Top Films of 2026

 Top Films of 2026


Honorable Mentions


Project Hail Mary - Dir. Phil Lord & Christopher Miller


Because of what some might describe as 'hope-core' thematic messaging, Phil Lord and Christopher Miller's 2026 film "Project Hail Mary" might feel like a bit of a throwback. However, the film managed to win over both critics and audiences alike, making it a much-needed film for our times. The film stars the incomparable Ryan Gosling as Ryland, a middle school science teacher who is tasked with 'saving the world,' and perhaps even other worlds in the process. The film's themes inspire a message of unity with our fellow human (and even non-humans). In facing catastrophic dangers, the only way to survive is if we trust one another and have each other's back. Although these themes can be a bit elementary, their execution in "Project Hail Mary" make it one of the hits of the year.



RANKED:


2. Backrooms - Dir. Kane Parsons


One of the more interesting developments in the cinematic landscape of 2026 are YouTube filmmakers making their feature-length film debuts. Kane Parsons, the only 20-year-old Youtuber known for making his creepy web series "The Backrooms," adapted his now iconic world to the big screen. 2026's "Backrooms" not only drew in record numbers of young adults to the theaters, it made a phenomenal splash with all audiences. The reason for this success stems from the film's ability to present ideas and concepts usually occupied by nostalgia and turning them into something far creepier. Liminal space and analog horror are new trends with modern audiences - perhaps because they've grown sick of looking at the past with the rose-colored glasses of nostalgia. This nostalgia is replaced by terror in "Backrooms," which psychologically examines how the past can actually be distorted and the realms of memory can be altered and adjusted. Our memories will come back to haunt us. And the current generation doesn't look at the past in the same way the nostalgia-ridden older generations do. To the current generation, we've distorted and uglified it to cover up our mistakes and trauma.





1. The Odyssey - Dir. Christopher Nolan


After the monumental success of his 2023 film "Oppenheimer," Christopher Nolan decided to go even bigger with the oldest recorded story in human history: Homer's "The Odyssey." A journey with sirens, cyclops, and other folklore, Nolan's interpretation was filmed in the most blockbuster way possible: on IMAX. Sure, the story is about a long voyage home, but its thematic underpinnings seem to posit the film very aptly after "Oppenheimer" in Nolan's discography. While "Oppenheimer" was about humanity's race towards destruction, "The Odyssey" is about what we do after. The epic journey is told as vividly and cinematically as possible, but its macro gives way to the micro. At its heart, its about a man's reconciliation with himself - and the increasingly cascading effects of his actions. A timely film, "The Odyssey" posits to its audience how we ethically and morally behave in a landscape void of morality itself. 



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