2026 was a strong year for drama, from intimate stories to sweeping adaptations. This list covers ten films that stay with you after the credits roll. Crime sagas, personal tragedies, science fiction with real heart, and a fresh take on the classics. Watch them in any order. You will find something here.
Content
- Josephine
- Geunyeoga doraon nal
- Project Hail Mary
- The Invite
- The Moment
- Rosebush Pruning
- Crime 101
- Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man
- How to Make a Killing
- Wuthering Heights
Josephine
IMDb: 8.6 /10
2026, Drama, Thriller
USA, R
Director: Beth de AraújoMason Reeves, Gemma Chan, Channing Tatum
The film won big at Sundance 2026. It took home the Grand Jury Prize and the Audience Award. The story follows eight-year-old Josephine. She accidentally witnesses a violent attack in Golden Gate Park, San Francisco. Afterwards, she tries to cope with deep trauma. The adults around her try to help. But none of them know how.
Geunyeoga doraon nal
IMDb: 6.0 /10
2026, Drama
South Korea
Director: Hong Sang-soo
Top Cast: Song Seon-mi, Cho Yun-hee, Park Mi-so
The film is classic Hong Sang-soo: a black-and-white conversational drama with a meta twist. The story follows an actress who returns to independent cinema after a divorce. She finishes shooting an arthouse film and gives three interviews. But later, at an acting class, she cannot remember what she said. Her teacher asks her to recreate the conversations.
Project Hail Mary
IMDb: 8.3 /10
2026, Sci-Fi, Drama, Comedy
USA, PG-13
Director: Phil Lord, Christopher Miller
Top Cast: Ryan Gosling, Sandra Hüller, James Ortiz
The story follows Ryland Grace, a science teacher who wakes up aboard a spacecraft called the Hail Mary. He has no memory of who he is or how he got there. As his memory returns, he discovers his mission: save Earth from mysterious microorganisms that are killing the Sun. The film became a massive commercial and critical hit in spring 2026. Critics singled out the incredible chemistry between Gosling’s character and the alien Rocky.
The Invite
IMDb: 7.4 /10
2026, Comedy, Drama
USA, R
Director: Olivia Wilde
Top Cast: Seth Rogen, Olivia Wilde, Penélope Cruz
The film is an English-language remake of Cesc Gay’s acclaimed Spanish comedy Sentimental. Joe and Angela are a couple whose relationship is falling apart. They invite their eccentric upstairs neighbours to dinner. The evening quickly spirals out of control, and old grudges, insecurities, and secrets come pouring out.
The Moment
IMDb: 5.8 /10
2026, Comedy, Drama, Music
UK, USA, R
Director: Aidan Zamiri
Top Cast: Charli XCX, Alexander Skarsgård, Rosanna Arquette
The film is a mockumentary that satirises the cultural frenzy around Charli XCX’s album Brat in summer 2024. The story centres on a fictional version of the pop star. She fights to keep creative control over her upcoming stadium tour. She pushes back against label demands and absurd sponsorship deals, including a branded credit card. She also faces a pompous creative director played by Skarsgård. He wants to turn her edgy show into family entertainment. Her longtime producer A.G. Cook wrote the score.
Rosebush Pruning
IMDb: 6.2 /10
2026, Thriller
UK, Italy, Germany, R
Director: Karim Aïnouz
Top Cast: Callum Turner, Riley Keough, Elle Fanning
The film is a loose English-language remake of Marco Bellocchio’s cult Italian film Fists in the Pocket (1965). Efthymis Filippou wrote the screenplay. He co-wrote Dogtooth and The Lobster with Yorgos Lanthimos. The story centres on an extraordinarily wealthy but deeply dysfunctional American expat family living in a modernist villa in Catalonia. Wolves kill the eccentric matriarch, played by Pamela Anderson. The remaining adult children and their blind, domineering father descend into something wild, codependent, and quasi-incestuous. Things spiral into violence when the eldest son brings his new girlfriend Marta home. MUBI distributes the film.
Crime 101
IMDb: 6.8 /10
2026, Crime, Thriller, Drama
USA, UK, R
Director: Bart Layton
Top Cast: Chris Hemsworth, Mark Ruffalo, Halle Berry
The story centres on a string of precisely executed jewellery heists along the iconic Highway 101 in Los Angeles. The police have no leads. The robber works alone and follows a strict personal code. But veteran detective Lou Lubesnick (Ruffalo) believes the cases are connected. He hunts the elusive Mike Davis (Hemsworth), who is planning his final and biggest job. Critics praised the film for its dense neo-noir atmosphere and strong performances. Many compared it to Michael Mann’s crime classic Heat. Amazon MGM released the film.
Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man
IMDb: 6.6 /10
2026, Crime, Drama
UK, R
Director: Tom Harper
Top Cast: Cillian Murphy, Rebecca Ferguson, Tim Roth
The story takes place in November 1940, during the brutal bombing of Birmingham in World War Two. Nazi Germany launches a secret plan to undermine the British economy with counterfeit money. John Beckett (Tim Roth) leads the pro-fascist agents helping from inside Britain. After a family tragedy, Thomas Shelby has withdrawn from the world. But he must return from exile to protect his family’s legacy and save the country from chaos. The film officially closes out the original series while laying the groundwork for future franchise spin-offs.
How to Make a Killing
IMDb: 6.5 /10
2026, Comedy, Thriller
UK, France, USA, R
Director: John Patton Ford
Top Cast: Glen Powell, Margaret Qualley, Jessica Henwick
The film loosely adapts the classic British black comedy Kind Hearts and Coronets (1949). The story follows Beckett Redfellow, a charming but penniless young man. He learns the truth about his late mother. The family cut her out of a vast fortune for having a child outside of marriage. Beckett decides to set things right. He draws up a cold-blooded plan to eliminate seven eccentric relatives standing between him and a $27 billion fortune. The film started life as Huntington, but the title changed just before release.
Wuthering Heights
IMDb: 6.1 /10
2026, Romance, Drama, Fantasy
USA, UK, R
Director: Emerald Fennell
Top Cast: Margot Robbie, Jacob Elordi, Hong Chau
Emerald Fennell, the director of Saltburn, returns with a sweeping and very loose adaptation of Emily Brontë's classic novel. She was not aiming for a faithful or stiff retelling. She wanted to capture ‘the feeling of a teenage girl reading this book for the first time.’ Warner Bros. released the film, emphasising toxic obsession, dark gothic aesthetics, and sensuality. It divided critics. Some praised Linus Sandgren’s bold cinematography and the Charli XCX soundtrack. Others found it too pretentious. It still performed well at the box office.
