Surprises, franchises and sequels: 10 new films that prove cinema is not dead
SOURCE:Sydney Morning Herald|BY:Michael Idato
Think streaming has killed off movies? You might be surprised at what’s coming to the big screen in 2026.
If you listen to the people in the know, they will tell you how bad things are in the movie business. Movies are doomed. Streaming has won. The weird thing is, 2025 felt like a very busy year at the movies. And the 2026 film calendar is already jam packed with big-ticket titles.
To be fair, it is dominated by franchises, sequels and safe bets. A little bit of tension in the economy, and everyone gets risk-averse. But if you thought the movie biz was now all about Netflix and its made-for-television library, then you might be surprised how often you’re going to be down at your local cinema this year.
And we’re back in the room … Stanley Tucci with Meryl Streep, on the set of The Devil Wears Prada 2.Credit: James Devaney/GC Images
The brand extensions are in full bloom: Disney’s live-action Moana (July 9), Nicole Kidman, Sandra Bullock, Stockard Channing and Dianne Wiest in Practical Magic 2 (September 17), an eighth Resident Evil (September 17) and The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping (November 19).
There is also a fourth Meet The Parents film, Focker In-Law (November 25), and Denis Villeneuve’s third chapter of a book-to-film conversion that, I swear, we were told would just be two: Dune: Part Three (December 17). But before we get to that tranche of sequels in the second half of the year, we have a long list of must-see movies to look forward to.
WUTHERING HEIGHTS, WARNER BROS
Margot Robbie in Wuthering Heights.
Margot Robbie as Catherine Earnshaw. Jacob Elordi as the broody and brutal Heathcliff. Emerald Fennell’s adaptation of Emily Brontë’s iconic novel Wuthering Heights is so Australian you could be forgiven for wondering if it qualifies for Screen Australia funding. Robbie is producing the film; she previously produced Promising Young Woman (2020) and Saltburn (2023) with Fennell. All the buzz is positive for this, and the gift-with-purchase is Shazad Latif as Edgar Linton. Opens February 12
PILLION, RIALTO
Off the back of its premiere at Cannes and in the UK, Harry Lighton’s dom-com, based on the 2020 novel by Adam Mars-Jones, comes with an avalanche of pre-press, and rave reviews. Colin (Harry Melling) is a classically meek and mild gay man who meets a handsome biker named Ray (Alexander Skarsgård) and, at Ray’s urging, the pair embark on a dominant/submissive relationship.
In the process of making his Elvis biopic, Australian director Baz Luhrmann came across two largely forgotten Elvis tour films, Elvis: That’s the Way It Is, and Elvis on Tour. Coupled with an unearthed 45-minute audio recording of Presley being interviewed, the three elements, with others, were assembled into this tender and revealing portrait of one of the most iconic music stars of all time, at the height of his power. Opens February 19
MICHAEL, UNIVERSAL
The life story of pop icon Michael Jackson, directed by Antoine Fuqua, written by John Logan and shot by Australian Oscar winner Dion Beebe. The gamble: Michael Jackson Company chairman John Branca is a co-producer. (Miles Teller plays Branca in the film.) The secret sauce: Jackson will be played by Michael’s nephew, Jermaine Jackson’s son, Jaafar Jackson. Opens April 23
THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA 2, WALT DISNEY
Some ideas just won’t fade into the history books. Probably based on the franchise’s 2013 literary sequel, Revenge Wears Prada: The Devil Returns, the film sees Meryl Streep return as fashion publishing icon Miranda Priestly, with Andy (Anne Hathaway), Emily (Emily Blunt) and Nigel (Stanley Tucci) in tow. New additions: Kenneth Branagh as Miranda’s husband, and Australian actor Patrick Brammall as Andy’s love interest. Opens April 30
THE MANDALORIAN AND GROGU, WALT DISNEY
Bai, Clang, Keeto and Grogu in the new Mandalorian & Grogu from Lucasfilm. Credit: LUCASFILM
A good Star Wars movie? Tell me it’s Christmas-in-May without telling me it’s Christmas-in-May? From Jon Favreau and Dave Filoni, who navigated three seasons of the TV series The Mandalorian with artistic excellence, this is an unsurprising transition, to take the franchise’s best new asset – bounty hunter Din Djarin (Pedro Pascal) – and built a movie franchise for him. New additions: Adelphi Rangers colonel Ward (Sigourney Weaver) and Jabba the Hutt’s son Rotta (Jeremy Allen White). Opens May 21
DISCLOSURE DAY, UNIVERSAL
Produced and directed by Steven Spielberg, Disclosure Day promises a fresh take on human-alien contact – think fewer tentacles, and more thoughtful twists – but in true Spielberg fashion, the actual details are difficult to come by. The cast is extraordinary: Emily Blunt, Josh O’Connor, Colin Firth and Colman Domingo. Opens June 11
TOY STORY 5, WALT DISNEY
Forky – a spork-turned-toy dealing with an identity crisis – is the newest character in the Toy Story universe.
The greatest toy ensemble in film history – Woody (Tom Hanks), Buzz Lightyear (Tim Allen), Slinky Dog (Blake Clark), Hamm (John Ratzenberger), Combat Carl (Ernie Hudson) and Forky (Tony Hale) – return for a fifth chapter in this beloved film franchise. The premise? Technology meets the toy world, as digital disruptor toy Lilypad (Greta Lee) enters the house, and turns the toy box upside down. Opens June 18
SUPERGIRL: WOMAN OF TOMORROW, WARNER BROS
DC franchise producer James Gunn neatly sidesteps the same-same nice factor in Superman’s family by turning his comic book cousin, Supergirl (Millie Alcock) into a kind of klutzy, misbehaving little sister to David Corenswet’s square-jawed man of steel. Directed by Australian Craig Gillespie and written by Ana Nogueira, Supergirl’s spin-off film sees her swept up in the revenge plans of an alien named Ruthye Marye Knoll (Eve Ridley). Opens June 25
THE ODYSSEY, UNIVERSAL
Homer’s ancient Greek epic The Odyssey? No small task, but in the hands of director Christopher Nolan one of the most anticipated films of the year. Matt Damon stars as the story’s hero Odysseus, the Greek king of Ithaca, whose journey home after the Trojan War sets the stage for the story. The film is giving original Clash of the Titans vibes, with Anne Hathaway as Penelope, Zendaya as the goddess of wisdom and war, Athena, and Charlize Theron as the enchantress, Circe, the daughter of the sun god Helios. Opens July 16
PRACTICAL MAGIC 2, WARNER BROS
Nicole Kidman and Sandra Bullock in Practical Magic in 1998.Credit: Roadshow
Is this the sequel we didn’t know we needed? Brilliant director Susanne Bier steps into this magical universe, with a script from Akiva Goldsman and Georgia Pritchett, and filmed by New Zealand-born, Australian cinematographer Simon Duggan. Witchy sisters Sally (Sandra Bullock) and Gillian (Nicole Kidman) return, along with the two eccentric aunts who raised them – Aunt Frances (Stockard Channing) and Aunt Bridget (Dianne Wiest) – in a story which introduces a new generation of supernaturally endowed Owens women. Opens September 17
SPIDER-MAN: BRAND NEW DAY AND AVENGERS: DOOMSDAY, WALT DISNEY
Tom Holland returns as Spider-Man.Credit: Columbia Pictures
A Marvel-universe double punch, the first being the long-awaited live-action return of Spider-Man, played by one of the franchise’s best assets, actor Tom Holland, and the second being the first all-star ensemble Avengers film since Avengers: Endgame in 2019. Spider-Man is up against Scorpion (Michael Mando), but the Avengers – with the Fantastic Four, the Wakandans, the X-Men and the New Avengers (nee the Thunderbolts) along for the ride – have a lot more on their hands in the form of Doctor Doom (Robert Downey Jr). Opens July 30 and December 17