June 21st marks the summer solstice, and we’re just about halfway through 2026. Wow—time sure flies. Of course, most film fans know that the second half of the year, particularly the fourth quarter, tends to be when Hollywood loads up the release schedule with prestige fare and what they believe are the best movies of the year. But for my money, we’ve already had more than our fair share of good movies. As such, with the year half over, I figured now would be a good time to look back at the first half of the year and pick the ten best movies of the year—so far.
For readers looking for the short version, here are our picks for the ten best movies released during the first half of 2026 (listed in no particular order):
Honorable Mention: Nirvanna the Band the Show the Movie
Sometimes you want heart-wrenching stories packed with top-tier performances, but other times you just want to see people get kicked in the head. The latter wish is fulfilled in high style in director Kenji Tanigaki’s kick-ass The Furious. Xie Miao stars as a man trying to save his daughter from human traffickers, with The Raid’s Joe Taslim as a citizen journalist who—lucky for both of them—also turns out to be pretty nifty in a scrap. This is still playing in theaters and deserves to be seen on a big screen.
The fact that John Carney’s latest, starring Paul Rudd as a wedding singer whose composition is stolen by a pop star (played by Nick Jonas), has barely made a peep at the box office is a real shame. It’s a lovely, music-driven dramedy featuring one of Rudd’s best-ever performances. Hopefully, once it hits streaming, people will give it a shot.
Perhaps the same marketplace that doomed Power Ballad is responsible for 20th Century Studios’ big-budget action flick, Mike & Nick & Nick & Alice, going straight to streaming. If you haven’t seen it yet, you’re missing one of the better American-made action comedies in recent memory, featuring top-tier performances by Vince Vaughn (x2) and James Marsden. This is a total blast that you can find streaming on Hulu right now!
Another movie that all but died theatrically is Nia DaCosta’s follow-up to Danny Boyle’s 28 Years Later. Far better than the rather mediocre return to the franchise, this is elevated by two bravura performances from Ralph Fiennes and Jack O’Connell as they battle for the soul of Alfie Williams’ Spike. This film has the needle drop of the year—but I won’t spoil it for those of you who haven’t had the pleasure.
Just when you thought theatrical was dead comes Phil Lord and Christopher Miller’s Andy Weir adaptation, which was such a runaway hit that it’s finally making studios sit up and take notice. Maybe franchises aren’t the answer after all, with Ryan Gosling’s old-fashioned star power and special effects that don’t rely solely on CGI helping this become the breakout hit of the year.
Sadly, that magic didn’t save Amazon/MGM’s way-better-than-expected He-Man reboot. This absolutely fell flat at the box office, but as far as big-budget tentpole movies go, this is the most entertaining one of the summer (so far), with it being everything Disney’s The Mandalorian and Grogu should have been. Hopefully, once it hits streaming, it finds an audience, even if a return to Eternia anytime soon seems like the longest of long shots.
Another director who had a major comeback earlier this year was Sam Raimi, whose ghoulish survival thriller, Send Help, was a smash and offered star Rachel McAdams one of the best roles of her career. This is a slam-bang thriller chock-full of groovy and gory Sam Raimi moments. More stuff like this on the big screen, please!
It’s a shame that Black Bear’s Tuner isn’t getting the audience it deserves, as it was a real crowd-pleaser when I saw it at TIFF last year. Leo Woodall probably scored his Hunt for Gollum role thanks to his star-making performance as a piano prodigy turned tuner turned safecracker, with Dustin Hoffman having a nice role as his mentor.
True story: I missed the world premiere of this at TIFF. I blew if off for a higher profile movie, and when I finally saw it at SXSW I knew I had made a huge mistake. While the hype factor may be leading to a bit of a backlash, the fact is Curry Barker’s movie more than delivers the goods, and Inde Navarrette delivers the performance of the year. All that said, could I have predicted it would become one of the biggest horror hits of all time? Definitely not – but it deserves to be the phenomenon it is.
Another movie that unfairly died at the box office is Gore Verbinski’s return to directing with this AI action-thriller. Sam Rockwell has a part that’s tailor-made for him in a movie that feels almost like The Terminator or The Matrix for the AI age. Don’t read too much about this one—go in blind. I guarantee you’ll dig it.
Another small-scale breakout this year—at least in the U.S.—was Matt Johnson’s Nirvanna the Band the Show the Movie. I say it was small-scale in the U.S., but it’s currently the highest-grossing Canadian film of the year in Canada, with it having swept the Canadian Screen Awards. Even if you know nothing about the TV show this is based on, give it a shot—it’s the best comedy of the year.
Our picks for the best movies released during the first half of 2026 are The Furious, Power Ballad, Mike & Nick & Nick & Alice, 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple, Project Hail Mary, Masters of the Universe, Send Help, Tuner, Obsession, and Good Luck Have Fun Don’t Die.
The Furious stands out thanks to its exceptional fight choreography, emotional story, and standout performances from Xie Miao and Joe Taslim.
Obsession earns that distinction thanks to its strong critical reception, breakout performances, and massive impact with horror audiences.
Project Hail Mary is our choice, combining big-screen spectacle, strong storytelling, and one of the year’s most successful theatrical runs.
Power Ballad, Tuner, Good Luck Have Fun Don’t Die, and Masters of the Universe all deserved larger audiences than they received during their initial releases.
Masters of the Universe exceeded expectations by delivering an entertaining fantasy adventure that won over many skeptical viewers.
If you missed them in theaters, Mike & Nick & Nick & Alice, Power Ballad, Tuner, and Good Luck Have Fun Don’t Die are all excellent options to seek out on streaming platforms.
The first half of 2026 has been marked by the success of original films, strong horror releases, filmmaker-driven genre movies, and several acclaimed titles that unfortunately struggled at the box office despite positive reviews.
No. The films are presented in no particular order. This list highlights the ten movies we believe have been the strongest releases of 2026 so far.
While there are many contenders, the second half of the year is expected to bring many of the major prestige releases and awards-season contenders that traditionally dominate year-end discussions.
What’s your favorite movie of the year? Let us know in the comments!