The Year of Movies
On March 28th, 2025, Variety interviewed Netflix CEO Ted Sarandos on how he felt about the movie going experience. Sarandos would go on to say, “Nearly every live thing has come back screaming. The theatrical box office is down 40 to 50% from pre‑COVID, and this year is down 8% already, so the trend is not reversing. You have to look at that and say, ‘What is the consumer trying to tell you?’”
In other words, Sarandos thought movie theaters were dying due to poor performances from audiences, and lower box office numbers. Flash forward to September 2026 and the movie industry has seen its biggest year in a decade from 2016. This year has seen amazing hits, from new original ideas, to biographical hits, and superhero movies. It might just be one of the greatest years for cinema, and it is not over yet.
The year started off slow at first, then around March, the first big film to hit theaters was Project Hail Mary. Starring Ryan Gosling, the film would follow Ryland Grace, a schoolteacher who, against his own will, would be picked by Eva Stratt (Sandra Hüller) to embark onboard the Hail Mary to save Earth’s sun from being drained of energy by an alien microorganism called astrophage. The film would go on to be a box office hit, It's opening weekend it made $80.5 million domestically and $140.9 million worldwide. It was directed by Christopher Miller and Phil Lord, who both had worked on previous movies like The Lego Movie (2014) and The Spider-Verse movies.
Project Hail Mary would also get an extended run in theaters due to high demand from audiences. It would end its theatrical run with 684.99 million dollars. The first of many hits in 2026.
From April 2026 to June, moviegoers would see a lot of great movies, from sequels to new original ideas. However, two movies would stand out among the rest: Backrooms directed by Kane Parsons and Obsession directed by Curry Barker. Surprisingly, both films have a lot in common. They are both new horror movies not relying on already existing franchises, were released by the movie studio A24, and would have two young filmmakers.
Backrooms follows the popular internet phenomenon by the same name. A mysterious place of endless rooms, filled with horrifying creatures and no possible escape. However the movie would follow its own original story with Clark played by Chiwetel Ejiofor as he discovers the backrooms from his own furniture store and becomes obsessed with it.
Obsession follows Bear played by Michael Johnston as he uses a One Wish Willow to wish for his crush Nikki played by Inde Navarrette to have a big crush on him. The wish backfires and through Nikki's odd behaviors, Bear must choose to stop his wish or keep Nikki for himself. Both would go on to be box office hits with Backrooms making 400.98 million and Obsession making 519.40 million. Plus, due to their low budgets of 750k (Obsession) and 10 Million (Backrooms) dollars, the films became huge profits for A24 and became box office hits.
Dean student Verbatim Rodriguez said, “I think the movie was a success because the director chose to take a fear that many women feel and used it as a unique approach to horror. It also helps that the movie was done with little to no resources as their budget was really low."
Flash forwards a bit to July 2026, moviegoers would be able to see summer's biggest blockbusters. The Odyssey directed by Christopher Nolan and Spider-Man: Brand New Day directed by Destin Daniel Cretton. The Odyssey would follow Homer's original book but with a modern day direction and heavy influence from Nolan's heavy filmmaking process. The film would follow Odysseus as he embarks on a long journey home, but is stopped in every direction by forces much more powerful than him. The film had a budget of around 250 million dollars, going to big lengths to get some of the best actors and celebrities to be in the film. Such stars would include Matt Damon, Robert Pattinson, Tom Holland, Jon Bernthal, Anne Hathaway, John Leguizamo, Elliot Page, and Zendaya. One major factor to making The Odyssey was Nolan's rule about using CGI, bottom line he does not like to use it that much. He filmed on location sights, used impressive practical effects and sets, and constructed a 60 foot tall Cyclops to film in a cave.
Meanwhile with Spider-Man: Brand New Day, the film would follow the huge success of 2021’s Spider-Man: No Way Home as the world and New York City have forgotten who Peter Parker is, including his friends and loved ones. Now after being alone for nearly four years, a new threat emerges in New York as Peter is forced to confront his past and future and team up with unusual frenemies and rediscover his purpose as Spider-Man. The film would have much help from director Destin Daniel Cretton who had worked on previous Marvel entries beforehand such as Shang-Chi (2021) and more recently Wonder Man (2026). Thanks to his directing and help from Tom Holland, they had made a more grounded MCU movie and were able to make the biggest movie of the year.
Back with The Odyssey, part of the movie's marketing was to show the movie in IMAX theaters and IMAX 70 MM theaters. Thanks to its high popularity and ticket seats being reserved until the end of August, the film would extend its run to September, allowing the audience to see it again and for other moviegoers to get a second chance to see it. Both films are currently still in theaters, but for now they remain the biggest movies of 2026 with The Odyssey making 1.72 billion dollars. Half of that box office money is from IMAX screenings alone and it holds the current record for a movie to do so.
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Spider-Man: Brand New Day would go on to make 2.48 billion dollars. The movie opened up to a 900 million dollar opening weekend and would take a spot on the 3rd highest box office movie of all time. Now with Sony and Marvel extending the movie's release to November 16, 2026, the movie could potentially reach even higher numbers and break even more records. It's safe to say that The Odyssey and Spider-Man hold the record for 2026’s biggest movies so far.
Dean student Jake Kasarjian commented on the movie, “Spider-Man: Brand New Day was a phenomenal movie that carried a lot of messages. I think those messages would help Dean students, as I know a lot of students struggle with mental health and could always use a helping hand. This movie shows that it's ok to reach out for help, and it’s ok to not always have everything together."
It's insane to imagine all these movies from horror, to superhero, and sci-fi are all coming out around the same time. Proving CEO and critics alike that movie theaters are not done. It's very clear that some studios and new filmmakers know what the general audience wants, it's up to those movie goers to give said films a chance. Plus, it's hard to even think that 2026 is not even done with big movies.
Towards the end of the year, 2026 will see the release of its two biggest movies. Dune Part Three and Avenger Doomsday, coincidentally releasing on the same day, December 18th. Dune will see the end of a big modern day trilogy starring Timothee Chalamet, while Avengers will see the return of the Russo Brothers coming back to direct and the return of Robert Downey Jr. as Doctor Doom. Hopefully the movies can live up to the fans' hype and end 2026 with the best year of cinema.
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