AARP’s Movies for Grownups’ Favorite Films of 2026 (So Far)

Our critic is delighted by ‘The Sheep Detectives,’ ‘The Devil Wears Prada 2’ and ‘Project Hail Mary’

Thelma Adams,

AARP

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Published May 26, 2026

a collage with characters from the christophers, project hail mary, the devil wears prada 2, the mandalorian and grogu and the sheep detectives

(From left) Michaela Coel and Ian McKellen in “The Christophers,” Ryan Gosling in “Project Hail Mary,” Meryl Streep, Anne Hathaway and Stanley Tucci in “The Devil Wears Prada 2,” Pedro Pascal in “Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu,” Emma Thompson in “The Sheep Detectives.”

AARP (Shutterstock; Neon/Courtesy Everett Collection; Amazon MGM Studios/Courtesy Everett Collection; Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures/Courtesy Everett Collection, 2; Amazon MGM Studios/Courtesy Everett Collection

No movie lover will claim that 2026 is looking like another 1939, that apex year of The Wizard of Oz and Gone With the Wind, Stagecoach and Mr. Smith Goes to Washington. And yet, rumors that the movies are dead have been highly exaggerated.

There are easily 10 movies, including sequels, biopics, sci-fi and even talking animals, that stand out as the year’s best so far and showcase experienced actors pushing the boundaries of their talent. Here are AARP’s Movies for Grownups picks released in the U.S. this year, from January to June.

stanley tucci, meryl streep and anne hathaway in a scene from the devil wears prada 2

Stanley Tucci, Meryl Streep and Anne Hathaway reprise their roles in “The Devil Wears Prada 2.”

Walt Disney Co./Courtesy Everett Collection

The Devil Wears Prada 2

Twenty years is a long time to wait for a sequel. However, when a movie reunites Meryl Streep, 76, Stanley Tucci, 65, Emily Blunt and Anne Hathaway, it’s worth the wait. The original female-driven story followed naive assistant Andy Sachs (Hathaway) as she survived imperious fashion-magazine editor Miranda Priestly (Streep) with her dignity intact. The follow-up turns the page, showing the rise of the junior journalist and how she steps into her power to rescue her old boss as print culture collapses.

Where to watch: The Devil Wears Prada 2

hugh jackman interacting with a sheep in a scene from the sheep detectives

Sheep, like this one voiced by Julia-Louis Dreyfus, help solve the murder of their beloved shepherd, Hugh Jackman, in “The Sheep Detectives.”

Amazon/Courtesy Everett Collection

The Sheep Detectives

The golden age of cozy mysteries continues, with a sheepish twist. Woolly and charming, a farmyard full of talking animals seeks out the killer of their beloved shepherd (Hugh Jackman, 57). Rams and lambs unite to discover the truth in an entertaining story where talking animals untangle a murder mystery without getting hung up on DNA and fingerprints. Three bags full of fun.

Where to watch: The Sheep Detectives

jodie foster in a scene from a private life

Jodie Foster plays an American psychiatrist in Paris in “A Private Life.”

Sony Pictures/Courtesy Everett Collection

A Private Life

Now 63, former child star Jodie Foster has never been better, or seemed freer, in front of the camera. Speaking fluent French, Foster plays a woman in full, an American psychiatrist in Paris consumed with solving the mystery around the death of one of her patients, whom she believes was murdered. She has great exes-turned-lovers chemistry with French leading man Daniel Auteuil, 75, while solving the murder most foul in a charming Paris that never ages.

Where to watch: A Private Life

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ralph fiennes in a scene from 28 years later the bone temple

Zombie apocalypse survivor Ralph Fiennes in “28 Years Later: The Bone Temple.”

Sony Pictures/Courtesy Everett Collection

28 Years Later: The Bone Temple

This witty and propulsive dystopian horror sequel, with a side of gore, shows proper British A-lister Ralph Fiennes, 63, as the wild man we always knew existed under his fair, freckled skin. He’s the guy behind the titular temple, a pile of human skeletal material where, to the aching strains of heavy metal, he fends off the flamboyant villain Sir Jimmy Crystal, played by Jack O’Connell with a deadly Clockwork Orange swagger.

Where to watch: 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple

zazie beetz and michael peña in a scene from good luck have fun don't die

Zazie Beetz and Michael Peña star in “Good Luck, Have Fun, Don’t Die.”

Courtesy Everett Collection

Good Luck, Have Fun, Don’t Die

Sam Rockwell, 57, is one of Hollywood’s most underappreciated stars over 50. His loopy leading man returns from the future to lead a crew of incredulous diners on a mission to save the planet. Zazie Beetz and Michael Peña round out the fantastic cast. The kinetic film is a strange and marvelous hybrid of Groundhog Day and The Poseidon Adventure that sticks the landing.

Where to watch: Good Luck, Have Fun, Don’t Die

ned dennehy, stephen graham, packy lee and cillian murphy in a scene from peaky blinders the immortal man

Ned Dennehy, Stephen Graham, Packy Lee and Cillian Murphy in “Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man.”

Netflix/Courtesy Everett Collection

Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man

Thinking-man’s thug Tommy Shelby (the one-of-a-kind charmer Cillian Murphy, 49) puts a final point on HBO’s hugely popular historical crime series that dared to combine heavy metal with period costumes and sets. Written by creator Steven Knight, 66, who drew on his Birmingham roots for the series, the feature-length finale stylishly synthesizes WWII lore, dynamic criminal activity and unsettling supernatural elements.

Where to watch: Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man

ian mckellen and michaela coel in a scene from the christophers

Ian McKellen and Michaela Coel in “The Christophers.”

Neon/Courtesy Everett Collection

The Christophers

Director Steven Soderbergh, 63, has hit his sweet spot with a series of smaller-scaled movies like Presence and Black Bag that leap from horror to caper without sticking to one style. In this blistering black comedy, a curmudgeonly visual artist (a cheeky Ian McKellen, 86) befriends a forger (rising star Michaela Coel) who’s been hired by his greedy children to touch up his early, abandoned canvases to plump their inheritance. The film is as effortlessly artful as the subject, and wickedly surprising.

Where to watch: The Christophers

ryan gosling in a scene from project hail mary

Ryan Gosling in “Project Hail Mary.”

MGM/Courtesy Everett Collection

Project Hail Mary

The unlikely sci-fi buddy comedy stars Ryan Gosling at his most athletically charming as a science teacher who awakens in space. Once there, he forms a friendship with Rocky, an alien engineer, to save our imperiled planet — and Rocky’s, too. The box office went into the stratosphere, to the tune of over $655 million worldwide.

Where to watch: Project Hail Mary

pedro pascal and grogu in a scene from star wars the mandalorian and grogu

Grogu and Pedro Pascal in “Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu.”

Walt Disney Co./Courtesy Everett Collection

Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu

Leaping from the small screen to IMAX, the latest Star Wars journey is a big-budget film bursting with sci-fi adventure. In it, helmeted bounty hunter the Mandalorian, a.k.a. Mando (Pedro Pascal, 51), and his “Baby Yoda” sidekick Grogu are on a dangerous, if not impossible, mission. They must liberate the son of Jabba the Hutt, Rotta (voiced by The Bear’s Jeremy Allen White), at the request of the New Republic’s Colonel Ward (Sigourney Weaver, 76). Arriving nearly 50 years after the original 1977 movie, it’s a must-see for Star Wars fans.

Where to watch: Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu

Brendan Fraser stars as General Dwight D. Eisenhower in “Pressure.”

Alex Bailey/Focus Features

Pressure

War movies come in all scales, large and small. This taut thriller spans the 72 hours before the 1944 D-Day landing, showing how a change in the weather might have altered the famous battle’s outcome. He-can-do-anything Andrew Scott (1917) plays British meteorologist James Stagg. He won’t back down on his forecast for stormy weather on the appointed day, convincing Dwight “Ike” Eisenhower (a stolid, appealing Brendan Fraser, 57) to take one of the biggest risks of his long military career.

Where to watch: Pressure

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Thelma M. Adams, the former film critic for Us Weekly and the New York Post, is a novelist who writes on film for AARP, The New York Times, The Hollywood Reporter and Variety.

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