With the summer blockbusters on their way to cinemas, there’s no better plan than sitting down with some popcorn and watching one of the year’s most anticipated movies.
With everything from massive action hits to indie darlings and kids’ favourites, there’s something for everyone at the cinema in 2026. Here are some of our most hotly anticipated movies of 2026.
Keep an eye out as we’ll be updating this guide throughout the year.
Resident Evil
The latest film adaptation of the fan-favourite video game franchise, acclaimed writer-director Zach Cregger (Barbarian, Weapons) continues his run of quality horror films with Resident Evil. The film stars many emerging Hollywood talents in Austin Abrams (Euphoria, Weapons), Zach Cherry (Severance), and Kali Reis (True Detective: Night Country).
Bryan, a medical courier, is in the process of making a delivery to Raccoon City General Hospital when an outbreak forces him to fight for survival.
The film follows a version of the events of Resident Evil 2, one of the most beloved games in the series, albeit with an entirely new story. The 2026 horror movie is the latest addition to the recent renaissance of video game adaptations in film and television, following in the footsteps of The Last of Us, Five Nights at Freddy’s, and Fallout. The creepy trailer is available now on YouTube.
When: Resident Evil is scheduled to release on 25 September 2026
Where to watch: Bookings are almost open on Ster-Kinekor
Avengers: Endgame (Encore)
In the lead-up to the next era of Marvel films, Avengers: Endgame is being re-released to South African audiences this September. A historic movie that served as the end of an era of cinema and, at one point, held the record as the highest-grossing film of all time, this is perhaps the last time viewers can witness the film in a true theatre experience.
After the devastating events of Avengers: Infinity War (2018), the universe is in ruins. With the help of remaining allies, the Avengers assemble once more in order to reverse Thanos’ actions and restore balance to the universe.
Endgame features Marvel’s biggest ensemble cast to date, including Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Mark Ruffalo, Chris Hemsworth, Scarlett Johansson, Jeremy Renner, Don Cheadle, Paul Rudd, Brie Larson, and many more.
When: Re-releases in select SK theatres on 25 September 2026
Where to watch: Tickets available exclusively at Ster-Kinekor cinemas
Forgotten Island
Forgotten Island is an original animated fantasy adventure from DreamWorks Animation, directed by Joel Crawford and Januel Mercado and marking the studio’s 50th animated feature. Set in the 1990s, the story follows lifelong best friends Jo and Raissa, voiced by H.E.R. and Liza Soberano, who stumble through a portal on their last night together before high school graduation sends them down separate paths.
The portal leads to Nakali, a magical island rooted in Philippine mythology and populated by shapeshifters, demons and witches drawn from Filipino folklore. The film also features Dave Franco as a well-meaning weredog named Raww and Tony winner Lea Salonga as the Manananggal, one of the island’s most feared creatures.
Crawford and Mercado, longtime collaborators at DreamWorks since Kung Fu Panda 2, based the project partly on their own friendship, and it marks Mercado’s directorial debut. Jo and Raissa discover that returning home may cost them the memories of their entire friendship, raising the emotional stakes beyond a typical animated adventure.
The film’s official trailer is out now on YouTube.
When: Forgotten Island is scheduled to release on 25 September 2026
Where to watch: Bookings are almost open on Ster-Kinekor
Digger
Directed by the Oscar-winning visionary Alejandro G. Iñárritu, best known for Birdman and The Revenant, this latest film is a comedy of “catastrophic proportions” starring Tom Cruise. Beyond that, we don’t know much.
The most powerful man in the world races to prove he is humanity’s saviour before the disaster he unleashed destroys everything.
The cast is filled with some fan favourites, including Jesse Plemons, Sandra Hüller, Riz Ahmed, John Goodman, and Emma D’Arcy. The movie’s very strange and intriguing “teaser trailer” (which, for some reason, features clips from most of Cruise’s previous films) is out now on YouTube.
When: Movie opens in theatres on 2 October 2026
Where to watch: Set for release at Ster-Kinekor cinemas nationwide
The Social Reckoning
The much-anticipated sequel to the Facebook origin story The Social Network follows the true story of Facebook engineer Frances Haugen (Mikey Madison), who blows the whistle on the trillion-dollar corporation’s darker secrets. The cast also includes Jeremy Allen White as a Wall Street Journal reporter and an older Mark Zuckerberg, now played by Jeremy Strong.
Aaron Sorkin, the writer of the original film (which won three Academy Awards), returns as the film’s writer-director. After The Social Network uncovered many of the scandals that plagued Facebook’s formative years, The Social Reckoning dives even deeper into the terrifying true story of what the company has become over the years.
The film’s trailer is out now on YouTube.
When: Opens in theatres on 9 October 2026
Where to watch: Likely for release at Ster-Kinekor cinemas nationwide
Tony
This off-kilter Anthony Bourdain biopic offers a snapshot of the celebrity chef’s adolescence as he learns his trade in a small kitchen.
A 19-year-old Anthony Bourdain travels to Provincetown and stumbles into the chaotic world of a restaurant kitchen, setting off a summer that will shape the course of his life.
It stars Dominic Sessa (The Holdovers) as the titular personality, Antonio Banderas, and Emilia Jones (CODA). Matt Johnson, known for Blackberry and Nirvana the Band the Show, wrote and directed the film, based on aspects of Bourdain’s hit memoir Kitchen Confidential.
When: Movie opens on 9 October 2026
Where to watch: Tickets available at Ster-Kinekor & NuMetro cinemas nationwide
Sense and Sensibility
The latest film adaptation of Jane Austen’s debut novel, Sense and Sensibility is a romantic-drama period film starring Daisy Edgar-Jones, the award-winning actress known for her roles in Normal People and Twisters.
Three sisters experience love and heartbreak after they’re forced to leave their family estate with their widowed mother and move to a humble cottage.
Georgia Oakley (Blue Jean) directs the film, while the rest of the cast includes Esmé Creed-Miles, Caitríona Balfe, Frank Dillane, Herbert Nordrum, George MacKay, and Fiona Shaw.
When: Movie opens on 16 October 2026
Where to watch: Tickets available at Ster-Kinekor & NuMetro cinemas nationwide
Wildwood
The latest stop-motion animation from the makers of Coraline, Wildwood follows a teenage girl who enters an enchanted forest after her brother is abducted. The all-star voice cast includes Jacob Tremblay, Carey Mulligan, Mahershala Ali, Awkwafina, Angela Bassett, and Jake Johnson.
Wildwood is a handcrafted epic fantasy that transports audiences into a secret, dangerously alive world. A girl’s desperate quest to save her baby brother unfolds into a spectacular, high-stakes adventure through a forbidden forest full of enchanted creatures, endearing allies, and formidable adversaries–where an entire hidden realm hangs in the balance. In a time of automation, it is a bold fusion of human-crafted artistry and cinematic storytelling from the makers of Coraline.
The most recent trailer, which has over 90 million views, is available on YouTube. More information is available on the website.
When: Wildwood is scheduled to release on 23 October 2026
Where to watch: Bookings are available at Ster-Kinekor and NuMetro
Clayface
In what has been a landmark year for horror films, with overnight successes including Obsession and Backrooms, DC Studios is moving beyond the superhero genre with this year’s Clayface.
Rising Hollywood star Matt Hagen descends into a horrifying, revenge-filled monster when scientific ambition strips him of his identity and humanity.
Releasing a week before Halloween, the movie is set to be the horror watch of the spooky season. The very unsettling teaser trailer is out now on YouTube.
When: Movie opens in theatres on 23 October 2026
Where to watch: Likely for release at Ster-Kinekor cinemas nationwide
Al Wat Ek Weet
This South African film, based on the hit book of the same name, follows a down-on-his-luck teenager through the trials and tribulations of growing up in Cape Town.
When a car accident claims his mother’s life and his father withdraws from life in a clinic, seventeen-year-old Gabriel Lombard is uprooted from his green, leafy suburb on Table Mountain and sent to live with his aunt Lotta and grandmother Lenie in a cramped house in Woodstock. Determined not to collapse like his father, he buries his grief behind a cool facade, wild lies and an overactive imagination.
Featuring ambitious dream sequences and a grounded story, Al Wat Ek Weet tackles the real-world issues of growing up in the Mother City, from familial grief and money struggles to young romance and being an artist. The film is directed by Devon Delmar & Jason Jacobs (also known as KRAAL), the creators of the critically acclaimed indie film Variations on a Theme. Al Wat Ek Weet is presented in Afrikaans, with English subtitles.
When: Movie opens in theatres on 30 October 2026
Where to watch: Tickets available at Ster-Kinekor & NuMetro cinemas nationwide
Godzilla Minus Zero
The follow-up to 2023’s Oscar-winning Godzilla Minus One, the new story picks up from its predecessor, promising another visual spectacle and thrilling monster-filled epic.
Set in 1949, the Shikishima family confronts a fresh catastrophe two years after surviving their previous ordeal with the legendary monster.
The 39th film in the Godzilla franchise, it stars Ryunosuke Kamiki, Minami Hamabe, Hidetaka Yoshioka, Yuki Yamada, Kuranosuke Sasaki, Sakura Ando, and Miou Tanaka reprising their roles from Minus One, with a few new additions. Takashi Yamazaki once again wrote and produced it, with animation studio Shirogumi bringing the masterful visuals to life.
The second trailer is available to watch on YouTube.
When: Movie opens on 6 November 2026
Where to watch: Tickets available at Ster-Kinekor & NuMetro cinemas nationwide
Wild Horse Nine
A darkly funny political thriller set at the height of the Cold War, Wild Horse Nine features Sam Rockwell, John Malkovich, Parker Posey, and Steve Buscemi as CIA agents in a hilarious and thrillingly tense situation on an iconic island paradise.
Shortly before the 1973 Chilean coup, CIA agents Chris and Lee are dispatched from Santiago to Easter Island by their bureau chief, MJ. Amongst the Island’s iconic statues, and as the longtime partners wrestle with their dark pasts and present conspiracies, Chris’s newfound bond with a pair of rebellious students threatens to send everyone’s trip to this remote paradise sideways.
Oscar-nominated filmmaker Martin McDonagh wrote and directed the film, the creator of In Bruges, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri, and The Banshees of Inisherin. At its Venice International Film Festival premiere, Malkovich won Best Actor for his performance as veteran CIA officer Chris Carlisle.
When: Movie opens on 6 November 2026
Where to watch: Tickets available at Ster-Kinekor & NuMetro cinemas nationwide
How to Rob a Bank
This highly-anticipated action-comedy stars John C. Reilly, Pete Davidson, Zoë Kravitz, Michael Gandolfini, and Nicholas Hoult. Directed by David Leitch (John Wick, Deadpool 2 & Bullet Train), How to Rob a Bank reimagines classic heist films in a modern, always-online society.
Bank robbers are posting their heists on social media, causing police to chase them.
The trailer is available on YouTube.
When: Movie opens on 13 November 2026
Where to watch: Tickets available at Ster-Kinekor & NuMetro cinemas nationwide
You Can See Everything
Premiering at a secret screening at Telluride Film Festival before taking over the internet with its off-beat, highly uncomfortable trailer, You Can See Everything is the latest work from meta-filmmaker Nathan Fielder (Nathan For You) and Lance Oppenheim (Primetime), where the pair’s documentary team spend time with infamous tech CEO Elizabeth Holmes.
Thirty-four days before she’s sent to prison, notorious Silicon Valley founder Elizabeth Holmes invites a skeptical film crew to document her every move. What begins as an intimate portrait of an enigmatic felon becomes a mind-bending three-year journey into the abyss.
When: Movie opens on 20 November 2026
Where to watch: Tickets soon to be available at select Ster-Kinekor cinemas nationwide
The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping
The latest addition to the Hunger Games film series goes back 24 years before Katniss’ first games to character Haymitch’s (Katniss’ mentor played by Woody Harrelson in the original movies) youth.
The film follows Haymitch’s participation in the second quarter quell, which saw twice as many tributes from each district selected to participate in the infamous Hunger Games.
The cast features newcomer Joseph Zada as Haymitch, alongside stars such as McKenna Grace, Elle Fanning, Maya Hawke, Ralph Fiennes, Jesse Plemons, Glenn Close and more.
The trailer is out now on YouTube.
When: Movie opens on 20 November 2026
Where to watch: Set to be released at Ster-Kinekor & IMAX cinemas
Paper Tiger
With an all-star ensemble featuring Adam Driver, Scarlett Johansson, and Miles Teller, this crime drama earned rave reviews at the Cannes Film Festival and brings old-school New York mafia films back to the big screen.
Two brothers chase the American dream, but soon find themselves in the brutal world of violence and corruption of the Russian mafia.
Paper Tiger is the latest film by James Gray, the writer-director known for films like The Lost City of Z and Ad Astra. The official trailer is available on YouTube.
When: Movie opens on 27 November 2026
Where to watch: Tickets are available via Ster-Kinekor & NuMetro
The Cat in the Hat
The latest adaptation of the iconic Dr Seuss book promises a heartwarming, family-friendly adventure for all ages, as the titular character (played by Bill Hader), Thing 1, Thing 2, and more do their best to cheer up young kids with mischievous tricks and magical talents.
As his last chance to prove himself to his incredibly exasperated boss, and to keep his job, the Cat in the Hat is given his toughest assignment as an agent of the I.I.I.I. (Institute for the Institution of Imagination and Inspiration, LLC): to cheer up siblings Gabby and Sebastian, who are struggling with their move to a new town.
The rest of the voice cast includes America Ferrera, Giancarlo Esposito, and Xochitl Gomez. The cute trailer is available now on YouTube.
When: Movie opens on 4 December 2026
Where to watch: Tickets are available via Ster-Kinekor & NuMetro
Dune: Part Three
The third and final part of Denis Villeneuve’s film series of Frank Herbert’s epic sci-fi novels (this time based on Dune Messiah) is out this December.
With the first two Dune films earning both critical acclaim and fan favour, fans will not want to miss the conclusion to this epic franchise. The third film sees Paul Atreides (Timothée Chalamet) ascend to power and explores the implications of his rule as Emperor, as well as the dangers of unchecked power.
The film’s latest trailer is out now on YouTube.
When: Movie opens on 18 December 2026
Where: Tickets already available at IMAX locations, NuMetro & Ster-Kinekor cinemas nationwide
Avengers: Doomsday
The first Avengers instalment in nearly a decade, Doomsday first gained traction when a promotional video showcased the incredible cast, including returns by Chris Hemsworth, Chris Evans, and Robert Downey Jr. The film promises another otherworldly unification of Marvel’s biggest heroes, some old and some new, with Downey playing the villainous Doctor Doom.
With little information about the film’s plot beyond teasers for major characters, the future of the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s biggest blockbuster (and its planned sequel, Secret Wars in 2027) remains a mystery.
The official trailer has been released on YouTube.
When: Releases nationwide on 18 December 2026
Where to watch: Tickets available at NuMetro & Ster-Kinekor cinemas nationwide
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