2025 is coming to a close, and the season sees many award hopefuls, as well as big studio efforts designed to give the family something to see over the holidays. The only major release this week is Ella McCay, a broad political comedy/drama (I’ve seen the film, and though it’s well intentioned, the clunky end product doesn’t deliver enough laughs or charm to recommend), so it seems like a good time to get acquainted with what’s coming up in the next eight weeks, as well as the most anticipated films of 2026.
Next week promises some big films. Avatar: Fire and Ash is the latest epic in the fantasy series from filmmaker James Cameron and 20th Century Studios/Disney, which is set to push the limits of visual effects and the bladders of audience members (like its predecessor, it runs 197 minutes). It will open in theaters on Dec. 19.
Opening the same weekend is the animated biblical tale David from Angel Studios. If you enjoy thrillers, Lionsgate’s The Housemaid stars Sidney Sweeny and Amanda Seyfried and follows a domestic servant who discovers terrifying secrets about her employers. Is This Thing On? from Searchlight Pictures is a comedy/drama with Will Arnet as a recently separated, middle-aged family man trying his hand at stand-up comedy. The film is directed by and co-stars Bradley Cooper. Also new to cinemas is The SpongeBob Movie: Search for SquarePants. The movie finds the heroic sponge seeking out a ghost pirate ship. Paramount Pictures and Nickelodeon Movies are presenting the title exclusively in theaters.
You also have two notable releases on Dec. 25. Anaconda from Sony Pictures is a comedic take on the 1997 cult cheeseball horror film from Sony Pictures. The plot involves two fans of the original movie who decide to recruit their friends to make an amateur remake of the picture in the Amazon. The group find themselves being hunted by a similarly oversized snake. It stars Paul Rudd, Jack Black, Steve Zahn and Thandiwe Newton.
A24 has a picture that is generating a lot of awards buzz arriving on the same day. Loosely based on a true story, Marty Supreme is set in the 1950s and tells the story of a desperate, up-and-coming professional table tennis player who will do anything (including take part in criminal activities), to make a name for himself. The film co-written and directed by Josh Safdie (Uncut Gems) and stars Timothée Chalamet.
As 2026 begins, some awards hopefuls in limited release will expand wider, possibly arriving in cinemas near you. One of those is The Plague from IFC (Independent Film Company) which tells the story of a 12-year-old boy who attends a water polo camp and must endure horrific treatment. The Testament of Ann Lee from Searchlight Pictures arrives in early January. It’s a musical drama set in the 18th century about a religious sect of Shakers forming a colony. Amanda Seyfried plays the title character, whom her group believe is the embodiment of Christ.
Greenland 2: Migration from Lionsgate opens on Jan. 9 and is a sequel to the 2020 Gerard Butler disaster film about a comet striking the Earth. Survivors who made it to a bunker in Greenland move across Europe to try and find a new home. Also opening on the 9th is the Universal Pictures release, Soulm8te, which is a spin-off from the M3GAN series. In this tale, a widower buys an android to serve as a new partner and gets more than he bargained for. The Paramount Pictures horror film Primate debuts the same day. This follows a family with a pet chimpanzee (already a bad idea from the household). When the primate is bitten by a rabid animal around the house, it goes on a rampage.
Another big horror picture arrives on Jan. 16 with 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple, the second film in a new zombie trilogy from the UK. Set immediately after the previous chapter on an island full of individuals infected with a RAGE virus, the teen from the previous installment is taken in by a gang of parkour-fighting psychopaths. He attempts to fit in while hoping to reunite with his father.
On Netflix, The Rip will be available to stream on the same day. It features two cops who find hidden loot and worry about whether they can trust criminals, other cops, and even themselves, to do the right thing. This effort stars Ben Affleck and Matt Damon, along with Steven Yeun and Teyana Taylor.
Boy, if you enjoy horror pictures, January is some month for you. The following week, Return to Silent Hill arrives at theaters. This sequel to 2006’s Silent Hill and the 2012 follow-up Silent Hill: Revelation will be released by relatively new distributor Cineverse, who delivered The Toxic Avenger remake and Terrifier 3 to theaters last year.
Amazon MGM also debuts Mercy on Jan. 23. This thriller from Timur Bekmanbetov (Wanted, Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter) is a science-fiction tale in a world where A.I. judges are used in criminal trials. A detective is falsely accused of murder and must defend himself in court. It features Chris Pratt and Rebecca Ferguson.
Jan. 30, you can check out the thriller Send Help from 20th Century Studios. The story follows two coworkers who despise each other. When the pair survive a plane crash and end up stranded together on a deserted island, the power dynamic shifts and they end up engaged in an increasingly nasty battle of wills. The film stars Rachel McAdams and Dylan O’Brien and is directed by genre veteran Sam Raimi (the original Evil Dead series, A Simple Plan, Drag Me to Hell).
Also scheduled for the end of the month is Shelter, the latest Jason Statham action picture. This one is being put out by another relative newcomer, Black Bear Pictures, and follows a former assassin who targets his former organization after they call a hit on a girl whom he knows personally.
Of course, as the year progresses, bigger and bigger titles begin appearing. In February, you can check out the Briarcliff Entertainment effort Good Luck, Have Fun, Don’t Die, a science-fiction picture with Sam Rockwell. Gore Verbinski (The Ring, the original Pirates of the Caribbean trilogy, A Cure for Wellness) directs this story about a man from the future who arrives to warn the public about rogue artificial intelligence that is about to take over the world.
March sees the release of The Bride!, an updated take on the famous Mary Shelly character set in the 1930s. It is helmed by Maggie Gyllenhaal and features Jessie Buckley as the title character. Another big title that month is Project Hail Mary from Amazon MGM Studios. Ryan Gosling plays an astronaut who wakes up in a spacecraft with amnesia and has to figure out where he is going and for what purpose.
April sees The Super Mario Galaxy Movie, a sequel to the live-action box office hit The Super Mario Bros. Movie that is arriving at theaters through Universal Pictures. For better or for worse, as the summer begins to heat up, you can expect more franchise titles, like The Devil Wears Prada 2 from 20th Century Studios, The Mandalorian and Grogu feature from Disney/Lucasfilm, and Toy Story 5 from Disney/Pixar.
There is also an untitled Steven Spielberg summer movie scheduled to arrive in June. No one knows the details, only that it’s an original UFO-based story. And director Christopher Nolan’s follow-up to Oppenheimer, an adaptation of Homer’s The Odyssey is also set to debut in July.
Marvel enthusiasts will be happy to hear that Spider-Man: Brand New Day is arriving from Disney in July, and Avengers: Doomsday is booked for December of the same year. The end of the year also sees the release of The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping, and Dune: Part 3, the next chapter in the sprawling science fiction saga from Denis Villeneuve. By the end of 2026, we should also be able to see The Adventures of Cliff Booth starring Brad Pitt, a spin-off from Once Upon a Time in Hollywood about the charismatic Hollywood stunt man. Quentin Tarantino has written the follow-up, but directing duties will be handled by David Fincher (Seven, Fight Club, Zodiac, The Social Network).
Hopefully, we’ll get some fantastic originals too. Either way, it should be an interesting year at the movies.
