With 2025 over and my best-of list released, I’ve also started looking forward to some of the upcoming releases.
So, I’m going to talk about some of my most anticipated films of 2026.
I’ll try to be as brief as possible to get this list out, as one of these films is already out and many have seen it, but I will be seeing it shortly after this is published. However, we’ll get to that. While many of the films have release dates, they are subject to change. There are a few films I wanted to mention that currently don’t have a release date, so I’m going to start with those before we get to the ones that do have a release date that will be out in theatres sooner than we expected.
As of now, I have films we can look forward to all year long. I’ll also include a trailer and release date for those I can.
The Adventures of Cliff Booth
Dir. David Fincher
If I’m being honest, I still don’t believe this movie exists. It sounds like a fantasy film.
David Fincher’s next film is written by Quentin Tarantino. Of course, it’s another title for Netflix, which means, if you’re lucky, you may be able to get to see it on the big screen.
While one of the few who are not a fan of Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, the idea of a sequel by Fincher fascinates me. Do I feel that I’ll also be a bit let down by this film? Maybe, but I’m always excited for a new Fincher film. While The Killer didn’t hit as I wanted, Fincher is one of my favourite filmmakers, so there’s no way I’m missing out on this.
Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma
Dir. Jane Schoenbrun
Yes.
One of the simplest and first films I put on this list. I saw We’re All Going to the World’s Fair at virtual Sundance and was blown away by the film. And then came I Saw The TV Glow. A film that destroyed me, but an all-time classic.
As of writing this, there isn’t a release date, but Schonenbrun’s films have made my best-of list in such impactful ways that I absolutely need this latest film, as it’s their take on a sleepover camp slasher. We’re not sure when it’s being released, but we’re already counting down the days.
Faces of Death
Dir. Daniel Goldhaber
Excuse me as I continue to repeat myself about my appreciation of the filmmaker. That’s likely the case for most of the titles on this list. I thought Goldhaber’s Cam was great, but How to Blow Up a Pipeline is an all-timer of a film. It’s extremely propulsive and keeps you on your toes throughout the entire runtime. I’m not familiar with the original Faces of Death, but am onboard for Goldhaber to tackle more horror.
I’m not sure why this doesn’t have a distributor yet, but I would really appreciate it if someone could pick it up already.
Mile End Kicks
Dir. Chandler Levack
I guess it’s a tradition for me to miss Levack’s films during TIFF. I missed out on I Love Movies when it played the festival, and missed out on her latest as well, Mile End Kicks. Not only did most of my critic friends list it as one of their favourite films of the festival, but TIFF also chose it as one of the best Canadian films of the year. I was even more sold when I heard that Almost Famous inspired the film. I can’t wait to see it.
Those are the films I wanted to mention that currently don’t have a release date, but they are expected to come out this year. As I mentioned, there’s a possibility some of the other films may also be adjusted, so hard to say.
28 Years Later: The Bone Temple
Dir. Nia DaCosta
Jan 16th
I feel I’ve spent the last 20 years waiting for the rumoured 28 Months Later to finish the original trilogy, and then all of a sudden, we were told about a new trilogy of films; it felt like a true “pinch me” moment. I know that opinions may vary on Alex Garland’s directing/writing, but Men aside, I’m still invested and excited for a trilogy of Garland films.
Nia DaCosta continues to prove herself at adapting to the material, and I’m really excited to see her take on the franchise. I do love her past work and am eager to see Spike’s (Alfie Williams) adventures with the mighty morphing Jimmys.
Send Help
Dir. Sam Raimi
Jan 30th
Sam Raimi’s return to horror! Thank you.
I’ve been waiting and dreaming for days like this. His last horror film, Drag Me to Hell, was released in 2009. The first time I saw Drag Me to Hell was in the auditorium of my high school. The audience shrieked and were confused when I laughed at moments. It’s one of the first times I may have found myself seemingly understanding the intention of the director’s tone. The others didn’t find the comedy in his film; they were busy screaming.
Enter Send Help, Dylan O’Brien and Rachel McAdams in a survival horror film with a twisted boss relationship between the two? Sign me up, immediately. With the same dark humour and intense graphic nature found in Drag Me to Hell and even parts of the Evil Dead franchise. It’s that balance that some have coined as Splatterstick.
Alpha
Dir. Julia Ducournau
Mar 27
The UnderSCENE loves Julia Ducournau as Titane and Raw both rule, so any time she has a new film, we’re running to it. Alpha is a film that premiered at Cannes last year and was technically released in the Neon box set they release each year. It’s unfortunately not a film I’ve seen yet, but once it’s in theatres, I’m hoping to run to see it.
Both Raw and Titane are extremely different and divisive films, and Alpha looks to continue that tradition of the bizarre, intense, and emotional.
Ready or Not 2: Here I Come
Dir. Matt Bettinelli-Olpin & Tyler Gillett
Mar 27
For some of these films, I don’t realize how soon they are coming out. I remember seeing the first Ready or Not at a screening at the Carlton cinema here in Toronto. There weren’t many other folks who were in the theatre with me, and I’m positive that their appreciation of the film was less than mine. Audible groans of disgust were heard at the end of the film compared to my cackling. They looked back, confused.
At this time, I would have been a little familiar with their work from the original VHS, but it was Ready or Not leading into Scream (2022) that made me familiar and a fan of their work. Opinions vary on the ranking of the Scream franchise, but I do love the ones made by the Radio Silence team.
Normal
Dir. Ben Wheatley
Apr 17th
Another film from TIFF that I’m sad I missed out on. Wheatley isa filmmaker who fully fascinates me. I was excited for Meg 2: The Trench. It wasn’t great. But a misstep doesn’t mean I give up hope. For now, it seems it did well enough that he was able to release two films this year, Bulk and Normal. Normal does have a release date, and Bulk doesn’t. I’ll have both technically on the list, but I’m always willing to sign up for a new film by Wheatley.
Mother Mary
Dir. David Lowery
April 24th
I’m sure a lot of these films are going to have some form of a limited release before properly going wide. Lowery is a filmmaker I really enjoy seeing his films. It seems that he makes a Disney film after he makes a film for A24. Mother Mary carries that tradition.
In one of the five or more films that Anne Hathaway is starring in this year, we get her as a pop star meeting up with a fashion designer, with whom she was previously involved.
Obsession
Dir. Curry Barker
May 15th
Another film from TIFF I didn’t get to see during the festival.
I’m late to the party when it came to Milk & Serial, but I saw it twice in a week after watching it. It was easy to revisit. The short teaser for the film looks to be a brief clip of the film, but I can’t wait until we get to see the film. If the short film wasn’t enough to get me enticed to see his big feature debut, the universal praise and high praise response from TIFF has me excited.
Disclosure Day
Dir. Steven Spielberg
June 12th
Aliens & Spielberg!
One thing is for certain: anytime Spielberg has made a film with or about aliens, we walk away with a banger of a film. Close Encounters, ET, War of the Worlds – all tackling different themes that tackle both internally & externally how we see ourselves. Opinions may vary on some of those films, but there are films about very strong emotions, so I’m really curious as to what he has to say and show us this time.
The Odyssey
Dir. Christopher Nolan
July 17th
I mean, a few more epic releases are coming out this year. One I’ll write about, and I guess can name drop the other, which already has teasers out, but will not be on my list. It’s no surprise that I’m looking forward to a Christopher Nolan film.
He, like many other filmmakers who are releasing films this year, are filmmakers that demand their films to be seen on the big screen. If we’re lucky enough to see them on the biggest screens possible, we will do so. I still remember going to see Inception with my family at the IMAX screen at Scotiabank Theatre in Toronto. I’ve seen many of his films on that IMAX screen, or other IMAX screens in and around the city. The Odyssey will be just like those. A story that demands the big cameras to show on the big screen.
Untitled David Robert Mitchell
Dir. David Robert Mitchell
August 14th
I feel that enough folks saw and appreciated It Follows, but Mitchell’s follow-up, Under the Silver Lake, was underappreciated. A bit bizarre and a bit sprawling for some folks, but if you allow the film to take its time and enjoy itself, then you’d be able to appreciate some of the other factors of the film. Outside of just Andrew Garfield, but the weird, weird rabbit hole that the film tries to dig deeper and deeper, but never really making their way out.
That being said, what’s going on with this film? It’s a film that was shot a bit ago at this point, but just recently had the title dropped from the film. It’s a J.J. Abrams-produced film, so some think that it may be connected to Cloverfield. It’s likely not, but I would like to find out the title and get to see the film already.
Clayface
Dir. James Watkins
Sept. 11th
With a script written by Mike Flanagan. He was rewritten by a punch-up writer, but still, am excited for more and new Flanagan. Even if he has his own series adaptation of Carrie coming out this year, I am quite intrigued by what a DCU Flanagan film, even in name, would look like.
Resident Evil
Dir. Zach Cregger
Sept 18th
It wasn’t until I was making this list that I actively realized we have a release date? I almost want to ask if it’s real. I’m not too familiar with the games and their storylines. I had seen some of the films in the franchise, and then quickly gave up interest. Sorry, Paul W.S. Anderson, but I think a fresh voice would be needed for the franchise, and Cregger is exactly that.
Cregger said that the film won’t tell a story from the game, but an original one starring Austin Abrams. More original horror films from Cregger, sign me up, and I’ll continue seeing them on the biggest screens possible.
Whalefall
Dir. Brian Duffield
Oct. 16th
It wasn’t planned to be a double-dose of Austin Abrams, but here we are.
Duffield is becoming one of my favourite consistent genre filmmakers working today. Able to tackle multiple genres as a writer and a filmmaker. I remember being lucky enough to see Underwater in theatres, and then I was hit by Spontaneous and have had the film stuck in my thoughts. I loved the remaining films he’s all put out and worked on since. No One Will Save You was perfectly paced and expertly made, but a streaming exclusive. I wish that I had gotten to see some of those sequences in a theatrical experience.
Back to Whalefall, I will be able to see it on the big screen. We get a scuba diver, Abrams, looking for his father’s remains in the ocean when he is swallowed by a sperm whale. A film that will likely be told in pretty much flashbacks and real-time narratives.
Narnia: The Magician’s Nephew
Dir. Greta Gerwig
Nov. 26th
I don’t remember the first time I was aware of Greta Gerwig or her films. I was familiar with Frances Ha. I picked it up sometime after it was released on Criterion. It floored me and has stuck with me. I was mixed at the time of Mistress America, but was still all-in by the time Gerwig released Lady Bird. And each film has gotten better and bigger since.
From my understanding, The Magician’s Nephew is the sixth Narnia book, but the first, canonically? Okay. Sure. Anything to give Gerwig the chance to work with IMAX cameras. A Netflix film that will be released on Netflix on Christmas, but comes out in theatres a month earlier until another movie kicks it out of IMAX.
Dune 3
Dir. Denis Villeneuve
Dec. 18th
I admittedly was wrong with my first impression of Dune. I don’t think I could find myself getting into the world enough, and I think that’s partially the way I find Villeneuve’s approach as a filmmaker. He’s a cold filmmaker sometimes, or it doesn’t show in the ways we typically see in other films. So, it was harder for me to connect to Dune, especially without reading the source material.
I saw it once during TIFF at a press screening, while it was on the IMAX screen, and then again briefly at home before watching the sequel. I knew I was wrong quickly into the movie, and then I got to see Dune 2 in IMAX, and I believed in movies again. Or rather, the magic of movies. In a world with so many films and vast amounts of content, we rarely get to assign actors/creatives to a single project/entity; they become interchangeable, and the concept of movie stars gets lost in the process. But there is magic in these movies.
Werwulf
Dir. Robert Eggers
Dec. 25th
Eggers is a must-watch filmmaker, even when I’m not a fan of the film. Truthfully, it’s just The Lighthouse, and maybe a rewatch would help, but the rest of his films have been incredible and a joy to watch, and re-watch. The Witch is unsettling, The Northman absolutely rules, and Nosferatu is mesmerizing. When he releases a film, he fully commits to the authenticity of that period and moment in time, and genre as well.
Please let me know which films you’re looking to see this year, and please know that many films were even cut from this list that would be on an “honourable mention” that I am likely as eager to see when it is released, whenever those may be.
Please don’t mind me, I’m going to see 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple finally now.
The UnderSCENE 