2026 in Films

Format adapted from Charles François, who I still hope will one day rediscover his cinephilia and start hanging out with myself and the Skandies crew again. It’s been ten years since he last used it and I hereby declare it in the public domain.

Combine the first two columns for a list of films released (or "released") in 2026, and the last two columns for films seen in 2026. Ordering is preferential when ratings are identical.

Seen Previously
Movies I saw in 2025 {or before} that were released in the U.S. in 2026. Films not yet released but currently scheduled for this year are indicated by a (→).
Seen in 2026
Movies I saw shortly before, during or after their 2026 U.S. run. Asterisks (*) indicate films seen prior to their actual release. TV-only "runs" (arbitrarily deemed eligible) get a (†).
To Be Released
Movies I saw in 2026 which are still awaiting a U.S. release. Those known to have lined up distribution are indicated by a (→). Production {year} is listed if film is more than two years old.

A For All Time

A- Event

Chime (Kurosawa) 84

B+/A- Near Great

The Unknown (Harari) 79
The Currents (Mumenthaler) 78

B+ Must See

Bucking Fastard (Herzog) 75

B/B+ Warmly Recommended

The Christophers (Soderbergh) 70

B Recommended

The Diary of a Chambermaid (Jude) 68
Eagles of the Republic (Saleh) 68
Pompei: Below the Clouds (Rosi) 68
The Odyssey (Nolan) 68
Nirvanna the Band the Show the Movie (Johnson) 67
*Fiume o morte! (Bezinović) 67
Obsession (Barker) 67
Case 137 (Moll) 66
Tender Loving Care (Leigh) 66
Olmo (Eimbcke) 65
Carolina Caroline (Rehmeier) 65

B-/B Recommended with Mild Reservations

Tony (Johnson) 63
The Debut (Eisenberg) 63
It Ends (Ullom) 63
The Sheep Detectives (Balda) 62
The Little Sister (Herzi) 62
The Furious (Tanigaki) 61
A Long Winter (Haigh) 61
Minotaur (Zviaguintsev) 61
Everytime (Wollner) 60
Erupcja (Ohs) 60
The Last One for the Road (Sossai) 60
Rose of Nevada (Jenkin) 60

B- Recommended with Strong Reservations

Exit 8 (Kawamura) 59
The Beloved (Sorogoyen) 59
Chronovisor (Auen, Walker) 59
Paradise Lost (Yeon) 59
Everything Else Is Noise (Pereda) 58
Disclosure Day (Spielberg) 58
Possible Love (Lee) 58
The Love That Remains (Pálmason) 58
The Invite (Wilde) 57
Mad Bills to Pay (or Destiny, dile que no soy malo) (Vargas) 57
Wild Horse Nine (McDonagh) 57
Send Help (Raimi) 57
*The Samurai and the Prisoner (Kurosawa) 56
Once Upon a Time in Harlem (Greaves) 56
Blue Heron (Romvari) 56
Remake (McElwee) 56
*Late Fame (Jones) 55
Bitter Christmas (Almodóvar) 55
Billie Eilish: Hit Me Hard and Soft (Cameron, Eilish) 55
Fatherland (Pawlikowski) 55

C+/B- On the Fence, Leaning Forward

Backrooms (Parsons) 54
Misty Green (Rock) 54
Yes (Lapid) 54
Fjord (Mungiu) 53
Fuze (Mackenzie) 53
Two Prosecutors (Loznitsa) 53
The End of Oak Street (Mitchell) 52
La bola negra (Calvo, Ambrossi) 52
I Only Rest in the Storm (Pinho) 52
¡Viva Carmen! (Laudenbach) 51
Romería (Simón) 51
The Death of Robin Hood (Sarnoski) 51
Ghost Elephants (Herzog) 51

C+ Take It or Leave It

Miroirs no 3 (Petzold) 50
Kontinental '25 (Jude) 50
The Dreamed Adventure (Grisebach) 50
Joan of Arc (Pálmason) 50
Renoir (Hayakawa) 50
Faith (Williams) 48
The Julia Set (Byrne) 48
What Does That Nature Say to You (Hong) 47

C/C+ On the Fence, Leaning Backward

*Our Land (Martel) 46
Bad Lieutenant: Tokyo (Miike) 44
Three Kilometres to the End of the World (Pârvu) 44
Beating Hearts (Lellouche) 44
The Book of Solutions {2023} (Gondry) 43
Transamazonia (Marais) 43
The Wizard of the Kremlin (Assayas) 43
Young Mothers (Dardennes) 42
The Day She Returns (Hong) 42

C Pass

Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma (Schoenbrun) 41
Limonov. The Ballad (Serebrennikov) 41
Magellan (Diaz) 41
Project Hail Mary (Lord, Miller) 40
*Sheep in the Box (Kore-eda) 40
Hope (Na) 39

C- Ugh

Alpha (Ducournau) 34

D+ Double-Ugh

*The Fence (Denis) 26
The Most Precious of Cargoes (Hazanavicius) 25
Double Freedom (Alonso) 24

D Bomb

My Wife Cries (Schanelec) 6

F Burn the Negative

Walk-outs Channel Surfing

Babies (Rogen)
Bad Apples (Etzler)
The Bone Temple (DaCosta)
God Bless You, Mr. Kopu (Liu)
Good News (Byun)
Is God Is (Harris)
London (Brameshuber)
The Mysterious Gaze of the Flamingo (Céspedes)
Pillion (Lighton)
A Poet (Mesa Soto)
Tangles (Nelson)
Undertone (Tuason)

Incomplete Mishap/Bad Timing