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Winter Movie Preview 2026: the 25 Films We Can’t Wait to See

From ‘Dune: Part Three’ and ‘Narnia’ to awards contenders and holiday crowd-pleasers, mark your calendar with these top picks

9-minute read

Chris Nashawaty,

AARP

Published November 13, 2026

An animated GIF with still images from upcoming films Behemoth!, Focker in Law and Dune: Part Three.

Movies coming to the big screen this winter include “Behemoth!,” “Focker-in-Law” and “Dune: Part Three.”

Courtesy Searchlight Pictures (Behemoth!); Atsushi Nishijima/Universal Pictures and Paramount Pictures (Focker in Law); Courtesy Warner Bros. Pictures (Dune: Part Three)

So far, 2026 has been a stellar year for movies. Matt Damon, 56, took us on a fantastic voyage in The Odyssey. A deliciously aloof Meryl Streep, 77, returned in The Devil Wears Prada 2. Olivia Colman, 52, found love in unusual places with Wicker. Meanwhile, everybody started buzzing about documentaries and horror again thanks to You Can See Everything and Obsession. But we have a feeling the best is still to come (and will continue right into 2027). Here’s our preview of the 25 most promising films headed your way in the next few months.

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Coming in November

Paper Tiger (in theaters Nov. 13)

After making a splash at the Cannes Film Festival earlier this year, director James Gray’s crime drama is finally making its stateside debut. Set in 1980s New York, this gritty, blue-collar tale tells the story of two brothers (Adam Driver and Miles Teller) pursuing the American Dream from very different angles — one’s an ex-cop gone to the dark side; one’s a mild-mannered engineer. Scarlett Johansson rounds out the cast. (Goes nationwide Nov. 20)

Ebenezer (in theaters Nov. 13)

If it seems like it’s been a while since you’ve seen Johnny Depp’s face on a movie screen, that’s because it has. After spending the past few years in professional exile due to his off-screen headlines, Depp, 63, is back with a fresh twist on Charles Dickens’ “Bah-humbug!” classic, A Christmas Carol. The actor looks like he’s having a blast as Scrooge. The cast includes Ian McKellen, 87, as the ghost of Jacob Marley.

Madden (on Prime Video Nov. 18)

Two of Hollywood’s most intense actors — Christian Bale, 52, and Nicolas Cage, 62 — team up for this biopic of the larger-than-life NFL personality John Madden. The movie charts Madden’s rise from Super Bowl-winning coach of the then-Oakland Raiders to the broadcast booth, where he cemented his legend with his cartoonish energy and brilliant football mind.

Elsinore (in theaters Nov. 20)

One of the buzziest must-see movies of the season, Elsinore tells the emotional true story of Chariots of Fire star Ian Charleson, a brilliant actor who died of complications from AIDS in early 1990 shortly after his triumphant turn as Hamlet on the London stage. This compassionate gem of a film features a note-perfect, award-worthy performance from Andrew Scott, 50, with a brilliant assist from Olivia Colman as his exasperated doctor.

I Play Rocky (in theaters nationwide Nov. 20)

Sylvester Stallone’s 1976 boxing classic, Rocky, is one of the most inspiring movies of the past 50 years. But just as inspiring is the true story behind the then-struggling actor’s fight to get the movie made. The underdog saga stars dead-ringer Anthony Ippolito as the young Stallone. I know the premise sounds a bit offbeat, but early word of mouth suggests this is a real Oscar possibility. Matt Dillon, 62, costars as Sly’s father.

The Mosquito Bowl (on Netflix Nov. 25)

Based on a true story and the bestselling book from Friday Night Lights author Buzz Bissinger, this Netflix drama (debuting the same night as the streamer’s first Thanksgiving Eve NFL game) follows four college football stars who enlist in the Marines during WWII. Before the bloody Battle of Okinawa, they play in a legendary football game that may be their last. Keep the tissues nearby.

Focker-in-Law (in theaters Nov. 25)

It’s been way too long since we gathered around the Focker dinner table. Twenty-six years after Ben Stiller, 61 on Nov. 30, first butted heads with his future father-in-law, Robert De Niro, 83, the story is now being passed down a generation, as the son of Stiller’s character brings his fiancée (Ariana Grande) to meet his strange grandparents. In other words, expect to see Grande subjected to De Niro’s basement lie detector.

The Further Mis-Adventures of Cliff Booth (in theaters Nov. 25)

Brad Pitt, 63 on Dec. 18, reprises his Oscar-winning role as Cliff Booth, the cool-cat stuntman from 2019’s Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood. Director David Fincher, 64, replaces Quentin Tarantino, 63, behind the camera (although Tarantino still wrote the script). As for the story, it picks up in 1977, with Booth working as a fixer dealing with stars, secrets and scandals. Elizabeth Debicki, Scott Caan, 50, and Carla Gugino, 55, costar. (Streams on Netflix Dec. 23)

Coming in December

The Man with the Bag (on Prime Video Dec. 2)

Thirty years after Jingle All the Way, Arnold Schwarzenegger, 79, is sledding from the North Pole with another Christmas comedy. This time, he’s playing the big man himself. In this made-for-streaming caper, Santa’s magical sack is stolen by a disgruntled elf (comedian-actor Awkwafina), forcing him to rely on a petty criminal (Alan Ritchson) to save the holiday. Keep an eye out for costars Ken Jeong, 57, and Jane Krakowski, 58.

Behemoth! (in theaters Dec. 4)

From Michael Clayton director Tony Gilroy, 70, comes this clever (but badly titled) drama starring Pedro Pascal, 51, as a gifted concert cellist who returns to Los Angeles after two decades away to record Hollywood film scores. But it’s not all sunshine and glitz in Southern California. He also has to reckon with his past, including a volatile ex (Olivia Wilde). The cast also includes Hank Azaria, 62, and Will Arnett, 56.

14th (on Netflix Dec. 4)

A decade after her Oscar-nominated documentary about how the 13th Amendment’s prison loophole fueled mass incarceration, filmmaker Ava DuVernay, 54, returns with its thematic follow-up — an examination of the Constitution’s 14th Amendment and its guarantees of birthright citizenship, due process and equal protection under the law. The doc features prominent voices from across the political spectrum.

Tender Loving Care (in theaters Dec. 11)

Acclaimed British filmmaker Mike Leigh (Secrets & Lies, Vera Drake) delivers what he expects will be his final film as he copes with a rare autoimmune disease. A bittersweet drama with tasty sprinkles of comedy, Tender Loving Care explores the life of a London social worker (Kate O’Flynn) wrestling with professional burnout, a failed relationship and her aging father’s dementia. That may sound heavy, but Leigh, 83, gives it his light, lyrical touch.

Ink (in theaters Dec. 11)

This one should be fun. Oscar-winning director Danny Boyle, 70, tackles the birth of modern tabloid journalism in this rat-a-tat time capsule about Britain’s Fleet Street mavericks. Set in 1969 London, the film stars Guy Pearce, 59, as brash media mogul Rupert Murdoch. Jack O’Connell and Claire Foy also star. Expect many loving shots of whiskey and cigarettes. (Streams on Netflix Jan. 8)

The Debut (in theaters Dec. 11)

The Social Network star Jesse Eisenberg goes behind the camera to direct this hotly anticipated musical comedy starring Julianne Moore, 66, as a timid New Jersey housewife who develops a passion for acting in community theater. The movie is darker and more complex than that simple setup — she butts heads with her new director, Paul Giamatti, 59, for starters — but that’s what makes it soar. Think All About Eve in the ’burbs, and you’re on the right track.

Clarissa (in theaters Dec. 11)

Have you ever wondered how Virginia Woolf’s classic novel Mrs. Dalloway might play out in Nigeria? Set in modern-day Lagos, Clarissa stars the always-terrific Sophie Okonedo, 58, as a wealthy socialite getting ready to throw an important party that stirs up memories, not to mention a lot of old emotions. Selma’s David Oyelowo, 50, costars.

Dune: Part Three (in theaters Dec. 18)

Hitting theaters the same day as Marvel’s latest battle royale, Avengers: Doomsday, the third chapter of this dazzling sci-fi saga could be considered the thinking person’s blockbuster of the weekend. The first two parts of Denis Villeneuve’s eye-candy trilogy were, in my opinion, instant classics. Now, Timothée Chalamet’s futuristic messiah Paul Atreides has risen to emperor, and something tells me it’s not a peaceful reign. The A-list cast includes Zendaya, Florence Pugh, Javier Bardem, 57, Jason Momoa and Robert Pattinson.

Werwulf (in theaters Dec. 25)

Based on his previous movies (The Witch, Nosferatu), it’s safe to assume that director Robert Eggers has an unhealthy obsession with gothic horror. But that infatuation has been good for moviegoers who love a good, old-timey scare. His latest is set in 13th-century England (that’s already creepy), and stars the underrated Aaron Taylor-Johnson as a mute farmer cursed with turning into you know what (werewolf), you know when (full moon). Costarring Lily-Rose Depp and Willem Dafoe, 71.

Artificial (in theaters Dec. 25)

It seems like Hollywood has found its new villains: tech moguls. This year we’ve already seen movies about Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg and Elizabeth Holmes. And now we get director Luca Guadagnino’s darkly comic drama about the rise of OpenAI and the 2023 boardroom coup that (briefly) ousted CEO Sam Altman. Andrew Garfield plays Altman, and The Studio’s Ike Barinholtz plays Elon Musk.

Coming in January 2027

The Liberation (in theaters Jan. 8)

Inspired by the experiences of his grandmother, director Guy Nattiv, 53, delivers a psychological thriller about a Holocaust survivor (The White Lotus’ Carrie Coon) who abandons her family to join a commune led by a charismatic guru (Lily James). When her daughters try to convince her to come home, they risk falling under the leader’s spell as well.

Everybody Digs Bill Evans (in theaters nationwide Jan. 8)

Here’s one for the jazz lover in your life. This sentimental drama stars Anders Danielsen Lie as the legendary but troubled jazz pianist whose career is derailed by crippling grief following the 1961 death of his brilliant, young bassist Scott LaFaro in a car crash. Bill Pullman, 73 on Dec. 17, and Laurie Metcalf, 71, play Evans’ parents in this intimate portrait. Expect an ace soundtrack.

The Master and Margarita (in theaters Jan. 29)

Based on Mikhail Bulgakov’s novel about a censored writer in 1930s Moscow who has fantasies about the devil punishing his persecutors, this 2024 adaptation kicked up a dust storm in its native Russia upon its release. After much anticipation, a director’s cut of the film finally makes it to the United States for theatrical release.

Coming in February 2027

Remain (in theaters Feb. 5)

What happens when the king of the twist ending and the master of mass-market tearjerkers team up? You get this romantic mystery directed by M. Night Shyamalan, 56, and conceived by author Nicholas Sparks, 61 on Dec. 31. Jake Gyllenhaal stars as a grieving widower who falls for a curious stranger (Phoebe Dynevor) on Cape Cod.

The Comeback King (in theaters Feb. 5)

Thanks to Top Gun: Maverick and the breezy rom-com Anyone But You, Glen Powell vaulted onto the A-list a few years back. This could be the role that cements it. Directed by Judd Apatow, 59, The Comeback Kid stars Powell as a country music superstar whose career goes kersplat after a romantic scandal, so he decides to lie low by going back to college.

Narnia: The Magician’s Nephew (in theaters Feb. 12)

If you want to know where all the money from those Netflix price hikes went, we have the answer. Director Greta Gerwig follows up her billion-dollar blockbuster, Barbie, with this big-budget adaptation of C.S. Lewis’ fantasy classic. The ensemble includes Daniel Craig, 58, and Meryl Streep as the voice of Aslan. If you loved these stories as a bookish youngster, then you’ll want to see it in theaters. For everyone else, it will arrive on Netflix April 2.

Wife & Dog (in theaters Feb. 19)

Reboot Succession in the world of dodgy British aristocrats, and you’ve got director Guy Ritchie’s latest wicked comedy. As per usual when it comes to these pheasant-shooting blue-blood types, a matter of inheritance turns the Fairbank family into a vipers’ nest of greed and betrayal. The excellent cast includes Benedict Cumberbatch, 50, Rosamund Pike and Anthony Hopkins, 89 on Dec. 31.

Chris Nashawaty, former film critic for Entertainment Weekly, is the author of Caddyshack: The Making of a Hollywood Cinderella Story and a contributor to Esquire, Vanity Fair, The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal.

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