While everyone in Hollywood is focusing on the Oscars, theaters are jam-packed with new movies, eager to lure you away from the awards ceremony and into the aisles, where film fans really belong. And although the beginning of the calendar year isn’t always rife with excellent cinema, there are already a lot of exciting genre films, powerful dramas, creepy horror flicks and kids movies in early 2026. There’s even an exciting re-release of one of the best animated movies ever made, perfect for adults and kids alike.
You really have no excuse. If you have the time, and you have the money, you have to go to the theaters and see for yourself. If you can’t decide, here are eight new films for audiences of all kinds, currently in theaters, that TheWrap recommends.
‘The Bride!’
If you want to watch Oscar-nominee Jessie Buckley have fun for once, instead of enduring two hours of medieval misery in “Hamnet,” Maggie Gyllenhaal’s pop horror-gangster-romance “The Bride!” is the film for you. It’s also the film for you if you directors who take big swings, since Gyllenhaal’s approach to Mary Shelley’s classic creations is full of wild scenes where the Bride of Frankenstein leads 1930s swingers in a rousing rendition of “Puttin’ on the Ritz,” reclaiming the song from Mel Brooks’ beloved parody “Young Frankenstein,” in between scenes of emotional intimacy and brutal violence.
It’s only natural that a film this stylish and bizarre would have its detractors, but there are already a lot of people who love it. Don’t miss you chance to find out if you’re one of them. See if in theaters while you can.
‘Goat’
The first big animated movie of the year is based on admittedly terrible pun — the main character is a goat, you see, and he wants to be the “greatest of all time” — but don’t hold that against it. “Goat” is a fantastic kids movie, full of fascinating images and thrilling sports battles, with a meaning message about why professional sports should be for everybody, no matter who they are, what they look like, or how they identify.
Caleb McLaughlin from “Stranger Things” stars as the title character, but the real star is Gabrielle Union, who adds real depth to a sports legend who fears she’s past her prime, and refuses to let anyone else share her glory. It’s a real story told in a creative, visually arresting way. Kids and adults who respect animation will love it. And the adults who don’t respect animation will probably be surprised by how much they dig it too.
‘Hoppers’
Pixar’s best film in a long, long time is basically just James Cameron’s “Avatar” but with beavers instead of cat people. Also, unlike “Avatar,” it’s got a genuinely clever story, memorable characters, and it makes you feel real feelings.
Okay, maybe “Hoppers” isn’t that much like “Avatar” after all, but the plot does have similarities. Piper Curda stars as a teenage environmental activist who downloads her brain into the body of a robot beaver to infiltrate the animal kingdom and save their habitat from heartless politicians. Along the way she accidentally makes everything worse, leading to unexpected twists and turns, and a complex lesson about optimism, pragmatism, cynicism, and the evils of modern fascism. And it’s got cute li’l beavers! So cute!
‘Kiki’s Delivery Service’
A lot of people have a misconception about the word “masterpiece,” because they think every artist is only allowed to have one. That’s not true at all. A masterpiece is just a work that demonstrates the mastery of the artist’s craft. So it’s okay to call Hayao Miyazaki’s 1989 classic “Kiki’s Delivery Service” a masterpiece, and also call “My Neighbor Totoro” a masterpiece, and “Princess Mononoke” a masterpiece.
I could go on like this, but only “Kiki’s Delivery Service” is returning to theaters this weekend, in IMAX no less. If you’ve never seen “Kiki’s Delivery Service,” or even if you’ve never seen it on the big screen, you owe it to yourself to see this wondrous fairy tale about a teenaged witch who gets a job, gets burned out in the gig economy, and finds her desire to fly again. Every frame is beautifully painted, amplifying Miyazaki’s sweet, simple story into a tale that feels epic, despite its modest plot.
‘Pillion’
Harry Lighton’s queer, sexually explicit, BDSM romance “Pillion” is a mature romance in every sense of the word. Harry Melling stars as a young man with “an aptitude for devotion,” who gets picked up by a hunky biker, played by Alexander Skarsgård, They enter into a full-time sub-dom relationship, which not everyone understands. But it’s not for them to understand. This is someone else’s love story, not yours, so whether they live happily ever after or learn some tough lessons along the way, it’s a beautiful story.
A beautiful, horny story, just we’re clear. Sexually frank films like “Pillion” don’t get shown in mainstream theaters very often, and Lighton’s respectful approach to the two lead lovers and kink lifestyles in general is laudable, and bound to appeal to anyone in the audience who feels like their own predilections are misunderstood, or poorly represented in the media. Melling and Skarsgård are both phenomenal, in very different ways, and fans of either actor won’t want to miss their greatest roles to date.
‘Reminders of Him’
Sometimes you just want an old-fashioned romance, full of melodrama and will-they-won’t-they suspense. Vanessa Caswill’s “Reminders of Him” delivers. It won’t convert anyone who isn’t already a fan of romantic dramas, but everyone else can probably get swept up in its hokey charms. (It’s adapted from a novel by Colleen Hoover, whose works were previously adapted into the films “It Ends With Us” and “Regretting You,” so if you liked those, here’s more of it.)
Maika Monroe stars as an ex-con who returns to her hometown, where she accidentally killed her ex-boyfriend, in the hopes of seeing their daughter. Her boyfriend’s best friend, played by Tyriq Withers, tries to stop her from getting involved in the girl’s life but gradually falls in love with her. Will anyone find out about their forbidden affair? Will her ex-boyfriend’s parents ever forgive her? You already know the answers to these questions, but Caswill knows how to milk this material for suspense, and Monroe and Withers have excellent chemistry.
‘Undertone’
A lot of movies should be seen in a theater because it’s got the biggest screen. “Undertone” should be seen in a theater because it’s got the best sound system.
Nina Kiri stars as a podcaster, staying at home alone with her dying mother, recording an episode of her series about unexplained phenomenon. As she digs into a series of eerie audio recordings, a mystery unravels that’s either all in her head or proof positive that paranormal activity is real. Kiri is excellent, carrying almost the entire movie alone on camera, and the atmosphere is thick and malevolent.
But it’s the audio effects that turn “Undertone” into an excellent haunted house experience, with surround sound effects that make you feel eerily surrounded. It’s classy enough to attract people who don’t normally run to see every horror movie in theaters, and novel enough to appeal to die-hard fans of the genre. “Undertone” gets under your skin.
‘Project Hail Mary’
“Project Hail Mary” doesn’t come out until next week, and it’s worth the wait. But why wait? There are multiple advance screenings this weekend and there’s no reason not to go early, see how wonderful it is, and go again later.
Ryan Gosling stars as a scientist who wakes up in a spacecraft with amnesia, and discovers the rest of the crew are dead, and it’s up to him to solve an intergalactic mystery and save the planet Earth. Along the way he’ll have to team up with an alien life form who’s on the exact same mission, and you’re going to fall in love with that guy, I guarantee it.
“Project Hail Mary” hails from author Andy Weir, who also wrote the novel “The Martian,” and this film as the same aura of nerdy excitement and sci-fi wonder. Phil Lord and Chris Miller, who directed “The LEGO Movie” and the “21 Jump Street” movies, are back in the directors’ chairs for the first time in over a decade, and they’re better than ever.
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