2026 Fall/Winter Movie Preview
From revisiting classics and blockbuster series to casting well-known stars in surprising new roles, the 2026 fall/winter season promises something for everyone.
It’s still the Dog Days of summer but the cooler days of fall are just around the corner and with that, new movies are also on the horizon. This year the box office has seemed to shake some of the post-COVID doldrums, with some films, including Michael, crossing the billion dollar mark globally. Will there be some box office juggernauts during the fall? Only time will tell, but there’s sure to be plenty of entertainment for all.
Resident Evil - Zach Cregger adds his unique vision to Resident Evil, based on the popular film franchise and legendary Capcom game franchise. A follow up to his Academy Award winning film Weapons, the film stars Austin Abrams, Paul Walter Hauser, and Zach Cherry and is set at an isolated hospital during winter. The Sony Pictures Releasing film will be in theaters September 18.
Heart of the Beast - Fresh off the tracks of F1, Brad Pitt has to now survive in the Alaska wilderness with his combat dog Odin. As Special Forces officer James Belmont, Pitt's biggest battle is against nature’s elements. The trek also tests the bond between man and his best friend. Directed by David Ayer (The Beekeeper, Fury), this intense survival tale from Paramount Pictures hits screens on September 25.
Victorian Psycho - Zachary Wigon’s (Sanctuary) latest film stars Maika Monroe, Jason Isaacs, and Thomasin McKenzie. It’s a gothic horror tale set in the mid-1800s where Monroe plays a governess who may not be quite what she seems. What could she be? This is just in time for Halloween! The Bleeker Street film will be in theaters September 25.
Digger - Tom Cruise has been an action star for a long time, doing death-defying stunts in the Mission Impossible franchise and running from and towards danger in other films (War of the Worlds, Edge of Tomorrow). However, he can do more than that, which he will remind us of with his upcoming film Digger. Directed by award winning director Alejandro G. Iñárritu (Amores Perros, 21 Grams), Cruise plays the most powerful man in the world. His mission is to stop a disaster he unleashed before it destroys humanity. The cast also includes John Goodman, Riz Ahmed, Sandra Hüller, Jesse Plemons, and Michael Stahlberg. The Warner Bros. Pictures and Legendary Pictures release will be in theaters and on IMAX October 2.
Ebenezer: A Christmas Carol - Just in time for Thanksgiving, Johnny Depp returns to the big screen as classic holiday curmudgeon Ebenezer Scrooge. Ti West’s (House of the Devil, Pearl) version will introduce us to Scrooge before he was Scrooge. It also stars Rupert Grint, Andrea Riseborough, Sam Claflin, Daisy Ridley, Arthur Conti, Ellie Bamber, Henry Lloyd-Hughes, Charlie Murphy, Tramell Tillman, and Ian McKellen. The Paramount Pictures release will be in theaters on November 13.
Dune: Part 3 - The Dune films have become a staple of the holiday season and closing out Denis Villeneuve’s majestic trilogy, Dune: Part 3 continues Paul Atreides’(Timothée Chalamet) gripping saga, set twenty years after Atreides seized Imperium. The cast includes Zendaya, Javier Bardem, Rebecca Ferguson, Florence Pugh, Jason Momoa, Anya Taylor-Joy, Isaach de Bankolé, Robert Pattinson, and Charlotte Rampling. Warner Bros. Pictures and Legendary Pictures continue the hero's journey on December 18 in theaters and in IMAX.
Werwulf - Robert Eggers’ Werwulf is the anti-Christmas tale that’s his medieval offering for the holiday season. Starring Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Willem Dafoe, and Jack Morris, the film’s set in the 13th century and will be in Middle English. It promises to be a grisly, cinematic follow-up to Nosferatu. Universal Pictures’ and Focus Features’ Werwulf rages into theaters on Christmas day, December 25.
Sonya Alexander started off her career training to be a talent agent. She eventually realized she was meant to be on the creative end and has been writing ever since. As a freelance writer she’s written screenplays, covered film, television, music and video games and done academic writing. She’s also been a script reader for over twenty years. She's a member of the African American Film Critics Association and currently resides in Los Angeles.
