The Most Anticipated Movies of 2026
The year is flush with the usual blockbuster franchise titles, but we've also got some thrilling genre fare and new projects from the likes of Steven Spielberg, Christopher Nolan, and Jordan Peele, among others.
JANUARY
Release Date: January 9, 2026
Director: Ric Roman Waugh
Starring: Gerard Butler, Morena Baccarin, Roman Griffith Davis
Lionsgate has officially slated Greenland 2: Migration for release on January 9, 2026, marking the return of Gerard Butler and Morena Baccarin the post-apocalyptic survival saga. Directed by Ric Roman Waugh and written by Mitchell LaFortune and Chris Sparling, the sequel picks up after the events of the 2020 hit Greenland, which followed the Garrity family’s desperate race for shelter as a comet threatened to wipe out life on Earth. In Migration, we will follow the family as they emerge from their bunker in Greenland to navigate a devastated world in search of a new home.
Release Date: January 9, 2026 on Netflix
Director: Brett Haley
Starring: Emily Bader, Tom Blyth, Sarah Catherine Hook, Jameela Jamil
Brett Haley directs this adaptation of the popular 2021 novel by Emily Henry about a pair of best friends (Emily Bader and Tom Blyth) who live apart but spend their summer vacations together and begin to wonder if there might be something more romantic lurking just beneath their friendship.
Release Date: January 16, 2026
Director: Nia DaCosta
Starring: Ralph Fiennes, Alfie Williams, Jack O’Connell
28 Years Later: The Bone Temple follows the 2025 sequel 28 Years Later, set decades after Cillian Murphy’s original 2002 horror film. The Marvels director Nia DaCosta is helming this project, while Murphy plays a behind-the-scenes role as a producer for the film. It is speculated that he might make a surprise appearance in the film, but that remains unconfirmed.
Release Date: January 16, 2026
Director: Joe Carnahan
Starring: Matt Damon, Ben Affleck
Matt Damon and Ben Affleck shared a first look of their new crime thriller The Rip exclusively at Netflix’s TUDUM at the end of May 2025. The Rip centers around a team of Miami cops who discover millions in cash in a derelict stash house. Trust among the team of cops begins to fray as outside forces learn about the size of the seizure. Everything is called into question in one of 2026’s most anticipated Netflix films.
Release Date: January 30, 2026
Director: Sam Raimi
Starring: Rachel McAdams, Dylan O’Brien
Send Help is an upcoming film directed by Sam Raimi, known for directing hit films such as Drag Me to Hell (2009). The film stars Rachel McAdams and Dylan O’Brien as two colleagues who become the sole survivors of a plane crash and are stranded on a deserted island. They must navigate their strained relationship and work together to survive.
FEBRUARY
Release Date: February 13, 2026
Director: Bart Layton
Starring: Chris Hemsworth, Mark Ruffalo, Barry Keoghan, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Halle Berry, Nick Nolte
Based on the novella of the same name by Don Winslow, this Los Angeles-set thriller stars Chris Hemsworth as a thief who crosses paths with a disillusioned insurance broker (Halle Berry) on what he hopes will be his final big score, with Mark Ruffalo as the detective hot on their trail. The star-studded supporting cast includes Barry Keoghan, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Corey Hawkins, and Nick Nolte.
Release Date: February 13, 2026
Director: Tyree Dillihay, Adam Rosette
Starring: Caleb McLaughlin, Gabrielle Union, Stephen Curry
The Golden State Warriors’ Stephen Curry, a four-time NBA champion, partners with Emmy-nominated director Tyree Dillihay and director Adam Rosette to produce an animated sports comedy titled GOAT, an underdog sports comedy. Sony Pictures has timed the release to celebrate the start of the 2026 All-Star Weekend in Los Angeles.
Release Date: February 13, 2026
Director: Emerald Fennell
Starring: Margot Robbie, Jacob Elordi
This new adaptation of the Emily Bronte classic stars Saltburn’s Jacob Elordi and Barbie’s Margot Robbie, who is also a producer on the film, and, like the novel, centers around the tumultuous relationship between Catherine Earnshaw and Healthcliff, the orphan her father brought home as young boy.
Release Date: February 20, 2026
Directors: Baz Luhrmann
Starring: Elvis Presley
Baz Luhrmann’s EPiC: Elvis Presley in Concert invites audiences to hear Elvis sing and tell his story like never before. The film premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival, showcasing long-lost footage from Presley’s 1970s Las Vegas residency, rare archival material, and newly rediscovered recordings of Elvis reflecting on his own life.
Release Date: February 26, 2026
Directors: Kyla Balda
Starring: Hugh Jackman, Emma Thompson, Nicholas Galitzine, Hong Chau, Nicholas Braun, Conleth Hill
Hugh Jackman stars in this comedy as a shepherd who reads his sheep murder mystery stories every night before bed. Little does he know that once the lights are out, the sheep discuss the mysteries amongst themselves. Joining Hugh Jackman are Succession’s Nicholas Braun and Game of Thrones‘ Conleth Hill.
Release Date: February 27, 2026
Director: Kevin Williamson
Starring: Neve Campbell, Courteney Cox
Sidney Prescott (Neve Campbell) returns to face off against Ghostface once again, although this time, she’ll have to do it without the Carpenter sisters (Melissa Barrera and Jenna Ortega), who are not a part of the film. Kevin Williamson, who wrote Scream, Scream 2, and Scream 4, replaces the directing team of Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett, who helmed both previous entries.
