Coyote vs. Acme 2026
Dumped by Warner Bros. in 2023 as a Zaslav tax write-off, rescued by Ketchup Entertainment for a reported $50M; opened to $15.5M. Sean soft-recommends it as a legal comedy for the 8 to 12 set.
The Big Picture · Discussion · Roundtable
10 Movies We Can’t Wait to See This Fall
September 1, 2026/ 89 min/ Sean Fennessey · Amanda Dobbins
The fall preview: five most-anticipated titles apiece, plus what they've already seen and recommend, and a September stab at the Oscar nominations.
39 films across 5 segments.
AI-generated This episode was transcribed and analyzed with AI models. The matches aren't perfect — expect the occasional misheard title or a link to the wrong film.
The box office and the news
Spider-Man: Brand New Day 2026
Fifth weekend at No. 1 (~$22M), and it fell just short of a domestic billion. Now one of the biggest movies ever made.
The Odyssey 2026
Nolan's; third place at ~$14M eight weeks in, ~$560M domestic and ~$1.8B worldwide, heavy Best Picture favorite that has cleared the prestige board.
Buddy 2026
Caspar Kelly's horror riff on Barney and Pee-Wee's Playhouse; ~$6M on ~1,000 screens, a big number for the type.
The Dog Stars 2026
Ridley Scott's $100M post-apocalyptic film; ~$8M domestic, ~$19M worldwide. Last week's episode subject, and a notable box-office miss.
10 Movies We Can't Wait to See This Fall five apiece, counted down
Picked by Sean Fennessey
Digger 2026
His No. 1. Iñárritu's Strangelovean Tom Cruise satire for Warner Bros.; wants it to be good but isn't an Iñárritu person, so expectations are lowered.
Picked by Sean Fennessey
The Further Misadventures of Cliff Booth 2026
Fincher directs, Tarantino scripts, Brad Pitt returns as Cliff Booth. IMAX-only via Netflix, barely marketed since the Super Bowl teaser; Peter Weller plays Booth's father.
Picked by Sean Fennessey
Resident Evil 2026
Zach Cregger adapts the game; Austin Abrams over one night as the outbreak begins. Sean likes knowing nothing about it.
Picked by Sean Fennessey
Elsinore 2026
Simon Stone directs Andrew Scott and Olivia Colman, based on actor Ian Charleson playing Hamlet while dying of AIDS. Whispered Andrew Scott nomination.
Picked by Sean Fennessey
Whale Fall 2026
Brian Duffield adapts Daniel Kraus's novel; Austin Abrams swallowed by a whale, Josh Brolin as the survivalist father.
Picked by Amanda Dobbins
Artificial 2026
Her No. 1. Guadagnino's Sam Altman/OpenAI movie, Andrew Garfield, script by Simon Rich. Dropped by Amazon, picked up by Neon.
Picked by Amanda Dobbins
Primetime 2026
Lance Oppenheim's To Catch a Predator film; Robert Pattinson as Chris Hansen.
Picked by Amanda Dobbins
Verity 2026
Michael Showalter's Colleen Hoover adaptation; Anne Hathaway, Dakota Johnson, Josh Hartnett. Script by Nick Antosca.
Picked by Amanda Dobbins
Ink 2026
Danny Boyle on Rupert Murdoch buying The Sun; Guy Pearce, Jack O'Connell, Claire Foy. Opening night of Venice.
Picked by Amanda Dobbins
Making Marie Antoinette 2026
Set doc from Sofia Coppola's Marie Antoinette, mostly shot by her late mother Eleanor Coppola and finished by Sofia; at NYFF for the film's 20th anniversary.
Honorable mentions one critic, one film
Picked by Sean Fennessey
Dune: Part Three 2026
Everything he's seen he's loved; the opening was dynamite.
Picked by Sean Fennessey
The Debut 2026
Jesse Eisenberg musical about staging a community-theater musical; Julianne Moore, Paul Giamatti. A24, likely Telluride.
Picked by Sean Fennessey
Misty Green 2026
Chris Rock directs; Rosalind Eleazar, plus Adam Driver, Daniel Kaluuya, Anna Kendrick, Topher Grace. TIFF.
Picked by Amanda Dobbins
Behemoth 2026
Tony Gilroy; Pedro Pascal as a cellist, Olivia Wilde, Will Arnett, Ava Victor. Nine composers wrote the in-film scores.
Picked by both
Other Mommy 2026
Jessica Chastain vs. a phantasmagorical second mother; the jump-scare trailer of the year.
Picked by Sean Fennessey
Street Fighter 2026
Best of the CinemaCon game presentations; Noah Centineo as Ken.
Picked by Amanda Dobbins
Possible Love 2026
Lee Chang-dong's first since Burning; Netflix awards hopeful, a rare non-Cannes international feature in the race.
Seen it, recommend it three apiece
Picked by Amanda Dobbins
Paper Tiger 2026
James Gray; Miles Teller, Adam Driver, Scarlett Johansson. NYFF; a very James Gray movie, best Teller in years.
Picked by Sean Fennessey
The Only Living Pickpocket in New York 2026
Noah Segan directs John Turturro as an aging analog pickpocket; Buscemi, Esposito. Tight 85 minutes, Sundance, Sony Pictures Classics.
Picked by Amanda Dobbins
Fjord 2026
Mungiu's Palme d'Or winner; Sebastian Stan, Renate Reinsve. Divisive; Sean's favorite from Cannes.
Picked by Sean Fennessey
The History of Concrete 2026
John Wilson's feature debut, literally the history of the material and far more emotional than it sounds.
Picked by Amanda Dobbins
Club Kid 2026
Jordan Firstman; an aging club kid discovers he has a son. Diego Calva. A24, November; Amanda's favorite at Cannes.
Picked by Sean Fennessey
All of a Sudden 2026
Hamaguchi's 3.5-hour elder-care epic; Virginie Efira, Tao Okamoto. Thanksgiving.
The September Oscars five guaranteed nominations apiece, plus a wild prediction, all from films already released
Picked by Sean Fennessey
The Odyssey 2026
Best Original Score, Ludwig Göransson, on Bronze Age instruments only.
Picked by Amanda Dobbins
Obsession 2026
Best Actress for the breakout ingénue; the Amy Madigan/Weapons playbook.
Picked by Sean Fennessey
Michael 2026
Wild card: Best Picture for the Michael Jackson biopic on the F1 argument.
Picked by Amanda Dobbins
By Any Means 2026
Longshot: Diane Warren's original song. Mark Wahlberg, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II.
Also mentioned raised along the way
Movie news, in passing Days of ThunderWho Framed Roger RabbitThe Color of MoneyAlong Came PollyOppenheimerThe Devil's MouthF1Spider-Man: No Way Home
Awards contenders in the mix The Social ReckoningWild Horse NineThe HoldoversTo LeslieFrankensteinOne Battle After AnotherSinnersAnatomy of a FallFokkers-in-Law
John Williams and the score talk Fiddler on the RoofJawsStar WarsE.T. the Extra-TerrestrialSchindler's ListBlack PantherMad Max: Fury Road
Filmmaker and star touchstones HamnetBlue MoonAll of Us StrangersThe DigSteve JobsWeaponsResident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon CityOnce Upon a Time in HollywoodInglourious BasterdsLittle OdessaThe YardsWe Own the NightBurningBaby BoomKramer vs. KramerMarie AntoinetteHearts of DarknessApocalypse Now
Also name-checked It Ends with UsRegretting YouThe Eyes of Tammy FayeThe Idea of YouOh. What. Fun.Masters of the UniverseTop Gun: MaverickPractical Magic 2The Chronicles of Narnia: The Magician's NephewThe Batman Part IIUnion CountyWarfareBarbieMortal Kombat 2Lady BirdTonyJoker: Folie à Deux
Not films filtered out: TV, games, ads
TV / web Looney TunesPAW PatrolBarneyPee-Wee's PlayhouseSesame StreetChannel ZeroCape Fear (series)SiloHow To with John WilsonRipleyDrive to SurviveToo Many Cooks
Video games Grand Theft Auto VIResident Evil (games)Street Fighter (games)
Ads State Farm
Podcasts The Old Man and the ThreeNews & Deals
Stage & books Tomorrow GameLes MisérablesThe Life of MWhalefall (novel)