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James Mottram

Predicting the movie business is a fool’s errand, but with a new year under way, let us start with a moment of cautious optimism: 2026 could be a great year for cinema.
Last year, with artificial intelligence (AI) encroaching on the industry and ticket sales still trailing pre-pandemic levels, there was much soul-searching. This year, cinema is boldly heralding the theatrical experience, with heavyweights Christopher Nolan, Steven Spielberg and Denis Villeneuve all back with new films.
Behind the scenes could be just as dramatic as what unfolds on screen, as the film and television landscape continues to shift at a breakneck pace.
Here are eight key things to look out for.
1. Sundance sunset
This year’s edition of the Sundance Film Festival – which runs between January 22 and February 1 – is poised to be a bittersweet one. This marks the first Sundance since the death of its founder, actor-director Robert Redford, who died in September 2025, and the last to take place in Park City, in the US state of Utah, its home since its inception.

Next year, the festival renowned for showcasing the best of independent cinema – Quentin Tarantino, Steven Soderbergh and the Coen brothers all launched their careers there – moves to Boulder, in Colorado.
What will it mean for the festival? Sundance will no doubt withstand the shift, but at a time when indie movies are already suffering in this new, streamer-influenced landscape, disruption to their spiritual home is concerning. Regardless, it signals the end of an era.
2. Studio shakedown
When the streamers launched, they were christened “the disrupters” for how they shook up the industry. But nothing will compare to what happens if Netflix buys out Warner Bros Discovery.
First revealed in early December 2025, the deal is not yet done. Paramount Skydance aimed to block the move, tabling its own bid, but Netflix’s US$82.7 billion offer puts it in the driver’s seat. As such, expect a wealth of “the death of the studio system” articles this year.
With Disney swallowing up 20th Century Fox in 2019 and Amazon buying out MGM in 2022, which gave it control of the James Bond franchise, this latest development would place the keys to Hollywood in even fewer hands. A less diverse slate of content is inevitable, which can only be bad for viewers.

3. Nostalgia rules
Sequels have been a Hollywood staple for decades, but this year, studios are going all out on mining the nostalgia vein, sometimes a little desperately.
The most anticipated title is surely fashion-centric comedy The Devil Wears Prada 2, with Meryl Streep, Anne Hathaway, Emily Blunt and Stanley Tucci all returning in their roles, two decades after the release of the original.


Also due is Practical Magic 2, a sequel to the 1998 film starring Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman as sibling descendants of a long line of witches – a surprising choice given the original posted middling returns.
Digging even further back, Masters of the Universe is slated for a summer release. A live-action take on the 1980s cartoon featuring the beast-slaying hero He-Man – here played by Nicholas Galitzine – it is another film hoping to capitalise on the retro thirst for all things ’80s.
4. Box office optimism
Ever since the pandemic, theatres globally have struggled to lure film-goers back – but box offices have been gradually rising.
Last year saw a worldwide take of US$33.5 billion, an 8 per cent increase on 2024’s US$30.5 billion haul. That uptick is expected to continue into 2026.
Industry analyst Gower Street Analytics forecasts that the global box office will hit US$35 billion in 2026, a prediction that hinges on Hollywood pumping out some sure-fire blockbusters this year, ranging from animated adventure The Super Mario Galaxy Movie to Christopher Nolan’s Ancient Greek epic The Odyssey and Steven Spielberg’s sci-fi Disclosure Day.


Curiously, two other epics liable to boost the box office – the much-anticipated Marvel title Avengers: Doomsday and Denis Villeneuve’s sci-fi saga Dune: Part Three – are currently scheduled to release on December 18, 2026. Could we see another Barbenheimer phenomenon (“Dunesday”?), or will these titans simply cannibalise each other?
5. China remains critical
Part of 2025’s increased revenue was due to the success of Ne Zha 2, the animated Chinese sequel that grossed a staggering US$2.2 billion, making it the biggest film of the year.
The fact that the lion’s share of its gross came from China may slightly skew the overall statistics, but it underscores the vitality of the Chinese market to the cinematic ecosystem.
Hollywood animation Zootopia 2 – the second biggest global release of 2025 – has also done tremendously in mainland China, with the film grossing over half a billion dollars there. Likewise, Avatar: Fire and Ash has already soared past US$100 million in China, showing just how Hollywood cannot ignore Chinese audiences.

6. AI will not go away
Last year, Hollywood actors and other creatives were up in arms when clips of Tilly Norwood, a fictional, AI-generated “actress”, crept into the cinematic landscape. Understandably, many feared for their livelihoods. But Hollywood studios are already exploring what AI can achieve, from script analysis to marketing.
Recently, Disney CEO Bob Iger announced a billion-dollar deal, signing over some of its most beloved characters to ChatGPT and Sora, OpenAI’s chatbot and video app, allowing users to legally create mini-movies starring alongside Disney characters.

While Iger said that “this does not in any way represent a threat to the creators at all”, the move will only stoke fears that AI is set to revolutionise everything – for good and bad – about the film industry.
7. Superhero strikeout
Ever since 2019’s Avengers: Endgame, the Marvel Cinematic Universe has struggled to replicate the success of that epic conclusion to the saga that began with 2008’s Iron Man.
Last year’s releases – Captain America: Brave New World, Thunderbolts* and The Fantastic Four: First Steps – were all lacklustre, despite setting up characters and plotlines for 2026’s Avengers: Doomsday. Will audiences turn out, or has superhero fatigue finally set in? Time will tell.


Meanwhile, over at DC Studios, co-CEO James Gunn is facing an existential crisis. While the director’s Superman was a huge hit in 2025, and this year’s Supergirl – which Gunn is producing – could post similar numbers, the looming Netflix/Warner deal means there is little stability as Gunn tries to execute his master plan.
8. Comedy tickles again
One of the more unlikely hits of 2025 was The Naked Gun, a reboot of the slapstick detective comedy starring Liam Neeson.
So it is no surprise that studios are prioritising comedies in 2026, including Focker In-Law (yet another episode in the Meet the Parents franchise), How to Make a Killing (with Glen Powell) and two animated, nostalgia-drenched throwbacks: Pixar’s Toy Story 5 and Coyote vs. Acme, featuring Looney Tunes’ Wile E. Coyote.


Best of all, Tom Cruise stars in Digger, a mysterious new dark comedy from Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu (The Revenant). With Cruise playing Digger Rockwell, the world’s most powerful man, we can collectively breathe a sigh of relief. Cinema looks to be in safe hands – for this year at least.
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Hollywood faces a pivotal year of change in 2026, with the potential Netflix/Warner deal, AI actors and nostalgia fever among key factors


Hollywood faces a pivotal year of change in 2026, with the potential Netflix/Warner deal, AI actors and nostalgia fever among key factors.


Hollywood in 2026: from movies and bigger China focus to ‘Dunesday’, here’s what to expect

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Hollywood faces a pivotal year of change in 2026, with the potential Netflix/Warner deal, AI actors and nostalgia fever among key factors

Hollywood faces a pivotal year of change in 2026, with the potential Netflix/Warner deal, AI actors and nostalgia fever among key factors