The 8 Most Anticipated Movies of 2026 (6 of Them Have Something in Common...)

2025 was an incredible year for television and an okay year for movies. But 2026 is now upon us (wild, right?), and the most anticipated movies look like they’re gonna be good. Really good.

Charli xcx has a movie coming out in January (seriously), and Christopher Nolan’s epic new film The Odyssey hits theaters this summer. However, other than those two standouts, it appears that the biggest films of 2026 will all have something in common: they’re sequels. I’m talking a new Scream, a new Scary Movie, a new Toy Story—and that’s just the tip of the iceberg.

Here, the eight most anticipated movies of 2026, six of which happen to be sequels.

• Release Date: January 30, 2026
• Cast: Charli xcx, Alexander Skarsgård, Kylie Jenner, Rachel Sennott

Forget Dry January, we’re doing Meta January, courtesy of Charli xcx. The mega pop singer stars in this mockumentary where she plays a fictionalized version of herself. It’s satirical. It’s star-studded. And it’s, ya know, Brat.

• Release Date: February 27, 2026
• Cast: Neve Campbell, Courteney Cox, Isabel May

Sidney Prescott is back after a much more successful round of salary negotiations. And, according to the Scream 7 trailer, she has a daughter named Tatum (sound familiar?!?). Of course, Ghostface is back, as is Courteney Cox’s Gale Weathers (with ‘90s-core trending, maybe Courtney will bring back her iconic lime green blazer?).

• Release Date: May 1, 2026
• Cast: Anne Hathaway, Meryl Streep, Emily Blunt, Stanley Tucci

The most quotable movie since Clueless is returning with a sequel. Honestly, I don’t even care if it’s good, as long as I get more dry, acerbic lines courtesy of Miranda Priestly. Plus, the list of celebs making cameos is a long one, from Lucy Liu and Justin Theroux to Lady Gaga.

• Release Date: June 12, 2026
• Cast: Marlon Wayans, Shawn Wayans, Anna Faris, Regina Hall

I love a dumb comedy (hence, why I loved the newest Naked Gun movie). So, I’m personally very excited for the return of the Wayans, plus Anna Faris and Regina Hall. This film will be serving up peak nostalgia (the first film came out back in 2000) with a large side of crude, crass, forehead-slapping humor.

• Release Date: June 19, 2026
• Cast: Tom Hanks, Tim Allen, Joan Cusack

These movies always make me cry, so I’ll be stuffing extra napkins in my pockets just in case. In the latest TS edition, our favorite toys try to stay relevant in the face of more, um, exciting technology that seems to be consuming all of the kids’ attention. (In honor of Woody, I’ll try not to check TikTok in the middle of the movie…)

• Release Date: June 26, 2026
• Cast: Milly Alcock, Jason Momoa

In James Gunn’s 2025 smash hit, Superman, we got a fun cameo from Milly Alcock’s superpowered female, Supergirl. You might remember Alcock from House of the Dragon or from playing opposite Julianne Moore in the bizarre Sirens. Here, she’ll do battle against a villain known as Krem of the Yellow Hills. I’m confused by the superhero lore already.

• Release Date: July 17, 2026
• Cast: Matt Damon, Tom Holland, Robert Pattinson, Zendaya, Elliot Page

If there’s one man I trust to create a new movie version of Homer’s epic Greek poem, The Odyssey, it’s Christopher Nolan. Every time he makes a movie, I’m enthralled (see: The Dark Knight, Oppenheimer, Inception, Memento), so I have very high hopes for this film. And the cast is so star-studded, it’s nearly impossible to list everyone here…but I’ll try: Damon, Holland, Pattinson, Zendaya, Page, Hathaway, Theron, Bernthal…okay, that’s mostly it.

• Release Date: November 20, 2026
• Cast: Maya Hawke, Mckenna Grace, Elle Fanning, Jesse Plemons

Finally, we get a Woody Harrelson origin story (well, technically, it’s a Haymitch Abernathy origin story, but whatever). It’s 24 years before Jennifer Lawrence comes on the scene, and a young Haymitch is playing for his life in the 50^th Hunger Games. Cue the long list of creative ways to murder a bunch of kids.

Don’t worry—there are plenty of other sequels coming out in 2026. This includes: 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple, The Super Mario Galaxy Movie, Spider-man: Brand New Day, Minions 3, Focker-in-Law, Dune: Part Three, Avengers: Doomsday, Violent Night 2 and Jumanji 3.

Lots of luck to those non-sequels premiering in 2026—seems like it’s going to be quite the challenge to break through among all of these big-budget franchises.

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