The cinema of 2026, the year in which Hollywood takes a gamble

BarcelonaWhile the dispute is ongoing the battle between Netflix and Paramount to control Warner —responsible for some $3.7 billion in global box office revenue in 2025, no small feat—, the film industry is preparing to recapture a post-pandemic box office that continues to struggle. In 2026, Hollywood will pull out all the stops with releases designed to attract a wide audience and revitalize the theatrical experience. There will also be, as always, films seeking artistic acclaim. And new works from directors such as Albert Serra, Greta Gerwig, Pedro Almodóvar, Christopher Nolan, and Steven Spielberg.

Nolan's Odyssey

After finally conquering the Oscars with OppenheimerChristopher Nolan's legs certainly won't tremble at the challenge of adapting Homer. The Odyssey (July 17) will be their version of the return to Ithaca of a humanized Odysseus played by Matt Damon, and the first film shot entirely on 70mm Imax cameras. Classic epic with the volume at eleven.

Spielberg looks to space again

That the director ofClose Encounters of the Third Phase and ET The release of a new film about the discovery of extraterrestrial life is, of course, a major event. Disclosure day (The Day of Revelation to the State) will arrive on June 12th starring Emily Blunt and Josh O'Connor, who in 2026 has two other important premieres: the romantic drama The history of sound (20/2) and the thriller Joel Coen's gothic style Jack of Spades.

Towards a new Barbenheimer?

If Disney or Warner don't back down, two of the biggest popular film bets of 2026 will premiere on December 18th: Avengers: Doomsday, the Avengers reunite seven years afterEndgame, and Dune 3...the conclusion to the messianic science fiction trilogy directed by Denis Villeneuve. Place your bets: Doomsdune? Duneday? Avendune? Dunevengers?

Marvel is betting everything on one card

With an audience increasingly fed up with the Marvel formula and a box office that no longer even responds to films as worthy as Thunderbolts either Fantastic FourThe studio is betting everything on the card ofAvengers: DoomsdayThe return of all the stars of the Marvel superhero galaxy. The other highly anticipated return is that of Tom Holland's Spider-Man, who in Brand new day (July 31st) marks the beginning of a new era, independent of the Marvel Cinematic Universe continuity. Meanwhile, DC maintains a low profile with risky bets such as Supergirl (June 26) and the great unknown of Clayface (September 11), based on a Batman enemy.

Zendaya and Anne Hathaway multiply

In 2026, we'll have plenty of opportunities to see these two actresses. Zendaya will be the goddess Athena in The Odyssey, the consort of Emperor Timothée Chalamet in Dune 3, the MJ of Spiderman: Brand New Day and Robert Pattinson's partner in the romantic comedy The drama (May 29); in addition, it will premiere a new season ofEuphoriaAnne Hathaway will also appear in The Odyssey (she will be Penelope) and she will be a pop star in Mother Mary; In addition, she will star alongside Meryl Streep. The Devil Wears Prada 2 (April 30) the drama bearing the signature of author Colleen Hoover Verity (October 2) and the science fiction film Flowervale Street (August 14) from director David Robert Mitchell (It follows).

Festival meat

Art house cinema will continue to fuel the programming of major festivals. Rumors are already circulating that Nanni Moretti's new films will be screened at Cannes.It will happen tonight, with Catalan co-production and filmed partly in the Basque Country), the two-time Palme d'Or winner Ruben Östlund (The entertainment system is down, with Keanu Reeves), the Oscar-winning Asghar Farhadi (Parallel Histories, which brings together Catherine Deneuve and Isabelle Huppert), Terrence Malick (The last planet, about the life of Jesus), Arthur Harari (The unknown, which adapts The best comic of 2025 according to the ARA), James Gray (Tiger Paper, with Scarlett Johansson and Adam Driver), Nicolas Winding Refn (Her private hell) and, of course, theBitter Christmas (March 20) by Pedro Almodóvar, starring Leonardo Sbaraglia and Bárbara Lennie.

Stars in top form

Is it time for Tom Cruise to win an Oscar (not an honorary one)? The actor will premiere in 2026. DiggerA "comedy of catastrophic proportions" directed by Alejandro González Iñárritu. Another mature star, Brad Pitt, who, with a script by Tarantino and direction by David Fincher, will resume his career in The Adventures of Cliff Booth the character for which he won an Oscar in Once upon a time in HollywoodMore handsome: Ryan Gosling goes science fiction in Project Salvation (March 20) and Jacob Elordi will be Heathcliff in the new Wuthering Heights (February 13) (with Margot Robbie and music by Charlie XCX) and will star with Margaret Qualley in the thriller science fiction The dog stars (August 28), directed by Ridley Scott, who at 88 years old doesn't stop.

Catalan cinema, aiming to maintain its winning streak

Catalan cinema could return to the Cannes Film Festival if Albert Serra finishes editing his film on time.Out of this worldwhich stars, among others, American actress Riley Keough. Also coming in 2026 is... the documentary by José Luis Guerin Stories from the Good Valley (February 6), the drama based on the true tragedy of Balandrau (February 20), the time-loop fantasy comedy Five more minutes, with Berto Ruiz and directed by Javier Ruiz Caldera, and the surprising change of register of the director of House on fire. In The director (November 27), Dani de la Orden will adapt the memoirs of the former director ofThe World David Jiménez. In addition, two films about the 2017 Barcelona and Cambrils attacks will premiere: the thriller with Enric Auquer Cronos (September 10) on the police operation to arrest the perpetrators of the attacks, and the drama The gap, about the social environment of Ripoll in which the teenagers responsible for the massacre became radicalized.

Franchises, adaptations, biopics

Today, Hollywood remains the realm of IP (intellectual property), and none is more powerful than Star Wars, which had been away from cinemas for seven years. Now it returns with Mandalorian and Grogu (May 22), which doesn't come from a galaxy far, far away but from Disney+, where the adventures of Mando and Baby Yoda were born as a series. We will also see the return of director Greta Gerwig (Barbie) with an adaptation of The Chronicles of Narnia Produced by Netflix, Zach Cregger's leap of ambition (Weapons) as director of the new Resident Evil and new installments ofThe Hunger Game, Mortal Kombat, Jumanji, Street Fighter and the film adaptation of the series Peaky BlindersIn 2026 the pace slows down biopicsThe Michael Jackson biopic will finally premiere (starring his nephew and with the approval of the Jackson clan) while the Ronnie Spector biopic with Zendaya and the Abba biopic directed by Ridley Scott have just finished filming (this man really doesn't stop).

Animation, the goose that lays the golden eggs

Hollywood is lucky to have animation, a haven for family audiences that guarantees box office success. The most anticipated title is... Toy Story 5 (June 19), but the original Pixar film will also arrive in 2026. Hoppers (March 6) and new installments of the Minions (July 1), Super Mario Galaxy (April 1), Angry Birds (December 23) and Tadeo Jones (August 26). There will be no shortage deli as Wildwood, adventure stop-motion With the Laika studio's seal of approval, and the adaptation of Amélie Nothomb's literary universe Little Amélie (February 13). But the big news is the premiere of Coyote vs. Acmo (August 28), who has escaped in extremis from the drawer in which Warner executives stored it in 2023 when, already completed, they preferred to indefinitely cancel the premiere to save 30 million in taxes.

The classic monsters are back

After reviewing vampire films with NosferatuRobert Eggers will tackle the werewolf myth in Werwulf. Frankenstein It was already revived in 2025 thanks to Del Toro, but now Maggie Gyllenhaal will resurrect the creature's girlfriend in The bride! (March 6), starring Jessie Buckley and Christian Bale. And Barcelona native Laia Costa leads the cast of a new version of The MummyIn 2026 we'll have a new Shyamalan, the thriller supernatural Remain (October 23), but co-written with the author of bestsellers romantic Nicholas Sparks, and the big sensation of the last Sitges, the pitch-black Obsession (May 29), which subverts the codes of romantic comedy in a gory way indieOf course, new installments of franchises like Insidious, Terrifier, Silent Night (December 4) and the veteran Scream (February 27), which is already on its seventh part; its parody Scary movie The sixth installment will premiere (June 12).