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 ...
P.S. You are high on Good Luck, Have Fun, Don’t. So am I. But be aware that this is a classic scrappy, low budget indie movie. All the big studios passed, apparently because it is non-PC and wrings comedy out of some things that will offend the Karens. So the filmmakers scratched for funding and were relentless in keeping costs down.
All of which is great in my book.
But the promotional budget is low as well. This will depend heavily on word of mouth. See it early. If you like it, spread the word. I love it when a scrappy indie movie that the big players were too risk averse, or too PC, to tackle, becomes a breakout hit.
A low budget movie doesn’t need huge numbers at the box office to be a huge success for the filmmakers. Small bets, prudently managed, and a great return. Very old school.
The Supergirl film featuring Millie Alcock looks like a woke stinker. Surprised it didn’t make the list.
Absolutely will do.
No “Faces of Death” reboot? Well, this list is obviously stupid! ;)
Yes. You can go to Letterboxd and read the viewer reactions. It also played at Beyond Fest in LA and will be at the Palm Springs Film Festival over the next week. So it’s getting a classic small indie movie march through the festivals rollout, but nothing large scale.
At Fantastic Fest, it was a “secret screening,” a tradition of that festival. No one knew it was coming. Most didn’t know it existed. Everyone went in cold. Rave reviews. Of course, that was a genre movie festival, so the audience was self-selected for unconventional movies.
There were a few dissenters, but not many. Humor doesn’t everyone the same way. But whatever it is, it’s original.
My list consists of none.
I just bought the bluray of PRIMER and UPSTREAM COLOR. Looking forward to seeing them. Love PRIMER.
You are correct Redford gave a venue for the truly unknown talented. Be interesting to see what happens to the festival now.
Zi, a microbudgeted experimental film shot in complete secrecy; no one even knew it existed until Sundance announced it as a selection — in which I am keenly interested, now that I know it exists.
The microbudget, guerrilla filming aspect especially interests me. Watch Nouvelle Vague, 2025 — a very good movie, and funny — for a hint of what this might entail, and this one might be Godard on steroids. I would not be surprised if none of the actors were paid; they may be working for a percentage of the backend, if it somehow makes some money, or at most they worked for bare minimum. No sound stage, no rigged lighting, guerrilla filming on the streets in found spaces (in Hong Kong!) with ambient lighting and light, hand-held cameras. If it’s good — and I like the director — it could be a big thumb in the eye of the big studio Borg.
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Sounds interesting
watched Demi Moore in The Substance last week; that was one weird flick. About thirty minutes too long and just degenerated into gratuitous gore and muck at the end.
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My brother mentioned it iirc he was not impressed and he loves film.
You make sense. You also need a bigger audience.
X?
Bigger younger?
Good review of GOOD LUCK HAVE FUN DON’T DIE
https://variety.com/2025/film/reviews/good-luck-have-fun-dont-die-review-sam-rockwell-1236534609/
Darn near 40 years since I sat in a stinking theter.
See no reason to pay whatever it is they charge now to be with a buch of Gen Z types staring at their iFag phones during the movie.
LOL.
I see absolutely none of that in the movies I watch in theaters. None.
It’s all a matter of what kinds of movies you watch. I don’t go to idiot bait movies. I don’t go to woke movies. I’m aware that it’s rumored that there are homosexuals in the film industry, but I have no interest in watching “gay” movies any more than I do in watching black or Asian or Hispanic movies per se. Just give me characters that make sense for the story they’re trying to tell, and pick the best actor they can find for the part.
I liked The Bee Keeper. The Working Man was not as good, especially if you have read the Levon Cade novels. Statham movies are usually worth a look.
I like all of Statham movies.
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