As 2026 approaches its final weeks, there is still plenty to catch up on, both in cinemas and at home. The year’s releases have included Christopher Nolan’s adaptation of The Odyssey, Ryan Gosling’s science-fiction adventure Project Hail Mary and the return of some of cinema’s biggest franchises.
Beyond the blockbusters, directors including Sam Raimi, Kristoffer Borgli and Nia DaCosta have delivered new thrillers and horror films, while Pixar has returned with Hoppers and Toy Story 5. November and December bring another wave of releases, from the latest Hunger Games prequel to David Fincher’s new film with Brad Pitt.
Whether you’re catching up on films you missed or planning your next cinema visit, these are 20 titles to have on your watchlist before 2026 ends. Some are already available for home viewing, while others are scheduled to arrive in UK cinemas over the coming weeks.
Project Hail Mary
Ryan Gosling plays Ryland Grace, a science teacher who wakes aboard a spacecraft with no memory of how he arrived there. As he gradually recalls his mission, he discovers that the future of life on Earth depends on his ability to solve an extraordinary scientific problem.
Directed by Phil Lord and Christopher Miller and adapted from Andy Weir’s novel, Project Hail Mary combines the scale of a space adventure with a more personal story about survival, communication and friendship. Gosling brings humour and vulnerability to a character facing an almost impossible task, giving the film an emotional centre beyond its scientific premise.
Where to watch: Released in March 2026. Check current UK digital rental and purchase services.
The Odyssey
Christopher Nolan brings Homer’s ancient Greek epic to the screen, with Matt Damon playing Odysseus and an ensemble including Anne Hathaway, Tom Holland, Zendaya and Robert Pattinson. Shot using IMAX film cameras, the adaptation brings Nolan’s large-scale filmmaking to one of literature’s most enduring stories.
Rather than revisiting the film’s mythology and characters in detail, readers can explore the story in STORY’s The Odyssey: Everything You Need To Know Before Watching, which examines the original poem, the major characters and the events surrounding Odysseus’s journey home.
Where to watch: Released in cinemas in July 2026. Check current UK home-viewing listings.
28 Years Later: The Bone Temple
Nia DaCosta directs the next chapter of the post-apocalyptic horror series, with Ralph Fiennes returning as Dr Ian Kelson. The film continues the story of a Britain transformed by the Rage Virus, where isolated communities have developed their own disturbing ways of surviving.
Written by Alex Garland, The Bone Temple looks beyond the infected to examine the behaviour of the people still living in this world. The violence and beliefs of its surviving characters bring a different form of danger to the franchise, making the human relationships as unsettling as the horror itself.
Where to watch: Released in January 2026. Check UK home-viewing services.
Send Help
Rachel McAdams and Dylan O’Brien star as two colleagues stranded on a remote island following a plane crash. Their relationship is already difficult before the accident, but survival changes the balance of power between them when practical ability becomes more important than professional status.
Directed by Sam Raimi, Send Help combines a survival thriller with the director’s familiar dark humour. McAdams plays an overlooked employee whose skills prove essential, while O’Brien’s character struggles to adapt to circumstances in which his authority means very little. Their changing relationship drives the film as much as the danger of the island.
Where to watch: Released in January 2026. Check UK digital services.
Hoppers
Pixar’s Hoppers follows Mabel, a young animal enthusiast who uses technology to transfer her consciousness into a lifelike robotic beaver. Able to communicate directly with animals, she discovers a world threatened by human development and becomes involved in an effort to protect it.
Directed by Daniel Chong, the film brings together an environmental story and Pixar’s imaginative approach to animation. Piper Curda voices Mabel, with Bobby Moynihan as King George and Jon Hamm as Mayor Jerry Generazzo. Its inventive premise, energetic comedy and attention to animal behaviour make it a strong family choice.
Where to watch: Disney+ and digital home viewing. See the official Pixar film page for viewing options.
Obsession
Writer-director Curry Barker’s supernatural horror begins with a young man desperate to win the affection of his friend. When Bear uses a mysterious object known as the One Wish Willow, his romantic wish appears to come true, but its consequences are considerably more disturbing than he anticipated.
Michael Johnston and Inde Navarrette lead a film that transforms unrequited love into a story about possession, emotional control and the danger of forcing another person’s affection. Its premise gives an unsettling edge to a familiar romantic situation without depending entirely on conventional supernatural scares.
Where to watch: Check current UK digital services and the Focus Features film page.
Backrooms
Internet horror reaches the big screen in Backrooms, directed by Kane Parsons, whose online videos helped establish the unsettling world of apparently endless rooms and corridors. The film follows the discovery of an impossible network of interior spaces where familiar surroundings become increasingly threatening.
With Renate Reinsve and Chiwetel Ejiofor among the cast, the film draws its tension from isolation, disorientation and the uncertainty of what lies beyond the next doorway. Its deliberately ordinary-looking spaces give the horror an unusual quality, turning empty offices and artificial lighting into sources of unease.
Where to watch: Check current UK cinema and digital listings. Further details are available from A24.
Toy Story 5
Woody, Buzz Lightyear and Jessie return for another adventure in Toy Story 5, this time facing a challenge from Lilypad, a tablet that begins changing the way Bonnie plays. The arrival of digital entertainment creates a new problem for the toys, whose purpose has always depended on their relationship with a child.
Directed by Andrew Stanton, the film brings the franchise’s themes of friendship and growing up into a contemporary setting. Tom Hanks, Tim Allen and Joan Cusack return to the voice cast, while Greta Lee voices Lilypad. The tension between traditional toys and technology gives the fifth instalment a distinctly modern premise.
For other film and television recommendations, STORY’s September watch guide offers a separate selection of viewing suggestions.
Where to watch: Disney+ and digital home viewing. Visit the official Disney and Pixar film page.
Spider-Man: Brand New Day
Tom Holland returns as Peter Parker, now living in a world where nobody remembers his identity. Without the personal relationships that previously supported him, Peter continues fighting crime as Spider-Man while trying to build a different life.
Directed by Destin Daniel Cretton, Brand New Day moves the character into a more independent stage of adulthood, with new threats emerging as Peter confronts the consequences of his earlier decisions. Zendaya returns as MJ, alongside familiar and new faces in the Marvel universe.
Outside the film itself, Zendaya’s appearances during the promotional campaign offered another point of interest. STORY has covered the fashion in Zendaya’s Spider-Man: Brand New Day press-tour outfits, including looks selected with stylist Law Roach.
Where to watch: Released in July 2026. See Sony Pictures for home-release information.
The Drama
Zendaya and Robert Pattinson play an engaged couple whose relationship changes dramatically after an unexpected revelation shortly before their wedding. What begins as a seemingly straightforward romantic situation develops into a much more uncomfortable examination of trust.
Written and directed by Kristoffer Borgli, The Drama uses awkward humour and emotional tension to question how much two people can know about one another. Its interest lies in the way a single disclosure affects the couple’s understanding of their relationship, creating uncertainty at the point when they are preparing to make a lifelong commitment.
Where to watch: Check current UK digital availability and the A24 film page.
The Invite
Olivia Wilde directs and stars alongside Seth Rogen, Penélope Cruz and Edward Norton in The Invite, a comedy-drama centred on a dinner gathering involving two couples. As the evening develops, the conversation exposes tensions that have been kept beneath the surface of their relationships.
The film uses its limited setting and ensemble performances to examine marriage, dissatisfaction and the difference between private feelings and social appearances. Its focus on changing relationships offers an alternative to the more elaborate productions elsewhere on this list.
Where to watch: Check UK cinema and home-viewing availability through A24.
Disclosure Day
Steven Spielberg returns to science fiction with Disclosure Day, starring Emily Blunt, Josh O’Connor and Colin Firth. The story centres on the possibility that humanity is about to confront evidence of extraterrestrial life, raising questions about what such a discovery would mean for the wider world.
Spielberg has explored encounters with the unknown throughout his career, from Close Encounters of the Third Kind to War of the Worlds. His return to the subject brings a familiar interest in extraordinary events experienced through human relationships, with the film’s central revelation carrying implications beyond its immediate characters.
Where to watch: Released in June 2026. Check current UK digital and home-viewing services. Further information is available from Amblin.
Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man
Cillian Murphy returns as Tommy Shelby in the feature-film continuation of Peaky Blinders. Set against the backdrop of the Second World War, the story brings the former Birmingham gang leader back into a world shaped by political conflict, family loyalties and the consequences of his past.
Directed by Tom Harper and written by series creator Steven Knight, The Immortal Man expands the original television drama while retaining the character at its centre. Rebecca Ferguson, Tim Roth and Sophie Rundle also appear, bringing established and new figures into Tommy’s increasingly complicated world.
Where to watch: Netflix. Released on the service on 20 March 2026.
The Sheep Detectives
A flock of sheep becomes involved in solving a crime in The Sheep Detectives, a mystery comedy built around an unlikely group of investigators. Having listened to detective novels read aloud by their shepherd, the animals attempt to apply their understanding of human behaviour when an unexpected death disrupts their familiar surroundings.
The film takes the conventions of the traditional whodunnit and approaches them from the perspective of animals who have learned about crime through stories rather than experience. Its playful premise and ensemble of characters make it a lighter alternative to the year’s darker mysteries and thrillers.
Where to watch: Released in UK cinemas in May 2026. Check current digital rental and purchase listings.
You Can See Everything
Nathan Fielder and Lance Oppenheim turn their attention to Elizabeth Holmes, the former Theranos founder convicted of fraud, in a documentary that examines the complicated relationship between a filmmaker and the person being filmed.
Beginning shortly before Holmes enters prison, the project questions how documentary footage can influence public perceptions of truth and personality. The unusual circumstances of the filming become part of the story, offering a different perspective on a subject already familiar from news reporting and earlier screen productions.
Where to watch: Scheduled for UK cinemas on 20 November 2026. Further information from A24.
The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping
The Hunger Games returns to Panem with a new prequel following a young Haymitch Abernathy during the 50th Hunger Games. Set years before Katniss Everdeen’s story, Sunrise on the Reaping explores the events that shaped the character who would later become her mentor.
Joseph Zada plays Haymitch, with Francis Lawrence returning to direct the adaptation of Suzanne Collins’ novel. The story expands the franchise’s history through another competition shaped by political control, public spectacle and survival, while introducing an earlier generation of characters.
Where to watch: Scheduled for UK cinemas on 20 November 2026.
The Further Mis-Adventures of Cliff Booth
Brad Pitt returns as Cliff Booth, the stuntman introduced in Quentin Tarantino’s Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. The new film, directed by David Fincher from a screenplay by Tarantino, moves the character into Los Angeles in 1977, where his work increasingly involves resolving problems for people within the entertainment industry.
The story introduces new figures played by Elizabeth Debicki, Scott Caan, Carla Gugino and Yahya Abdul-Mateen II. Murder, blackmail and the changing world of Hollywood provide the backdrop, bringing Cliff into a crime story distinct from the historical setting of the original film. The collaboration between Fincher, Tarantino and Pitt is one of the main reasons to watch.
Where to watch: An IMAX theatrical run is scheduled from 25 November 2026, followed by Netflix on 23 December. See Netflix’s official preview.
Hexed
Disney Animation’s Hexed follows Billie, a teenager whose unexpected magical abilities introduce her to a hidden world of witchcraft. Her discovery also draws her mother, Alice, into an adventure that reveals the family’s connection to a much larger magical realm.
Hailee Steinfeld voices Billie and Rashida Jones plays Alice, with Jodie Foster among the film’s voice cast. The original animated feature combines family relationships with fantasy adventure, providing one of the major family cinema releases in the weeks leading up to Christmas.
Where to watch: Scheduled for UK cinemas on 27 November 2026. Visit Disney’s official film page.
Dune: Part Three
Denis Villeneuve returns to Arrakis for the third instalment of his adaptation of Frank Herbert’s science-fiction novels. Timothée Chalamet reprises his role as Paul Atreides, with Zendaya returning as Chani, following the dramatic political and religious changes of the previous films.
With the consequences of Paul’s rise to power now central to the story, Part Three moves the franchise into another stage of its complex political world. Villeneuve’s use of imposing landscapes, elaborate production design and carefully constructed sound has become central to the series, making its conclusion one of the most anticipated cinema events of December.
Where to watch: Scheduled for UK cinemas on 18 December 2026. See the official Dune website.
Avengers: Doomsday
Marvel Studios brings together another large ensemble for Avengers: Doomsday, directed by Anthony and Joe Russo. Robert Downey Jr. returns to the Marvel Cinematic Universe in the role of Doctor Doom, marking a significant change from his previous portrayal of Tony Stark.
The film brings together characters from different parts of Marvel’s expanding universe, setting up another major confrontation across the franchise. Scheduled for release on the same day as Dune: Part Three, it is one of the biggest theatrical releases planned for the Christmas period.
Where to watch: Scheduled for UK cinemas on 18 December 2026. Official information from Marvel Studios and Disney.
