Is 2026 the year of the horror movie? The genre got off to a wild start with Sinners and Weapons scoring big on the awards circuit, capping off their runs with Oscar wins for Michael B. Jordan and Amy Madigan, respectively. They broke through a wall that caught a seemingly unstoppable Demi Moore in her tracks only a year earlier.
Horror flicks show a genre in top form, if not over-performing, this year. 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple had us running back for more, especially with Ralph Fiennes’ brilliant lead performance keeping the zombie saga grounded. Meanwhile, Sundance breakout Leviticus showed how old conventions could be flipped on their head with its brooding re-imaging of queer representation in horror and Undertone demonstrated how the most terrifying images can be ones that movies force us to create in our own minds.
Meanwhile, Backrooms and Obsession are making serious bank while proving that audiences actually want to see something original. One can argue they both carry a whiff of over-hype, but these modest productions drawing in huge crowds are a breakthrough that independent film really needs right now. With so many conventional studio tentpole releases delivering boring, brain-rotting junk (The Mandalorian and Grogu, Supergirl), Hollywood needs the shake-up.
2026 also marks a great year for our national cinema. For a while, it felt like Canadian film peaked in 2014, but some significant works from the new Toronto new wave crew show our filmmakers bringing fresh eyes to the scene. Films like Sophy Romvari’s Blue Heron, Matt Johnson’s Nirvanna the Band the Show the Movie, and Chandler Levack’s Mile End Kicks all have respectable fan bases and top-of-the-year scores on Letterboxd. Meanwhile, some of the year’s best American films have Canadians at the helm, with Jack Weisman and Gabriela Osio Vanden’s Nuisance Bear cleaning up big at Sundance and Oscar winner Daniel Roher making a dazzling dramatic debut with Tuner.
All That Shelf contributors were invited to submit their picks for the five best films of 2026 so far, encompassing both festival premieres and commercial releases. We also invited writers to pick the standout performance of the year, the movie that flopped the hardest, and the film they’re most looking forward to in the year ahead. –Pat Mullen
The Best Films of 2026 so Far
Emma Badame
1. Late Shift
Filmmaker Petra Volpe’s feature shines a spotlight on the human side of the growing global healthcare crisis and the toll on those trying to hold it together as it crumbles around them. Lead Leonie Benesch is on screen every minute, and her performance is truly exceptional. She impressively balances palpable frustration, emotional heartache, extreme competence and pure exhaustion, and it’s impossible not to root for her–and through her, healthcare workers everywhere. Volpe’s direction impressively imbues the action with tension from beginning to end, and manages to paint everyone as three-dimensional, no matter how small the role. It also contains one of the best final moments you will see in 2026.
2. Project Hail Mary
A pretty much perfect adaptation of Andy Weir’s sci-fi fantasy epic. It’s Ryan Gosling at his most likable, and also showcases great work from director duo Lord and Miller, and screenwriter Drew Goddard. Given the recently renewed interest in space travel sparked by NASA’s amazing Artemis II mission, it’s hard to think of a film better positioned to capitalize on it.
3. King Hamlet
Oscar Isaac is a fascinating actor, no matter the material. But this documentary–10 years in the making–follows the actor as he takes on the Bard’s most intimidating role (Hamlet), while coping with his mother’s passing and the birth of his first child. It’s a personal, emotional, and fascinating look at what goes into each and every performance.
4. Miroirs No. 3
This under-the-radar film made the rounds of last year’s festival circuit but deserved far more notice than it received. German director Christian Petzold’s dreamy contemplation on grief and survival will stick with you long after it ends.
5. The Christophers
Another one that really went under the radar. Largely a two-hander with Ian McKellen and Michaela Coel, the two actors demonstrate why they elevate every project they’re involved with. And did we mention it’s directed by Steven Soderbergh? Bonus points for casting Jessica Gunning, too.
Best Performance: Leonie Benesch, as mentioned above!
The Flop: “Wuthering Heights.” Was really looking forward to this one, and it just didn’t connect for me… but kudos to anyone taking big swings with storytelling right now.
Most Anticipated: The Odyssey. Nolan, myth…possible legend?
Colin Biggs
1. The Drama
You can never know your partner—not completely. For Charlie (Robert Pattinson) and Emma (Zendaya), that disconnect turns into an existential threat. After too many glasses of wine and a pushy friend insists that newlyweds-to-be share the worst thing they ever did, a chasm develops between the young lovers. A loaded premise such as this one could turn potentially overwrought, but in the hands of Kristoffer Borgli (Dream Scenario), it renders viewers simultaneously side-split, terrified, and, maybe, a little afraid to look too long at their partner next to them. It might have the lowest stakes of any movie I watched this year, but for Emma and Charlie, it was monumental.
2. Backrooms
At just 20, Kane Parsons evokes The Shining by using space to terrify the viewer. Continuous halls lead to a labyrinth of showrooms and corridors without end. A reminder of what once was becomes a failed promise; a future that won’t come to pass. The good times have passed and, eventually, we’ll be nothing. We have to learn to live in this weird in-between.
3. Is God Is
Aleshea Harris’ debut film is her acclaimed play brought to the big screen. The heightened reality of the images onscreen and the characters we see lends a mythic quality to the proceedings. Revenge is rarely this rich with empathy.
4. Good Luck, Have Fun, Don’t Die
In a year where so many headlines kept me awake at night, it was nice to have Guy Verbinski bottle all those fears and spray them directly into Sam Rockwell’s exasperated face. The man is a comic beast.
5. Project Hail Mary
Look, I’d love to say that the karaoke scene didn’t get me or that the optimism of another Andy Weir adaptation (remember The Martian?) won’t give me false hope for the future again. But it did.
Best Performance: Rocky, right? It’s obviously the rock who turned millions of viewers into mush in Project Hail Mary. “You will miss me, question? I will miss you. You are friend.”
The Flop: The Bride! No offense intended, this was the wildest two-hour experience I had in a theatre. Props to Maggie Gyllenhaal for getting it financed. The only victim was Zaslav’s wallet.
Most Anticipated: Dune: Part Three. And that will be my answer every day until I watch the trilogy conclude in late December.
Sarah Gopaul
1. 28 Years Later: Bone Temple
It’s been a banner year for horror thus far. Taking over the reins from Danny Boyle, director Nia DaCosta brings a fresh perspective to the series while ensuring it stays true to the franchise. Undead movies can be very grotesque, but the human-on-human carnage in this film hits harder because of how those inflicting the damage choose to do so. Jack O’Connell and Ralph Fiennes deliver distinct but commanding performances. Their roles are central to this narrative and their personalities never falter. Fingers crossed they get to finish the trilogy.
2. Lee Cronin’s The Mummy
Cronin’s take on the classic monster tale steadily escalates, making it unpredictable. It’s not for the faint of heart, but it spoils fans looking for the genre trinity: horror, terror and gore.
3. Undertone
Writer-director Ian Tuason adeptly uses sound to increase anxiety throughout his feature debut. As the narrative progresses, the atmosphere grows dense with fear so that the spine-chilling, finale will have viewers gripping their armrests.
4. Send Help
Director Sam Raimi keeps the tensions high throughout the thriller. But he can’t resist including a few gory sequences, choosing to layer violence and blood over the film’s underlying dark humour.
5. They Will Kill You
The film has a midnight movie or grindhouse vibe. The violence is over the top with surreal blood splatter that paints the ceilings red, while the fight choreography is fast-paced, skilful and inventive.
Honourable mentions: The Drama, Hoppers, Project Hail Mary, and The Sheep Detectives.
Best performance: Even though the narrative is problematic, Inde Navarrette’s performance in Obsession is undeniable. She portrays irrational fixation with unsettling perfection. When the spell momentarily breaks, her ability to switch between personalities shows acute dexterity.
Flop: The third adaptation of a Colleen Hoover novel, Reminders of Him, recycles the same obvious storylines as her other books. Hitting a narrative beat at predictable intervals, if you’ve seen any of these movies over the last few years, you’ve seen them all.
Most anticipated: Still several months away, but I’m looking forward to Godzilla Minus Zero. The first movie was exceptional, revitalizing the shock and awe of the franchise’s first films. I can’t wait to see what the sequel holds.
Pat Mullen
1. Nuisance Bear
Call this Sundance winner smarter than the average bear! Nuisance Bear expands upon the short documentary of the same name with a truly artistic jolt of personality. Canadian filmmakers Jack Weisman and Gabriela Osio Vanden observe the migration patterns precipitated by climate change that force polar bears off their path from the Arctic to Churchill, Manitoba. Driven by a free-flowing lucid style and offbeat sense of humour that underscores the gravity of the situation without making light of it, the film smartly captures the link between environmental disasters and colonial violence. The film takes a huge risk by linking the bears’ forced migration with the devastating consequences of colonialism experienced by their Inuit neighbours. But the gamble pays off with man and beast united in a shared stand for survival. (Coming to theatres and MUBI later this year.)
2. Disclosure Day
Popcorn movie escapism at its finest! Emily Blunt’s Streep-calibre performance masters a variety of accents and dialects, offering the greatest special effect of all in a VFX heavy epic. I’m finally willing to forgive Spielberg for War Horse and stinkin’ Lincoln.
3. Speechless
A potent study of the battle for free speech on university campuses that asks how, why, and when creating “safe” spaces for young minds became a process of shielding them from opposing viewpoints. Director Ric Esther Bienstock invites the conversation that nobody wants to have.
4. 3670
Newcomer Cho You-hyun gives a breakout performance with his screen debut playing a North Korean defector navigating Seoul’s queer scene while learning to be authentic outside of the regime. It’s a swoon-worthy story about finding your community.
5. EPiC: Elvis Presley in Concert
Baz Lurhmann cranks it up to 11 with an exhilarating feat of maximalist filmmaking. His bombastic aesthetic caters extremely well to archive and concert cinema. There are way too many Elvis docs and EPiC blows them all out of the water.
Honourable mentions: Antidiva: The Carole Pope Confessions, Cookie Queens, The Devil Wears Prada 2, The Drama, Leviticus, Once Upon a Time in Harlem
*I’m considering Blue Heron, Nirvanna the Band the Show the Movie, and Pillion as 2025 films.
Best Performance: Meryl Streep in The Devil Wears Prada 2 – Miranda Priestly ranks among Streep’s most iconic characters and best performances, so it’s a relief that she confidently rises to the challenge with a return that surprises and delights with equal measure. In the 20 years since the original film, her star status has never really been higher and she knows it. Werk, bitch! (Honourable mentions: Robert Aramayo in I Swear; Emily Blunt in Disclosure Day; Cho You-hyun, 3670; Allison Janney in Miss You, Love You; Kieron Moore in Blue Film.)
The Flop: Melania: Make documentaries great again!
Most Anticipated: Dune 3. Denis Villeneuve coming for that Oscar, baby!
Andrew Roberts
1. 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple
While the previous film in the series had Danny Boyle experimenting with iPhone cameras, archival footage, and roaming camerawork, Nia DaCosta focuses more on grounded characterizations while also pushing the boundaries of what a horror franchise can be. The standout here is the contemplative attention given to Ralph Fiennes, reprising his role as Dr. Kelson. He isn’t afraid to break out in a musical number to find humanity in his zombie friend, Samson. The reliance on needle drops offers a tangible touchpoint to a time when humans created something meaningful together; a codependence disturbed by the satanic gang of “Jimmys.” For a franchise that consistently delivers pointed social commentary, The Bone Temple nails it once again.
2. Toy Story 5
Woody and the gang continue to be impervious to sequel fatigue, and much of that success comes from how the franchise consistently positions the films around timely social issues that transcend generational boundaries. How Toy Story 5 tackles the impending doom of artificial intelligence could make any viewer seriously consider where their playful imagination disappeared to.
3. Backrooms
Despite what internet trolls might say, now-21-year-old Kane Parsons is the real deal. Configuring his web series into a compelling “shiver-down-your-spine” thriller about the dangers of venturing down meaningless rabbit holes makes him a true talent to watch.
4. Alpha
After getting universally panned at the 2025 Cannes Film Festival and never receiving a wide release in theatres, Julia Ducournau’s tender reflection on loss and memory deserves reconsideration. The use of powerful visual metaphors and expert blocking confirms that the former Palme d’Or winner for Titane has not lost her touch.
5. The Devil Wears Prada 2
Meryl Streep pointing to a painting of The Last Supper in Milan and indirectly calling herself Jesus is all you need to know about how this sequel deepens its themes of corporate hierarchy while sprinkling in some doomsaying for the art world to boot.
Honourable mentions: Good Luck, Have Fun, Don’t Die; The Drama; Obsession; Send Help
Best Performance: Zendaya and Robert Pattinson, The Drama – A true Bergman-esque two-hander. (Honourable mention: Inde Navarrette, Obsession)
The Flop: Return to Silent Hill – The sequel to one of the best video game film adaptations grossly misrepresents the vibes this time around.
Most Anticipated: The End of Oak Street and Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma – Two of my favourite working directors, David Robert Mitchell and Jane Schoenbrun, are continually creating form-bending work and releasing their new films during my birthday month. Need I say more?
Adam Schoales
1. Nirvanna the Band the Show the Movie
The absolute audacity of these guys! What an absolute joy to see this finally come to fruition. What Johnson and Co. pull off here feels like an absolute triumph of filmmaking, editing, planning, fair-use, everything! And, for the first time in decades, had me genuinely questioning, “How the hell did they do this!?” On top of it all, it’s genuinely laugh-out-loud funny. I cannot remember the last time I had this much fun at the movies.
2. Project Hail Mary
It feels like the movie we all need right now. When it’s easy to be cynical and think there’s no hope for mankind, this film is a reminder that one person can make a difference; of course it helps when that one person is Ryan Gosling in a vintage CATS musical t-shirt.
3. Tuner
A fun premise, with outstanding execution. And unquestionably the best sound design I’ve heard all year, if not this decade.
4. Mile End Kicks
Chandler Levack manages to perfectly encapsulate that feeling of finding yourself over the course of a summer: bumming around, falling in love, being awkward. I can’t remember the last time a film managed to transport me back to a time and place so effectively.
5. 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple
I was not hot on 28 Years Later, but then got boned. There are incredible performances all around, but it’s Ralph Fiennes movie and might be one of his best performance to date, if not the best.
Best Performance: The aforementioned Ralph Fiennes is going to take it from me.
The Flop: I’m inclined to say Cold Storage, a movie so terrible I couldn’t finish it, but that also feels unfair since I didn’t actually complete the entire film. So instead I’m going to say The Mandalorian and Grogu, which I guess is technically a movie, but sure feels more like watching someone play a video game. Easily the most underwhelmed I’ve been in a theatre this year.
Most anticipated: It’s gotta be The Odyssey right? I’ve got my IMAX 70mm tickets pre-ordered and I am ready to learn all about that time Homer Simpson rented that minivan (and if you get that joke, congratulations! You should listen to my podcast).
Courtney Small
1. If I Go Will They Miss Me
Walter Thompson-Hernandez’s deeply moving and beautifully shot film If I Go Will They Miss Me knocked me out at Sundance this year. The coming-of-age drama focuses on 12-year-old Anthony (Bodhi Jordan Dell), aka Lil Ant, who is a dreamer who views his father, in his drawings, as an Odysseus-style warrior who triumphantly rides a Pegasus. In reality, his father Big Ant (J. Alphonse Nicholson), who has recently been released from prison, finds it difficult to adjust with life on the other side of the cell walls. Once having big ambitions of his own, he now struggles to connect with his wife and kids, especially Lil Ant, who embody a future he no longer sees himself having. Skillfully weaving Greek mythology into a stirring exploration of familial bonds and the poor decisions that can reverberate through generations, Hernandez paints a vibrant portrait of fractured legacies and the communities that can help lead one through darkness.
2. Once Upon a Time in Harlem
Easily one of the coolest parties the audiences have the privilege of sitting in on, Once Upon a Time in Harlem brings the Harlem Renaissance and those responsible for it to vivid life. An engaging look at the personalities and ideas that shaped a generation, this is one of the best documentaries you’ll see this year.
3. I Love Boosters
Boots Riley’s colourful anti-capitalist comedy is a wildly original and entertaining work. The filmmaker cements himself as a distinct voice in cinema who is constantly pushing the boundaries of cinematic storytelling.
4. Nirvanna the Band the Show the Movie
I have watched Nirvanna the Band the Show the Movie three times now and it still makes me laugh every time. A hilarious and surprisingly sweet look at friendship and aging, one does not even need to know the source material to enjoy the film.
5. Is God Is
Anchored by electric performances by leads Kara Young and Mallory Johnson, and a strong supporting cast, Alesha Harris’ directorial debut is one for the ages. Rarely has a revenge film had such style and righteous feminine rage.
Honourable mentions: Blue Heron, Project Hail Mary, Obsession, Hoppers, 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple, Nuisance Bear, One in a Million
Victor Stiff
1. The Furious
The Furious takes the business of kicking the living daylights out of people and elevates it to high art. Director Kenji Tanigaki combines the bone-crunching grit of a grindhouse flick with the operatic choreography of the John Wick series to deliver some of this decade’s most exhilarating action sequences.
2. Disclosure Day
Spielberg once again looks to the stars to remind us all what makes life on Earth precious. Disclosure Day is a thrilling chase film and a heartfelt treatise on human connection.
3. Project Hail Mary
Ryan Gosling stars alongside a scene-stealing alien buddy in a wistful sci-fi adventure celebrating friendship and human innovation with humour, heart, and wonder.
4. Hokum
A good old-fashioned haunted hotel movie with a compelling mystery and enough tension, dread, and nightmare visuals to give the Babadook night terrors.
5. The Drama
A knotty examination of love and commitment that will leave viewers squirming in their seats. Director Kristoffer Borgli takes the concept of for better or worse to its extreme, highlighting the insecurity and self-doubt that hang over relationships like a guillotine blade.
Honourable mentions: Send Help, Toy Story 5, Mile End Kicks, Crime 101
Best Performance: Rachel McAdams in Send Help – The ultimate “final girl” performance. No notes.
The Flop: The Super Mario Galaxy Movie – Overstuffed yet underwritten. Unapologetic nostalgia-baiting that’s all style and little substance.
Most anticipated: Godzilla Minus Zero, Resident Evil (tie)
