Top Anticipated Movies of 2026: What to Watch

From Ridley Scott and David Fincher to Godzilla, The Avengers and the return of Panem, 2026 still has plenty of highly anticipated movies left on the calendar.

The summer movie season may be entering its final stretch, but the 2026 release calendar is far from finished.

The next five months will bring major studio franchises, filmmaker-driven originals, literary adaptations, awards contenders and several projects that have spent years navigating development or distribution uncertainty.

The list below is arranged by current U.S. release date rather than ranking.

The End of Oak Street — August 14

David Robert Mitchell follows It Follows and Under the Silver Lake with an original science-fiction survival film starring Anne Hathaway, Ewan McGregor, Maisy Stella and Christian Convery.

The story places a suburban family in an impossible new environment after a mysterious event uproots their neighborhood, bringing dinosaurs and domestic anxiety into the same late-summer spectacle.

The Rivals of Amziah King — August 14

Matthew McConaughey leads Andrew Patterson’s rural crime drama as a charismatic Oklahoma beekeeper and bluegrass musician attempting to reconnect with his estranged foster daughter. Angelina LookingGlass, Cole Sprouse, Rob Morgan, ‘Tony’ Revolori and Kurt Russell round out the cast of a film that arrives after earning strong early attention on the festival circuit.

It Ends — August 21

Alex Ullom’s feature debut follows four recent college graduates whose late-night drive turns into an endless two-lane nightmare. NEON’s acquisition takes a compact independent horror premise into a national theatrical release, with the film relying on existential dread and the increasingly fractured relationships inside the trapped car.

Coyote vs. Acme — August 28

After becoming one of the most controversial shelved projects in modern Hollywood, the live-action and animation hybrid is finally receiving a theatrical release through Ketchup Entertainment. Will Forte, John Cena and Lana Condor star in the legal comedy, which finds Wile E. Coyote attempting to hold the Acme Corporation responsible for its consistently defective products.

The Dog Stars — August 28

Ridley Scott returns to large-scale science fiction with an adaptation of Peter Heller’s post-apocalyptic novel. Jacob Elordi plays a pilot whose isolated existence with a survivalist, portrayed by Josh Brolin, is disrupted by a mysterious radio transmission that suggests civilization, and perhaps hope, may still exist beyond their fortified home.

Onslaught — September 4

Adam Wingard directs Adria Arjona as an Army sniper forced to protect her daughter after genetically engineered super soldiers escape into the desert.

A24‘s action-horror release also stars Dan Stevens, Rebecca Hall, Drew Starkey, Michael Biehn, Eric Wareheim and Reginald VelJohnson.

Practical Magic 2 — September 11

Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman reunite as Sally and Gillian Owens nearly three decades after the original film. Susanne Bier directs the sequel, which also brings back Stockard Channing and Dianne Wiest while introducing Joey King and Maisie Williams as a new generation confronting the Owens family’s magical inheritance.

Resident Evil — September 18

Rather than continuing the previous film series, Zach Cregger is mounting a new story within the survival-horror universe.

Austin Abrams stars as a medical courier pulled into an increasingly chaotic night, with Zach Cherry, Kali Reis and Paul Walter Hauser also appearing in the TriStar, Constantin Film and Davis Films production.

Digger — October 2

Tom Cruise’s first collaboration with Alejandro G. Iñárritu may be the fall’s largest creative wildcard. The film has been described as a dark comedy of catastrophic proportions, placing Cruise in a filmmaker-driven ensemble alongside Sandra Hüller, Jesse Plemons, John Goodman, Riz Ahmed, Sophie Wilde and Emma D’Arcy.

Verity — October 2

Anne Hathaway, Dakota Johnson and Josh Hartnett lead Michael Showalter’s adaptation of Colleen Hoover’s psychological thriller. Johnson plays a struggling writer hired to complete the books of an injured bestselling author, only to discover a manuscript that destabilizes everything she believes about the woman, her marriage and the household around her.

The Social Reckoning — October 9

Aaron Sorkin returns to the world of The Social Network with a companion film inspired by the reporting behind The Facebook Files. Mikey Madison portrays whistleblower Frances Haugen, Jeremy Allen White plays Wall Street Journal reporter Jeff Horwitz and Jeremy Strong takes on the role of Mark Zuckerberg.

Street Fighter — October 16

Paramount and Legendary are returning Capcom’s fighting-game franchise to live action with an ensemble that includes Andrew Koji, Noah Centineo, Callina Liang, Jason Momoa, David Dastmalchian, Roman Reigns, Cody Rhodes and Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson.

Paramount has positioned the IMAX production as the opening film in its new global distribution partnership with Legendary.

Whalefall — October 16

Brian Duffield adapts Daniel Kraus’ survival novel with Austin Abrams as a grieving young diver swallowed by a sperm whale while searching for his father’s remains. Trapped with approximately one hour of oxygen, he must use the lessons left behind by his father, played by Josh Brolin, to attempt an escape.

Clayface — October 23

DC Studios is using one of Batman’s most recognizable villains to move decisively into body horror. James Watkins directs Tom Rhys Harries as the disfigured actor who becomes ‘Clayface’, offering a darker and more self-contained corner of the developing DC Universe than its traditional superhero spectacles.

Klara and the Sun — October 23

Taika Waititi directs Jenna Ortega and Amy Adams in an adaptation of Kazuo Ishiguro’s acclaimed novel. Ortega plays Klara, an artificial companion selected by an ailing teenager, in a story examining loneliness, sacrifice and whether programmed observation can develop into something resembling human love.

Wicker — October 23

Olivia Colman stars as an isolated fisherwoman who commissions a husband made from wicker, played by Alexander Skarsgård. The unusual romantic fantasy, which also features Peter Dinklage and Elizabeth Debicki, opens in select theaters before expanding nationwide on October 30.

Godzilla Minus Zero — November 6

Takashi Yamazaki’s sequel begins in 1949, two years after the events of Godzilla Minus One, and continues the story of the Shikishima family as a new catastrophe emerges.

The film will first receive its world premiere as the New York Film Festival’s Spotlight Gala selection on September 26 before GKIDS begins its wide North American release in November.

Paper Tiger — November 13

James Gray directs Adam Driver, Scarlett Johansson and Miles Teller in a crime drama about two brothers drawn into a scheme connected to the Russian mafia. Following its Cannes premiere, NEON will open the film in select theaters before expanding it nationwide the following week.

The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping — November 20

The franchise returns to Panem 24 years before Katniss Everdeen’s story, beginning on the morning of the reaping for the 50th Hunger Games. Joseph Zada plays a young Haymitch Abernathy, while Whitney Peak portrays Lenore Dove Baird in Francis Lawrence’s adaptation of Suzanne Collins’ prequel.

The Adventures of Cliff Booth — November 25

Brad Pitt reprises his Oscar-winning Once Upon a Time in Hollywood role in a new film directed by David Fincher from a Quentin Tarantino screenplay. Frequently referred to publicly as The Adventures of Cliff Booth, the officially untitled project begins a two-week global IMAX run on November 25 before arriving on Netflix December 23.

Violent Night 2 — December 4

David Harbour returns as the heavily armed Santa Claus in the sequel to the 2022 holiday action comedy. The first film’s mixture of seasonal sentiment, brutal combat and knowingly ridiculous mythology gave Universal and 87North a concept capable of becoming an alternative Christmas franchise.

Avengers: Doomsday — December 18

Marvel Studios‘ next Avengers event brings Robert Downey Jr. back to the MCU as Victor von Doom, with the Russo brothers returning to direct. Chris Evans, Chris Hemsworth, Pedro Pascal and Paul Rudd are among the expansive ensemble assembled for Marvel’s largest theatrical crossover since Avengers: Endgame.

Dune: Part Three — December 18

Denis Villeneuve’s third Dune film arrives on the same day as Avengers: Doomsday, creating one of the year’s most consequential release-date collisions. Timothée Chalamet, Zendaya and Jason Momoa are confirmed to return as Villeneuve continues the science-fiction saga following the critical and commercial success of its first two chapters.

Jumanji: Open World — December 25

Dwayne Johnson, Kevin Hart, Jack Black and Karen Gillan return for a new chapter that sends Jumanji’s video-game avatars into the real world. Jake Kasdan is back as director, with the Christmas release positioned as the concluding installment of the modern series that began with Welcome to the Jungle.

Werwulf — December 25

Robert Eggers reunites with Focus Features for a horror film starring Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Willem Dafoe and Lily-Rose Depp. Co-written by Eggers and Sjón, the Christmas Day release is being presented as a story of devotion, damnation and the darkness concealed within its characters.

The Bigger Picture

The remaining calendar reflects nearly every major force shaping contemporary Hollywood. Established franchises will compete with literary adaptations, original genre filmmaking and projects whose primary commercial identity is the director behind the camera. December may deliver the loudest showdown, but the months leading into it are equally important. The second half of 2026 will test whether audiences continue supporting a wide theatrical mix or concentrate their attention around a smaller number of year-end events.