Hollywood’s 2026 lineup is absolutely stacked, and movie fans are already obsessing over what’s coming next year. We dove deep into IMDb’s popularity rankings (MOVIEmeter) to see which upcoming films are generating the most buzz right now—and the results reveal some fascinating shifts in what audiences are craving.
What’s particularly striking is how 2026 seems to be the year of the “elevated franchise film,” where acclaimed directors are taking on beloved properties with serious dramatic chops. We’re seeing visionary filmmakers like Christopher Nolan tackling ancient epics, Maggie Gyllenhaal reimagining classic monsters, and Emerald Fennell giving literary classics the psychological thriller treatment. It’s as if Hollywood finally figured out that audiences want both spectacle and substance, not just one or the other.
From franchise juggernauts to auteur passion projects, here are the 10 movies that have everyone hitting that search button in 2026.
10. Practical Magic 2
Director: Susanne Bier | Studio: Warner Bros. | Release Date: September 18, 2026
The long-awaited sequel that ’90s kids have been manifesting, especially since Warner Bros. officially announced development in 2024. Nearly three decades after Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman charmed audiences as witch sisters dealing with a family curse, the Owens women are confirmed to be returning to our screens, with both stars reprising their roles and serving as producers.
While we know the film is based on Alice Hoffman’s sequel novel The Book of Magic and features exciting new cast additions like Joey King, Xolo Maridueña, and Maisie Williams, the specific plot details remain locked tighter than a grimoire. How will the story unfold? What new magical challenges await the Owens family? The anticipation around these mysteries has fans frantically Googling for any morsel of information, and we are absolutely here for it.
9. Wuthering Heights
Director: Emerald Fennell | Studio: Warner Bros. Pictures | Release Date: February 13, 2026
Emerald Fennell is about to do unspeakable things to Emily Brontë’s classic, and we’re buckled in for the ride. Fresh off traumatizing audiences with Saltburn, Fennell’s directing Margot Robbie and Jacob Elordi in what promises to be the most unhinged adaptation of Wuthering Heights ever committed to film.
If you thought the original novel was dark, wait until the woman who gave us that bathtub scene gets her hands on Heathcliff and Catherine’s toxic love story. Literary purists are nervous; everyone else is intrigued.
8. 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple
Director: Nia DaCosta | Studio: Columbia Pictures, Decibel Films, and DNA Films | Release Date: 16 January 2026
The rage virus is back, and this time it’s got a bone to pick. Nia DaCosta (The Marvels) is taking the directorial reins from Danny Boyle for this fourth installment in the post-apocalyptic horror franchise.
With Ralph Fiennes leading the cast and Cillian Murphy returning as executive producer, The Bone Temple promises to explore what happens when humanity has had nearly three decades to adapt to—or succumb to—the infected world. The title alone has horror fans speculating about ritualistic survivor communities and some seriously disturbing imagery.
7. The Social Reckoning
Director: Aaron Sorkin | Studio: Sony Pictures | Genre: Drama/Thriller | Release Date: October 9, 2026
The title that has everyone buzzing: Aaron Sorkin’s sequel to The Social Network explores the inner workings of—and multiple harms caused by—Facebook, including misinformation, teen mental health impacts, and events like January 6.
Given the climate of tech accountability and online discourse, the timing couldn’t be more relevant. Mikey Madison leads as a fictional character central to exploring Facebook’s societal impact, Jeremy Allen White plays journalist Jeff Horwitz (the Wall Street Journal reporter who broke the “Facebook Files” story), while Jeremy Strong’s role remains tantalizingly unconfirmed—though industry insiders strongly suspect he’s playing a Zuckerberg-inspired tech mogul figure.
The strategic ambiguity around casting, combined with Madison’s mysterious central role, has internet sleuths working overtime to dissect plot dynamics and awards-season implications, especially given Sorkin’s track record with The Social Network’s Oscar sweep.
6. The Odyssey
Director: Christopher Nolan | Studio: Universal Pictures | Release Date: July 17, 2026
Christopher Nolan is adapting Homer’s epic poem, and film Twitter has officially lost its mind. Matt Damon stars as Odysseus in what Universal is calling “a mythic action epic” shot with cutting-edge IMAX technology.
The cast reads like a Nolan fantasy football roster: Zendaya, Tom Holland, Anne Hathaway, Robert Pattinson, and more. If anyone can make ancient Greek literature feel like a mind-bending, time-manipulating thriller while somehow making us care deeply about the logistics of ancient naval warfare, it’s the guy who convinced us crop rotation could be emotionally devastating. Expect multiple viewings to be mandatory.
5. Spider-Man: Brand New Day
Director: Destin Daniel Cretton | Studio: Sony Pictures | Release Date: July 31, 2026
Tom Holland swings back as Peter Parker, and this time he’s truly starting from scratch. After No Way Home literally erased Peter Parker from everyone’s memory, Brand New Day promises a fresh start that feels both nostalgic and necessary.
Destin Daniel Cretton (Shang-Chi) is directing what insiders are calling a return to the neighborhood-level storytelling that made Spider-Man special in the first place. With Peter juggling college, part-time work, and that whole “friendly neighborhood hero” thing, this feels like the most grounded Spidey story we’ve gotten in years. Plus, Tom Holland recently suffered a minor concussion during filming, proving he’s still doing his own stunts like the absolute legend he is.
4. Avengers: Doomsday
Directors: Anthony & Joe Russo | Studio: Marvel Studios | Release Date: December 18, 2026
The Russos are back, Robert Downey Jr. is back, and the multiverse is about to get very, very complicated. In the most mind-melting casting decision of the decade, RDJ is returning to the MCU—but this time as Doctor Doom. Doomsday marks the first Avengers film since Endgame and promises to be the most ambitious MCU project yet.
With Pedro Pascal, Chris Hemsworth, and Vanessa Kirby rounding out the cast, this feels like Marvel’s chance to recapture that lightning-in-a-bottle magic after a few years of Phase Four growing pains. The real question: How do you top Endgame? Apparently, you get Iron Man’s actor to play the villain.
3. Greenland 2: Migration
Director: Ric Roman Waugh | Studio: Lionsgate | Release Date: January 9, 2026
The Garrity family survived the apocalypse; now they have to survive the aftermath. Gerard Butler and Morena Baccarin return for this sequel to the 2020 surprise hit disaster thriller. Migration picks up after the comet-induced apocalypse, following the family as they emerge from their Greenland bunker to navigate a devastated world in search of a new home.
In an era of superhero spectacle, there’s something refreshingly grounded about a family just trying to survive in a broken world. Butler’s commitment to the “regular guy in extraordinary circumstances” genre remains unmatched.
2. Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu
Director: Jon Favreau | Studio: Lucasfilm | Release Date: May 22, 2026.
Din Djarin and Baby Yoda are making the jump from Disney+ to the big screen, and fans are absolutely losing it. After The Rise of Skywalker left a bitter taste in many fans’ mouths, The Mandalorian restored faith in the galaxy far, far away.
Now Jon Favreau is directing the first theatrical Star Wars film since 2019, bringing Pedro Pascal’s beskar-clad bounty hunter and everyone’s favorite green puppet to IMAX screens. With Jeremy Allen White joining as Rotta the Hutt and Sigourney Weaver in an undisclosed role, this feels like the Star Wars movie we’ve been waiting for. The hype is so real that advance ticket sales might crash the internet.
1. The Bride!
Director: Maggie Gyllenhaal | Studio: Warner Bros. | Release Date: March 6, 2026
Maggie Gyllenhaal is bringing Bride of Frankenstein into the 21st century, and it’s currently the most searched-for film of 2026. This feminist reimagining of the 1935 classic stars Christian Bale as Frankenstein, with Jessie Buckley as the titular Bride in 1930s Chicago.
But this isn’t just a monster movie—it’s being pitched as a radical social movement thriller where the Bride becomes both romantic companion and revolutionary leader. With a cast including Jake Gyllenhaal, Penelope Cruz, and Annette Bening, The Bride promises to be the rare franchise revival that has something new to say.
Given Gyllenhaal’s track record with The Lost Daughter, expect psychological complexity, stunning cinematography, and a whole lot of uncomfortable conversations about power, agency, and what it means to be “created” by someone else.