The best upcoming movies for January 2026 and beyond

28 Years Later: The Bone Temple

Filmed back-to-back with the recently released 28 Years Later, this sequel (directed by Nia DaCosta and written by Alex Garland) centres around two characters from that film: Ralph Fiennes’ Ian Kelson, who has already appeared in the series; and Alfie Williams’ Spike, who has been inducted into a psychotic cult inspired by Jimmy Savile (yes, really – and they have the greasy blond hairdos, tracksuits and copious amounts of gold baubles to prove it).

Rumour has it that Cillian Murphy’s 28 Days Later character Jim (will return to the post-apocalyptic horror series with a small appearance here, setting the scene for yet another potential sequel in the near future. Watching Danny Boyle’s 2002 original all those years ago, we’d never have banked on it spawning a wave of sequels decades hence. It’s testament to the series’ inventive take on zombies and post-collapse societies that audiences still want to go back to this grim and gritty future version of the UK.

Release date: 16 January 2026

Crime 101

Chris Hemsworth leads a star-stuffed cast in this thriller, playing a stylish and masterful jewel thief who steals from the rich along Los Angeles’ Highway 101. But he’s no Robin Hood, and there’s no giving to the poor here – although a portion of his multi-million dollar takings do go to Halle Berry’s insurance broker, who’s tipping him off about her clients’ assets and whereabouts.

Hot on their heels are detective Mark Ruffalo (playing a world-weary cop for what seems like the millionth time) plus Barry Keoghan’s psychopathic criminal, all of which promises to be a diverting revisit to the sort of car-chase-and-shootout antics we’ve seen in the likes of Heat and Drive. Will Crime 101 be as good as either of those classics? Highly unlikely, but we’d be more than happy with an entertaining crime thriller full of big-name actors.

Release date: 13 February 2026

How to Make a Killing

The campaigns to forcibly engineer Glen Powell into Hollywood’s next go-to leading man and to make every second movie about how awful billionaires are continue apace with this A24 black comedy-drama. Powell’s working-class average Joe, disowned from infancy by his disgustingly rich family, decides to reclaim his birth right – by murdering any relative ahead of him in the line of succession.

The film is reportedly inspired by the 1949 Ealing comedy Kind Hearts and Coronets. Ed Harris, Margaret Qualley, Topher Grace and Jessica Henwick round out the cast.

Release date: 20 February 2026

Cold Storage

David Koepp is known as a screenwriter of triple-A Hollywood blockbusters like Jurassic Park, Mission: Impossible and 2002’s Spider-Man, but he’s clearly got a love of b-movies too – hence penning this horror comedy based on his own 2019 novel, in which a deadly fungus emerges from a sealed lab and threatens to bring about the end of the world.

The cast features not only horror-adjacent youngbloods like Joe Keery, Sosie Bacon and Georgina Campbell, but esteemed thespians like Lesley Manville and Vanessa Redgrave. Not to mention Liam Neeson because, well, why wouldn’t you cast Liam Neeson as the straight-talking military man in an ultra-violent splatterfest?

Release date: 6 February 2026

Good Luck, Have Fun, Don’t Die

After several years in “director jail” following the flop that was A Cure for Wellness, Gore Verbinski is back. As director of The Ring, Rango, The Mexican and the original Pirates of the Caribbean movies, Verbinski has proved himself equally at home helming blockbusters and inventive genre flicks.

The madcap Good Luck, Have Fun, Don’t Die falls into the latter category. Sam Rockwell leads an ensemble cast stacked with familiar faces, playing a time traveller from the future who takes the customers of a Los Angeles diner hostage. Why? It’s all part of his mission to stop AI from turning the world into a dystopian nightmare. Timely indeed!

Release date: 13 February 2026

Scream 7

Scream started off by parodying the tropes of the multi-sequel slasher movie franchises of the 1980s, and has now become a trope-filled, multi-sequel slasher franchise itself. Still, this seventh big screen Scream does bring back some familiar old faces, not least Kevin Williamson, who wrote the very first movie and her both co-writes and directs. Also returning are Neve Campbell and Courteney Cox, and a few surprise guest stars from beyond the cinematic grave – we’ve heard that both David Arquette and Matthew Lillard have also been cast.

Judging by the trailer – which, as is usual these days, seems to reveal far too much – Scream 7‘s plot looks like pretty standard horror fare, with a new knife-wielding, ghost-masked murderer appearing and threatening the family of Campbell’s heroine Sidney Prescott in the town she’s made her home. But our fingers are crossed for Williamson to deliver some shocks and surprises this time around.

Release date: 27 February 2026

Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man

It’s been over three years since the last episode of Peaky Blinders aired, but Netflix, never one to pass up the opportunity to revive something popular, is bringing us all back to the world of Brummie gangster Tommy Shelby (Cillian Murphy in what’s probably now his best-known role) – for a couple of hours, anyway.

This movie, set during World War II, sees Shelby returning from his self-imposed banishment to the bombed-out streets of Birmingham for a new showdown. And a final one, for Murphy and Shelby at least – although we know that a full-blown sequel series to Peaky Blinders, set in the 1950s, is on its way to Netflix at some point in the not-too-distant future.

Release date: 6 March 2026 (cinemas), 20 March 2026 (Netflix)

Ready or Not 2: Here I Come

One of the most enjoyable horror comedies of the last few years is about to get a sequel, apparently kicking off just moments after the ending of the first movie. Blushing bride Grace (Samara Weaving) has just survived a hellish wedding night where her new family – the super-rich, super-evil Le Domas clan – attempted to hunt her down in a twisted version of hide and seek.

But there’s no respite to be had, as four more billionaire families are taking the game to a whole new level – and have kidnapped Grace’s sister Faith (Kathryn Newton) to ensure she plays along. Judging by the trailer, we’re in for another fun rollercoaster ride of gore, guns and gratuitous wealth.

Release date: 27 March 2026

Mortal Kombat II

Usually, when a film is delayed it’s a bad sign – perhaps restive actors, post-production hell, reshoots or negative test screenings have spooked the studio. But that doesn’t seem to be the case here; after originally being slated for an October 2025 release, Warner Bros. eventually decided Mortal Kombat II was simply too big, bold and brilliant to be a fall movie – and consequently pushed it back to May of 2026 where it can bask in summer blockbuster status.

With Karl Urban joining the cast as action star turned fighter Johnny Cage, it’s time for another brutal, no-holds barred tournament featuring a roster of martial artists, monsters and demigods. Expect gallons of gore as Cage, Sonia Blade, Kitana and more battle it out in an attempt to dethrone the evil emperor Shao Khan.

Release date: 8 May 2026

The Adventures of Cliff Booth

David Fincher directing a Quentin Tarantino-written movie in which Brad Pitt revisits his role as stuntman Cliff Booth from Once Upon a Time in Hollywood? It sounds like fever dream fan fiction but, incredibly, it’s a real thing.

Pitt will be joined by Timothy Olyphant (reprising his OUATIH role as James Stacy), Elizabeth Debicki, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Carla Gugino, Scott Caan and Holt McCallany in the film, which will be set in 1977 and is reportedly working off a budget of around $200 million – far more than any Tarantino or Fincher film to date. It’ll be getting a release in selected theatres prior to streaming on Netflix later on.

We know next to nothing about the plot as yet, but with all that Hollywood royalty involved, we’re extremely excited about what’s in store.

Release date: Summer 2026

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