for once that fans are supportive of the film rather than planning protests!
My only concern is this… if you haven't read the book, under no circumstances watch any of the current trailers. They are extremely spoiler heavy to say the least!
The Super Mario Galaxy Movie
Theatrical release date: 3 April 2026
Mario is back! Luigi is back! Nintendo is back baby!
Despite being universally hated by the critics, the first Super Mario movie made pretty much all the money on the planet and so in 2026, we get a second and seemingly more ambitious film.
With all the main cast and crew back from the original and bringing in a whole load of new characters (Yoshi?), the film will clearly be very similar in terms of tone and story just with more bright, colourful and loud things in it.
The kids will love it, critics will once again hate it, and it will make even more money.
The Devil Wears Prada 2
Theatrical release date: 1 May 2026
20 years after the release of the original, Meryl Streep, Anne Hathaway and Emily Blunt are back, reprising their roles in a movie that was promised for so long but looked like it would never happen.
This time with roles reversed, Streep is fighting to control her empire in an ever changing world and industry.
We also have current Hollywood favourite Sydney Sweeney added to the cast for the sequel, plus Lucy Liu, Lady Gaga and the legendary Kenneth Branagh. Expect fashion, sly comments and a whole load of backstabbing.
The Mandalorian & Grogu
Theatrical release date: 22 May 2026
There is a rumour going around that in this first full length Mandalorian movie, Pedro Pascal might even take his helmet off for longer than a few seconds. We all live in hope.
But no matter the helmet situation, there is no doubt that this will be a huge release for Disney and should do big things at the box office.
The trailer looks just like a ramped up version of the TV show and there has clearly been a lot of money put into this. Fingers crossed we get a decent plot and perhaps some character growth and development between all the laser beams and CGI aliens.
Masters Of The Universe
Theatrical release date: 5 June 2026
He-Man is coming back – and it might even make for a good movie this time.
He may well end up being updated a touch – possibly with less 80s muscle tone and hopefully more story. Certainly, the casting of Nicholas Galitzine (The Idea of You) as He-Man himself is promising, as he plays a normal guy from Earth who discovers he is the long lost Prince of Eternia.
It all looks and sounds great but remember, Jared Leto is in it as Skeletor, so the chances of the movie bombing are also on the tipping point.
Scary Movie 6
Theatrical release date: 12 June 2026
You might well sit there and think to yourself, "Does the world actually need a reboot of the Scary Movie franchise?" And the answer to most would be, "Absolutely not!"
However, considering the franchise is still in the hands of the very talented and funny Wayans brothers, you might end up being pleasantly surprised. At least it'll be a bit of a laugh.
Also, it'll be 13 years since the last instalment when released, so there are plenty of new horror and slasher films for the franchise to parody. There's no reason at all for this not to work, therefore. Ahem.
Toy Story 5
Theatrical release date: 19 June 2026
More Toy Story! Surely that's all we need to say.
But just to flesh things out a bit, the gang are all back, including Woody, who has clearly had a full change of heart after his choices at the end of the last film.
And that will likely be more than enough for everyone.
Supergirl
Theatrical release date: 26 June 2026
After her debut in 2025's Superman, Milly Alcock gets her own film, reprising her role as Kara Zor-El in Supergirl.
One interesting thing with the film is the addition of Jason Momoa to the cast, not as Aquaman, but as the legendary space-faring, super violent bounty hunter Lobo. It marks Momoa’s departure from his previous incarnation, and shows James Gunn’s commitment to moving away from the previous films.
Its hard to imagine a family friendly film doing actual justice to the character of Lobo, so we await this one with bated breath.
Shrek 5
Theatrical release date: 30 June 2026
Shrek 5 finally reunites the original cast of Myers, Murphy and Diaz, and there's a good chance that this could actually be more than just a blatant cash grab from an aging franchise. It could actually be… good.
Fingers crossed then for this, especially as it'll bring Mike Myers back to our screens ahead of a perpetually rumoured return for Austin Powers.
Moana
Theatrical release date: 10 July 2026
We're not actually sure Moana needed a live action remake this soon, but there we are. Disney has decided to continue the rehash of its library with a new version of the much-loved animated feature less than a decade after its original release.
And at least Dawyne "The Rock" Johnson returns. So, as he famously sang in the first, excellent film: "You're welcome!"
The Odyssey
Theatrical release date: 17 July 2026
After winning pretty much every award possible in 2023 with Oppenheimer, director Christopher Nolan takes on the classic Homer text, The Odyssey, for what will surely be the most ambitious epic of the year.
It has arguably the greatest cast ever assembled and takes advantage of new advances in IMAX camera systems, so there is a huge industry buzz about this.
We certainly can't wait to check it out in an IMAX cinema near us this coming summer.
Evil Dead Burn
Theatrical release date: 24 July 2026
After the huge critical and commercial success of 2023’s Evil Dead Rise, it seemed only a matter of time before we got another instalment in this massively popular horror franchise.
And with the legendary Sam Raimi still writing and producing, Evil Dead Burn has every chance of being another fan favourite.
Certainly, if his Instagram account is anything to go by, director Sébastien Vaniček (Infested) is happy with the movie so far.
Spider-Man: Brand New Day
Theatrical release date: 31 July 2026
As the old theme song famously went: "Spider-Man, Spider-Man… does whatever a spider can!" This clearly means coming back to our screens with yet another huge budget blockbuster superhero movie.
Tom Holland returns as the world's oldest teenager and this time he's bringing Jon Bernthal's Punisher with him?
First impressions look great, Spider-Man is always a popular franchise and as long as Marvel Studios is careful not to sully the adult nature of The Punisher too much, this could work.
We have high hopes for this one.
Coyote vs. ACME
Theatrical release date: 28 August 2026
Ok, so this is a complicated one.
Coyote vs. ACME is famous for being the third film David Zaslav shelved during his time as the CEO of Warner Bros. Discovery as a tax write-off. The first were Batgirl & Scoob!: Holiday Haunt which were each shelved near the end of post-production in August 2022.
However, unlike the former two, the film's rights were successfully sold to an alternative distributor. And so, while the film has sat on a shelf for around a decade, it will finally make it to the big screen in 2026.
And that includes John Cena too, who just so happens to star in the part animated/part live action comedy.
Clayface
Theatrical release date: 11 September 2026
We currently know very little is known about the new DC Universe movie Clayface, save for the eponymous character being one of Batman's villians.
Writer Mike Flanagan (Doctor Sleep) has also revealed that the film will take inspiration from Batman: The Animated Series, and specifically its telling of the origin of the shape-shifting blob of mud.
The film is still currently shooting in a dressed up Liverpool (the same location as the last Batman) with the aim of a release later in the year. It'll feature a cast of younger, lesser known actors in place, and there are rumours that it'll lean heavily on the horror side of things.
Street Fighter
Theatrical release date: 16 October 2026
Could Street Fighter be the surprise hit of the year? It's certainly got the mega cast.
And, thanks to a teaser trailer shown during The Game Awards 2025, it looks like it could be a whole lot of fun, to boot.
To be honest, we just need a load of weird and wonderful fighters doing fighting stuff, plus a bunch of gaming Easter eggs. And that it's better than the 1994 big screen adaptation. Although that really won't be very hard at all.
Avengers: Doomsday
Theatrical release date: 18 December 2026
At this point, what more can honestly be said about Marvel and the Avengers franchise that hasn't already been said.
2026 brings us the next huge instalment of the ongoing saga and the return of Robert Downey Jr. – this time as Dr Doom. Who might also be... well, you never know.
And Cap is back too, as shown in the first teaser trailer. So it won't just all be Thunderbolts and younger heroes. Plus, with the Russo brothers behind the camera again, you can bet it'll be the biggest and most expensive movie of the year.
Dune: Part Three
Theatrical release date: 18 December 2026
More Dune is always a good thing, and 2026 sees the final instalment of Dennis Villeneuve’s trilogy – before he turns his directorial eye to Bond.
With the story of Paul Atreides reaching new heights in the second film, it should be amazing to see the resolution of his story, the possible look into the Holy War, and the rise of the next generation of the family.
The full cast is returning and it's only a shame that we'll have to wait until just before next Christmas to see it all play out.
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