Ryan Gosling stranded in deep space with an alien named Rocky and Adam Scott trapped in an Irish hotel with a witch make very different promises. Project Hail Mary finds warmth and humor in cosmic peril; Hokum turns Gaelic folklore into supernatural dread. Both feature in Nerdist’s unranked selection of 2026’s standout films, and their contrast makes the list’s strongest case: no single mood, genre, or formula defines a great night at the movies.
Originally published on June 22, 2026, with additional reporting by Ella R. Dunn, the selection ranges from horror and revenge thrillers to stop-motion fantasy and major franchise returns. Its judgments are enthusiastic but distinct. Some films earn their place through uncomfortable ideas, others through character work, and others through the sheer scale of what they put on screen.
Space, folklore, and the things people do to each other
Project Hail Mary earns Nerdist’s affection by knowing when to take its predicament seriously and when to let Gosling’s quips break the tension. An astronaut alone in deep space provides the isolation and emotional stakes. Rocky, the alien companion singled out as especially lovable, helps turn that setup into a feel-good space drama rather than an unbroken survival ordeal.
The praise goes beyond the jokes and the creature. Nerdist finds the film heartwarming in its treatment of complicated relationships, both between humans and across species, and in its examination of sacrifice. That balance is central to the assessment: the humor doesn’t erase the danger, and the serious moments don’t crowd out the pleasure of watching those connections develop.
Hokum heads somewhere much colder. Scott, known for Severance and Parks and Rec, plays author Ohm Bauman, who travels to the place where his parents honeymooned to scatter their ashes. The trip brings him face to face with the evil trapped inside a haunted Irish hotel, including a witch and visions of the past. Nerdist finds the result deeply chilling.
Irish filmmaker Damian McCarthy draws on Gaelic mythology for the cailleach, a mythical hag with power over the landscape. The distinction matters: she isn’t inherently evil in the mythology, though Nerdist found her decidedly malevolent in the film. The folklore provides more than a name for the monster; it gives Bauman’s encounter its particular shape.
Obsession brings its horror closer to everyday desire. Nerdist calls it another 2026 box-office smash and notes its online visibility, particularly viral stills of star Inde Navarrette’s intense frown and other uncanny facial expressions. Those images offer an immediate hook, but the publication’s stronger praise concerns what lies beneath them.
Beyond its warning about wishes coming true, Nerdist reads Obsession as a disturbing examination of contemporary romance and the idealization of being loved. A partner whose entire personality consists of adoring you might sound like wish fulfillment. The film’s unsettling proposition, in this reading, is that such devotion could be more frightening than the flaws of an independent person. For Nerdist, that argument makes the film genuinely horrifying rather than merely scary.
Backrooms takes a different route into unease: fluorescent lights, empty corridors, and the possibility that something else is wandering through them. Creator Kane Pixels, identified as Parsons in Nerdist’s article, built his found-footage YouTube series around a liminal space resembling an abandoned department store. The first short appeared in 2022, followed by three years of videos expanding the story. The series gained substantial traction before its creator moved into directing a feature-length psychological horror film.
The feature returns to the shorts’ setting, following researchers investigating the backrooms. Losing their way in an apparently endless maze is only the start; an entity’s presence turns their investigation into a fight for survival. The project’s internet folklore has its own history, outlined in Nerdist’s guide to the Backrooms creepypasta.
Is God Is locates its danger within a family. Aleshea Harris makes her directorial debut by adapting her own off-Broadway play of the same name, following twin sisters on a mission to kill their abusive father. As children, the sisters suffered life-changing first-degree burns at his hands.
Nerdist describes the film as emotionally moving and praises its blend of thriller, revenge story, and dark comedy. The humor doesn’t diminish the traumatic backstory. Instead, the film makes room for bleak laughs while examining the tensions within a cycle of abuse, a tonal mix central to the publication’s praise.
Familiar characters, different pressures
The Devil Wears Prada 2 returns to Runway magazine 20 years after the first installment of Andy’s story. Anne Hathaway, Meryl Streep, and Stanley Tucci are back, and Nerdist’s delighted assessment extends to their appearance: the publication jokes that they look so close to their 2006 counterparts that the sequel could almost have been filmed the next day.
The workplace, however, has changed. Andy and Miranda are both down on their luck, and their story tackles print magazines’ difficult shift toward digital, clickbait-heavy publishing, alongside the looming threat of AI taking over journalism. Nerdist praises the return while drawing attention to its more complicated concerns: careers under pressure, strained relationships, and characters still grappling with personal flaws.
The Mandalorian and Grogu makes a bigger structural change to its franchise. The two-hour feature replaces The Mandalorian’s fourth season rather than simply extending the popular Star Wars series alongside it. Director Jon Favreau told SFX Magazine that work on season-four scripts was underway in 2023, but those scripts were discarded entirely when the project became a movie.
According to Nerdist’s account, those episodes would have continued from season three and helped set up Ahsoka. Instead, the film tells a story intended to work whether viewers have watched the preceding material or not. Favreau explained that approach through the central pairing rather than a demand for homework.
“As long as you understand the archetypes of this hardened warrior with their vulnerable young apprentice, you’ll know these characters well, even if you’ve never seen the show,” Favreau said. “But there’s still a lot of Star Wars in there.”
Masters of the Universe also builds around a recognizable figure, though its hero starts in an office cubicle. Nicholas Galitzine’s He-Man is an ordinary working guy longing to return to Eternia. When he gets there, Skeletor and other characters from the series await. Nerdist judges the film a worthy adaptation of the 1980s animated show He-Man and the Masters of the Universe.
This is He-Man’s second live-action adaptation, following the 1987 film. Nerdist is blunt about that earlier production’s shiny blond hero and tacky skeleton mask. Although it sees surface similarities between the two versions, its verdict is that the new film is a step up.
Street Fighter earns praise through a different kind of familiarity. Nerdist describes its big fight scenes and plentiful Easter eggs as a love letter to fans of the video game franchise. Its assessment also leaves room for disagreement: an adaptation of something that popular can’t please everyone. For the publication, the cast’s earnest commitment to their roles and the nostalgic setting make the combination work, rather than references alone.
Spider-Man: Brand New Day brings Tom Holland back for his fourth film outing as Peter Parker. Nerdist reports that the film is setting records for the speed of its box-office earnings, though its article provides no figures or named records. The critical case is more specific: Peter’s efforts to reclaim himself, heal, and balance ordinary life with protecting New York City give the action a grounded emotional center.
The publication calls the result a dazzling delight and argues that Holland’s performance helps explain why his Spider-Man defines the character for a generation. In that assessment, the film delivers the action Marvel fans expect without losing the personal struggle that makes Peter’s double life compelling.
Toy Story 5 finds another reason to continue after what had seemed like a series of endings. Familiar characters from the first four films return, but their place in children’s lives is less secure when 1990s toys meet electronics and internet entertainment. Nerdist frames the fifth theatrical outing as a return sustained by fans’ affection, while focusing its praise on what the story does with that return.
An IndieWire review cited by Nerdist criticizes parental complacency about handing children over to mindless internet use. Nerdist sees the film challenging that behavior and defending imaginative childhood play. That argument, rather than the familiar faces alone, is its stated reason for placing the movie among the year’s best.
For The Odyssey, the appeal is scale. Nerdist says Christopher Nolan’s highly anticipated adaptation lives up to expectations for the enduring epic, praising its casting, thrilling fights, absorbing moments, and expansive filmmaking. Its verdict is unabashedly enthusiastic, with a specific viewing preference attached: the publication considers this a film worth seeing on the largest screen possible.
Wildwood closes the selection with stop-motion fantasy from LAIKA. Nerdist’s interest began with the trailer, which it describes as dazzling, and its high regard for the studio’s stop-motion work. The story follows Prue, a headstrong teenager determined to rescue her kidnapped baby brother, on a journey through the woods where she and others confront a powerful magical force.
Grief, love, friendship, and bravery run through that rescue mission. Beneath the magical threat is a concrete task: Prue has a brother to bring home.
