Posted on 01/01/2026 11:27:08 AM PST by sphinx
Blockbuster cinema returns full-throttle in 2026, but as always, it’s the smaller, more auteur-driven projects that catch our eye and keep us optimistic about the filmgoing prospects in the new year. As we set our sights on the films and filmmakers set to light up our screens across the next 12 months.
From the culmination of Denis Villeneuve’s “Dune” saga, to the surefire prospect of at least one, if not two, new Hong Sang-soo films, and everything in between, our scope spans the entire globe, with the lingering understanding that so many of our most talked-about films by year’s end will, in all likelihood, come right out of nowhere and blindside us with zero anticipation whatsoever. In any event, speculation is always a fun task when looking to the films of the future, so here are our 50 most anticipated films of 2026 (in no particular order):
(Excerpt) Read more at highonfilms.com ...
Passing on Dune this year. Part One was a good, by the numbers, unimaginative adaptation. Part Two was a book disrespecting girlboss stupidity fest.
Lynch’s movie was the very first Dune movie. It holds together just enough for me to enjoy it. Casting was good and an early gig for Patrick Stewart. The costuming was great and the soundtrack good.
The Sci-Fi Channel’s adaptation of the first three books across two series I thought very well done overall. It captured the intrigue of the books extremely well, I thought. The casting was hit and miss. The choice of the actor who played Paul didn’t gel until he returned as the blind Prophet. Costuming was good and inventive but the production couldn’t match the ambition. But both series are well worth watching, IMHO.
It took time and all those early efforts to find a director who read the books, “got it,” and had the talent to bring it all together in the movies we have. He distilled the sprawling complexities of the source material into a pair of films running five hours as well as could possibly be hoped for. As weird as Lynch but watchable. As labyrinthine as A Game Of Thrones but with a course you can follow. Everything about it is top-notch so far.
Really looking forward to the third movie!
Hey don’t knock 60 year old movies. I started reading Alex Cox’s book about Spaghetti Westerns and I’ve been watching the movies after he talks about them, and I’m only up to 1965.
As for not 60 year old movies my most anticipated are Alex’s “last movie” (so he’s billing it) Dead Souls which is on the festival circuit right now and I should be getting he bluray soon, and Odyssey. And I’m sure there’s a ton of other stuff. Oh the Madden movie with Nick Cage playing Madden, there’s a good possibility that’s going to be horrible, but I must watch it anyway.
Nolan’s “Odyssey”, of course. Christopher Nolan has become one of the few “must see” directors in the world today. His “Oppenheimer” was one of my favorite films of the last few years.
Rocky 38 was the best one so far!
100 hours is one movie a week over the course of a year. Which is more than I watch, but I do indulge from time to time.
Since I don’t watch a lot — no tv and very few sporting events either — I don’t want to waste my time watching garbage.
So how do I sort out the good movies in the content firehose of clickbait movies put out by the streamers?
The good movies are out there somewhere. Finding them is the trick.
Very very few I watch
It’s nearly always programmed for woke indoctrination like the NFL commercials rotation 95% black and minorities
No accident
Lots of westerns coming which is good
I’m watching Billy the Kid miniseries now
Very good
I’m a kid expert for the record
“Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma”
A movie title straight out of Idiocracy if ever there was one.
“Neurotic” not “psychotic”.
Stolen from Mad Magazine.
I got a subscription to Britbox. My wife and I devour the mystery shows. Most are quite good and far less woke than one would expect.
I don’t knock 60 year old movies. I have plenty of them on my GOAT list.
But circling back to basics ... I started the ping list for a specific culture war reason. We may be aging out of movies; many freepers clearly have.
But the younger generations are terminally addicted to their screens, to the point that it’s a mental health issue ... not to mention a critical political issue. The craziest leftism seems heavily correlated with siloing in toxic online echo chambers.
We are losing the culture war. Movies and tv are just one of many fronts, but they are significant. Even if we don’t watch much any longer, it makes a difference what the rising generations are watching.
We can’t beat something with nothing. And we can’t tell young people to watch exclusively movies that came out when their great grandparents were doing date nights.
We have an interest in keeping independent voices, sometimes even conservative ones, in the cultural industries.
I will never take another college course, but I’m still concerned by colleges that don’t have a single conservative on the faculty, except maybe an 87 year old professor emeritus of chemistry who gets trotted out on diversity day to convince alums that the place isn’t a monoculture and indoctrination mill.
It’s hard to talk back to universities; all I can do is stop donating. At least with movies, I can buy a ticket and directly support someone who is doing good work in a system that is stacked against them.
We can at least recognize the good movies when we find them. And hope that at least some young people will find them too. Otherwise they’ll just see what the Borg spoonfeeds them.
1. digger : huh?
2. Dune : book was boomer crap, first movie (80s) was crap, didnt see the first of these new ones wont watch this.
3. Sheep in the box: another android gone berserk movie...seriously?
4. Possible Love: hate relationship dramas of any kind
5. Bucking Fastard: Mmmm...doenoef...depends which way he took it. Its not a comedy its a drama so probably no.
6. The Odyssey: We know its a good story so it would be worth seeing. Im not the kind that pays too much attention to actors and wish movies had unknowns. My hate for Matt Damon is somewhat tempered by Anne and Tom. Despite Matts presence I will see this one, there should be some exceptional action and adventure provided it doesnt somehow get DEIed.
7. Too little information
8. Coyote vs Acme : has potential, that could be really good and it could be trash. This just has too much potential for activism that could sink it.
9. I Love Boosters: Calims to be Comedy, Science Fiction. Im going to have to wait for the trailers. If this is part of a well known story then I missed it. Potential for activism.
10. Minotaur: relationship “drama”, never, no way in hell
Thats the “top” ten.
11. Good Luck, Have Fun, Don’t Die : scifi, action, adventure. About the only way this could go wrong is if they made just a less violent remake of Terminator. Definitely will see.
14. Wildwood: Will almost certainly see this with the little ones as long as the lead isnt a Mary Sue and they dont DEI.
18. On Land and Sea: Its a drama but the kind that has potential to draw one into the story. Will likely see this one.
19. Fjord: Maybe. As long as the Romanians arent poor gypsies being picked on by evil ultra white Norwegians then yes.
23. The Dog Stars: Ridley Scott, Science Fiction, Adventure, and survivors searching. I dont remember talking to him but he must have written this for me.
26. Disclosure Day: The dishonest marketing has already turned me off as though Spielberg needs my money. It seems to be one of those movies trying to trick dumbasses into believing that there is some sort of answers within. Wont see it out of principle.
36. Project Hail Mary: Seems kind of silly but I think I will likely see this one. I was surprised how much I liked The Martian (same author) and Spaceman. I suspect by the trailer that this in one that will tickle that same spot. The close intimate shots of the almost certainly doomed everyman suddenly thrust into an epic vastness full of potential I would think speaks to nearly all males.
37. Werwulf: Maybe, offhand Im not familiar with anything else done by this director. The setting of the story is interesting and the type of story is one that Im attracted to but horror genre movies can go either way. The jump scare splatter slasher movies are pointless and irritating, I can sit at home and squirt ketchup on the walls for far less money.
42. Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma : If this were a comedy with this title then it would be a must. Queer slasher horror is a definite no.
43. Out of This World: Oh for Christ sakes! I dont know this story or author but I suspect this is for anyone that thought the Israel First Zeepers couldnt be any more clueless or antagonistic. Ill wait to see the trailers but Im pretty sure this propaganda is going to wind up in the same trash can as the queer slasher.
I looked at some of the other “anticipated” movies presented in some videos and elsewhere. It looks like overall there are some real stinkers heading our way and that should allow for the better ones on this list to really do well.
For us FReepers more interested in politics than movies, the trend to watch is the direction of Skydance Paramount under new owner Ellison, good friend of Trump and how they contrast with the TDS movies.
There are always plenty of stinkers in the pipeline. But most aren’t terrible; they’re just meh. That’s always been the case. We can’t compare every year’s output to our GOAT lists.
A very, very few movies are truly great. More are solid to pretty good. Finding those is always the challenge. Given that most people are going to do a fair amount of watching, we want RightWorld movies to be solid presences.
The way to beat woke garbage is to present better alternatives. The snowballing overconcentration of the industry is a problem because the bigger the company, the more attractive it is as a target for the activists and the pols. A concentrated industry will be a politicized industry. We need to keep the indies alive.
The woke commissars can’t do much to the writer-director teams of one on low budget movies that stand or fall on ticket sales and butts in seats.
I just subscribed to Paramount + an hour ago. Mostly to watch the UFC fights.
I have hopes for Skydance Paramount too. Forget Trump. Look at David Ellison’s filmography since getting into the business.
But still ... buy a ticket and see good movies in the theaters. The streaming model is part of the problem. Even if one streamer, for now, may be open to RightWorld movies..
I agree. We’ve watched quite a few foreign films, and there is less sex, perversion and political jabs than the typical Hollywood trash.
I do get tired of watching those movies from the early 90’s on back, which is why trying the foreign films is so refreshing. It’s almost like going back into time when Hollywood films had moral standards.
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