An Odyssey, a Dunesday and Everything In-Between

While the first half of the year hasn’t given us an overabundance of masterpieces, it has been a banner year for genre entertainment. From the meteoric rise of YouTube creators turning out horror blockbusters like “Obsession,” “Backrooms” and “Iron Lung,” to the deeply touching, humanistic “The Sheep Detectives,” and the jaw-dropping maximalist brilliance of “I Love Boosters,” 2026 has belonged to filmmakers with uncompromising, highly specific visions. Still, it’s the back half of the year that has me truly enthusiastic about the state of cinema. The release schedule is jam-packed with exciting work from innovative artists around the world.

Let’s take a look at what’s to come.

July 17 — “The Odyssey”: For many, this is their most anticipated release of 2026 and I can’t blame them. Director Christopher Nolan has not only ushered an entire generation of film nerds into their cinematic obsessions with “Interstellar,” “The Dark Knight” and “Inception,” but he also tends to push filmmaking with each successive release. While I don’t think he’s without his misses (“The Dark Knight Rises” didn’t work for me as much as I hoped), his take on Homer’s epic looks like the kind of old-school spectacle filmmaking we so rarely get anymore.

Christopher Nolan’s “The Odyssey,” with Matt Damon, starts the second half of the year off in grand fashion. Credit: Syncopy

July 24 — “Her Private Hell”: Nicolas Winding Refn makes movies I either love or absolutely love to hate, which means I have to catch everything he puts his demented fingerprints on. This looks like another neon nightmare from the auteur of audaciousness. With Sophie Thatcher and Charles Melton starring, I’m on board no matter what the story is— which is good, because after watching the trailer three times, I still have no idea what it’s about. The film received dismal reviews out of Cannes, so temper those expectations if you’re an NWR fan.

July 31 — “Spider-Man: Brand New Day”: Yeah, yeah, I get it, it’s not cool to like Marvel movies anymore, but if you expect me not to be excited for a new Tom Holland and Zendaya “Spider-Man” movie, then you just don’t know me. Plus, this introduces Sadie Sink to the MCU (I’m almost positive she’s playing Jean Grey), features appearances from The Hulk and The Punisher and lands the director of “Shang-Chi” behind the camera. Sorry to be a bad film nerd, but I’m hyped for this one.

July 31 — “The Samurai and the Prisoner”: There are very few living filmmakers who remotely approach the brilliance of Kiyoshi Kurosawa. His latest, a samurai murder mystery set in the late 16th century, looks like yet another masterwork.

Aug. 7 — “Tony“: I didn’t realize I needed a biopic about a young Anthony Bourdain, but here we are. The film follows the pivotal period of his life in Provincetown, Massachusetts, where he fell in love with the intersection of food and writing while working for a chef who channelled his spiraling angst into a passion for cuisine. It looks fantastic and with Canadian filmmaker Matt (“Nirvanna the Band the Show the Movie”) Johnson directing, this has a chance of being something truly delectable.

Aug. 7 — “Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma”: One of my most anticipated films of the entire year is the third feature from indie auteur Jane Schoenbrun, starring Hannah Einbinder and Gillian Anderson. The movie looks like a love letter to filmmaking and 80s slasher flicks, so expect another gorgeously singular vision that makes little to no money.

Sept. 9 — “Hope”: This looks like an absolutely bonkers sci-fi alien invasion flick from Na Hong-jin, the South Korean madman behind “The Wailing” and “The Yellow Sea.” South Korean filmmakers—Na included—are routinely a few years ahead of the rest of the world when it comes to genre filmmaking, so expect this one to be a stunning work of pure imagination.

Oct. 9 — “Fjord”: Winner of the Palme d’Or at the 2026 Cannes Film Festival, “Fjord” appears to be another uncomfortably tense masterpiece from the great Romanian filmmaker Cristian Mungiu, Starring Sebastian Stan and the always astonishing Renate Reinsve, the film focuses on a family of five that relocates from Romania to the Norwegian fjords, only to be accused of “disturbing behavior.” I can’t wait for this one.

Oct. 23 — “Clayface,” “Klara and the Sun” and “Wildwood”: This singular calendar day features three separate releases I can’t wait to see. “Clayface” promises a body horror flick set in Batman’s Gotham City; “Klara and the Sun” is based on the gorgeous, heart-rending novel from Nobel Prize-winner Kazuo Ishiguro and “Wildwood” is the new stop-motion animated film from Portland’s own Laika studios, based on the children’s book by The Decemberists’ Colin Meloy. This will be a long, glorious day at the theater.

Nov. 6 — “Wild Horse Nine”: A new film from certified genius Martin (“Three Billboards”) McDonagh is always cause for celebration. This one looks even juicier with Sam Rockwell, John Malkovich and Steve Buscemi in front of the camera. Set on Easter Island just before the 1973 Chilean coup, expect an irreverent historical takedown from one of the sharpest Irish writers in history.

Nov. 20 — “Minotaur”: A Russian remake of Chabrol’s “The Unfaithful Wife” from masterful filmmaker Andrey Zvyagintsev? Shut up and take my money.

Nov. 25 — “The Adventures of Cliff Booth”: While I will always line up for whatever David Fincher cooks up, I still find it fascinatingly weird that he’s dipping his toes into the world of Quentin Tarantino for a Netflix movie that is only hitting IMAX theaters for a limited time. Call me cautiously optimistic.

Dec. 18 — “ Dune: Part Three” and “Avengers: Doomsday”: What is colloquially known as “Dunesday,” expect this to be the single busiest day movie theaters experience all year. Personally, I can’t wait to see Robert Downey Jr. back in the MCU or to find out how Denis Villeneuve is going to wrap up his beastly “Dune” franchise in one final film. Even if this represents the most predictable, corporate blockbuster day of the year, if it keeps movie theaters in business, I’m there with popcorn in hand.

What are you most excited to see in the second half of 2026??

A few others to look for:
July 24: “Sheep in the Box”
July 31: “I Want Your Sex” and “Terrestrial”
Aug. 14: “The End of Oak Street” and “The Rivals of Amziah King”
Aug. 28: “Coyote vs Acme,” “Colony” and “Idiots”
Sept. 4: “Onslaught”
Sept. 11: “Practical Magic 2”
Sept. 18: “Resident Evil” and “The Weight”
Sept. 25: “Your Mother Your Mother Your Mother
Oct. 2: “Digger”
Oct. 9: “The Social Reckoning”
Oct. 16: “Once Upon a Time in Harlem”
Nov. 6: “Godzilla Minus Zero”
Nov. 13: “The Great Beyond” and “Paper Tiger”
Nov. 20: “The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping”
Dec. 25: “Werwulf”