Alpha1Media launches A1Film Preview 2026
London, UK (8 January 2026): Global media and entertainment film Alpha1Media on January 8 launched its acclaimed annual list of the top most anticipated films from around the world which cinema audiences can look forward to watching in 2026, with Hollywood studios and global filmmakers releasing multiple uber-blockbusters throughout the year to revive and rejuvenate audience to return to the theatrical cinema experience as must-see cultural events, and also releases the inaugural A1Film Calendar 2026, highlighting the calendar of top movie releases, anniversaries, festivals and events throughout the year.
The 15th edition of the A1Film Top Movies Preview for 2026 highlights 10 essential films, and in total 100 interesting films from primarily Hollywood, but also from around the world, which global cinema audiences can look forward to this year.
“At the start of the year, I had stated that 2025 ‘must be a year of ‘Cinema: Survive, then Thrive & Globalise’, where there is a need for a greater globalisation, co-operation and collaboration across the global film industry to make original, global story-telling a reality as the global cinema release unfolds,” said Talal Malik, Founding CEO and Film Writer-Producer of Alpha1Media. “The truth is that it was just probably more akin to ‘Cinema: Survive and Envisage Potential’, as though the likes of Hollywood’s top auteurs such as James Cameron, Joseph Kosinski, Paul Thomas Anderson, Ryan Coogler and Christopher McQuarrie spearheaded a charge for a return to form at the global box office, the global cinema and movie-going public is increasingly becoming aware of a greater absence of regular major theatrical releases, unnecessary or poor-quality legacy sequels from Hollywood, a rise in valuable films by auteurs missing global audiences through streaming-only releases, amid a backdrop of Skydance merging with Paramount and Warner Bros being part of a bidding war between Netflix and Paramount-Skydance.”
“Despite major auteur-successes like ‘Avatar: Fire and Ash’ and ‘F1: The Movie’, audiences also saw that the superhero genre ultimately failed to deliver on the highs of yesteryear, despite reboot of ‘Superman’, a new ‘Captain America: Brave New World’ and a Marvel reboot for ‘Fantastic Four: First Steps’; there were unnecessary legacy remakes such as ‘Predator: Badlands’ (despite 7.5 on IMDB) and ‘The Running Man’; Oscar-winning directors like Guillermo del Toro and Kathryn Bigelow made ‘Frankenstein’ and ‘House of Dynamite’ for Netflix, with global cinema audiences missing out, contrasted with the misfortune of other Oscar-winning film-makers like like Francis Ford Coppola who chose to self-fund films with limited theatrical distribution; Oscar-winning director Barry Levinson with legendary ‘Goodfellas’ and ‘Casino’ writer Nicholas Pillegi made ‘The Alto Knights’ with the iconic Robert De Niro in a double role, with a limited global release; a lack of crossover movies from India and China in the global cinema, with only two of the top 10 highest grossing Indian films of 2025 featuring Hindi actors from Bollywood; survive was key as less cinematic movies are being made, and even less were being shown in the cinema, but that the like of ‘Envisage Potential’ was still there with the release of James Cameron’s ‘Avatar: Fire and Ash’.”
Global box offices revenues as projected by cinema analytical firm Gower Street Analytics are estimated to be at USD $33.5 billion in 2024, up from 2024 at USD $30 billion from but down from 2023 at USD $33.9 billion, and still far are from pre-pandemic revenues in 2019 at USD $42.3 billion, with 2026 expected to be at USD $35 billion.
“In 2026, despite the year potentially bringing further M&A activity at studios such as Paramount, Warner Bros and Netflix, the year has already started on a blockbuster box office note with uber-blockbuster auteur and IP creator James Cameron’s ‘Avatar: Fire and Ash’, No. 1 of the A1Film Top 10 Films of 2025 and the A1Film Awards 2025 Best Picture, taking 16 days to reach USD $1 billion, compared with 14 days for ‘Avatar: The Way of Water’ in 2022 and 19 days for ‘Avatar’ in 2009. What is critical is that a seven-year stretch post-COVID could be finally waning as 2026 may be set to be ‘The Year When Cinema Strikes Back’, as the global film industry, and in particular Hollywood, ramps ups the ante with multi-event blockbusters to entice global audiences back to the cinema, as the global cinema release unfolds:
“‘Avengers: Doomsday’, which is part of ‘The Blockbuster Franchise – Superhero’ genre in the A1Film Preview, is a global uber-blockbuster release set for December 18, 2026 and Marvel’s key anchor ensemble film franchise. It is the fifth installment in the ‘Avengers’ franchise, after ‘The Avengers’, No. 3 in the A1Film Awards 2012, ‘Avengers: Age of Ultron’ in 2015, ‘Avengers: Infinity War’, No. 1 on the A1Film Top 10 Films of 2018 and the A1Film Awards 2018 Best Picture, paired with ‘Avengers: Endgame’, also No. 1 on the A1Film Top 10 Films of 2019 and the A1Film Awards 2019 Best Picture. ‘Avengers: Doomsday’, like its two predecessors, is paired with ‘Avengers: Secret Wars’ which is set to be released in 2027, with all films produced by head of Marvel Studios, producer Kevin Feige, responsible for six of the No. 1 in A1Film Top 10 Films from 2016 to 2023, and who has won 5 of the A1Film Awards Best Picture films from 2016 to 2021 for Avengers, Spider-Man and Captain America films.”
‘‘‘Spider-Man: Brand New Day’, which is also part of ‘The Blockbuster Franchise – Superhero’ genre in the A1Film Preview, is the fourth in the Marvel Spider-Man uber-blockbuster film franchise, set for release on July 31, 2026, starring British actor Tom Holland, following his successful completion of the ‘Homecoming’ trilogy, which is a key film franchise for Sony, Disney and Marvel. Holland has starred as Spider-Man in six films, which have been in the annual A1Film Top 10 Films, with ‘Captain America: Civil War’ No. 1 for the A1Film Top 10 Films of 2016, ‘Spider-Man: Homecoming’ at No. 1 at the A1Film Top 10 Films of 2017, ‘Avengers: Infinity War’ at No. 1 at the A1Film Top 10 Films of 2018, ‘Avengers: Endgame’ at No. 1 in the A1Film Top 10 Films of 2019, ‘Spider-Man: Far From Home’ at No. 6 in the A1Film Top 10 Films of 2019 and ‘Spider-Man: No Way Home’ at No. 1 in the A1Film Top 10 Films of 2021, all produced by Kevin Feige. Holland will also naturally appear in ‘Avengers: Doomsday’ as well.”
“‘‘The Odyssey’, which is part of the ‘The Blockbuster – Historical Epic’ genre in the A1Film Preview, is uber-blockbuster auteur Christopher Nolan’s foray into the ancient historic epic, set for a July 17, 2026 release, which features a top-tier ensemble cast led by Matt Damon, including Spider-Man’ actor Tom Holland. Nolan’s films as an auteur have always been featured in the A1Films Top 10 Films, including ‘The Dark Knight Rises’ at No. 1 at the A1Film Top 10 Films of 2012, ‘Interstellar’ at No. 1 at the A1Film Top 10 Films of 2014, where, for the A1Film Awards 2014, he won for Best Screenplay, Best Producer, Best Director and Best Picture; ‘Dunkirk’ at No. 2 on the A1Film Top 10 Films of 2017, where, for the A1Film Awards 2017, he won Best Director; ‘Tenet’ at No. 1 in A1Film Top 10 Films of 2020, where, for the A1Film Awards 2020, he won Best Screenplay, Best Producer, Best Director and Best Picture; and ‘Oppenheimer’ at No. 2 for the A1Film Top 10 Films of 2023, where, for the A1Film Awards 2023, he won Best Screenplay, making him the most awarded auteur in the A1Film Awards as of date.”
“‘Disclosure Day’, which is part of the ‘The Intelligent Blockbuster’ genre in the A1Film Preview, is a return to directing duties for uber-blockbuster auteur and producer, Steven Spielberg, referred to by James Cameron as ‘The GOAT’, with the film set to release on June 12, 2026. In directing, Spielberg has had ‘Bridge of Spies’ on No. 7 in A1Film Top 10 Films of 2015 and ‘The Fabelmans’ at No. 4 in the A1Film Top 10 Films of 2022.”
“‘Digger’, which is also part of the ‘The Intelligent Blockbuster’ genre in the A1Film Preview, is a new film set for release on October 1, 2026, directed by two-time Oscar winning Mexican director of ‘Birdman’ in 2014 and ‘The Revenant’, Alejandro Iñárritu, starring Tom Cruise. Cruise was the star of ‘Top Gun: Maverick’ in 2022, No. 1 on the A1Film Top 10 Films of 2022, and won the A1Film Awards 2022 for Best Picture and Best Actor. Cruise’s 30-year work on the ‘Mission: Impossible franchise ended in 2025 with ‘Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning’, No. 5 on the A1Film Top 10 Films of 2022, and Cruise received an Honorary Oscar in 2025.”
“‘Dune: Part Three’, which is part of the ‘The Intelligent Blockbuster’ genre in the A1Film Preview, is the final installment in uber-blockbuster director Denis Villeneuve’s ‘Dune’ trilogy, set for release on December 18, 2026. Villeneuve’s films have consistently featured on the A1Film Top 10, including ‘Sicario’ at No. 8 in the A1Film Top 10 Films of 2015, ‘Arrival’ at No. 3 in the A1Film Top 10 Films of 2016, ‘Blade Runner 2049’ at No. 5 in the A1Film Top 10 Films of 2017, ‘Dune’ at No. 2 in the A1Film Top 10 Films of 2021 and ‘Dune: Part Two’ at No. 1 in the A1Film Top 10 Films of 2024, with Villeneuve awarded the Best Director at the A1Film Awards 2016 for ‘Arrival’ and awarded the Best Director and Best Picture at the A1Film Awards 2024 for ‘Dune: Part Two’.”
“‘Project Hail Mary’, which is part of the ‘The Intelligent Blockbuster’ genre in the A1Film Preview, is set for release on March 20, 2026, led by Ryan Gosling and directed by Phil Lord and Christopher Miller. Gosling starred in ‘La La Land’, No. 2 on the A1Film Top 10 Films of 2016 which also won Best Screenplay at the A1Film Awards 2016, and also starred in ‘Blade Runner 2049’ opposite Harrison Ford, A1Film Awards 2015 Lifetime Achievement winner, whereas auteurs Phil Lord and Christopher Miller have been ground-breaking in the animation space, with Phil Lord writing ‘‘Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse’, No. 6 at the A1Film Top 10 Films of 2018, the first animated film to ever feature in the annual A1Film Top 10 Films, with the both of them writing ‘Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse’, No. 1 at the A1Film Top 10 Films of 2023, and the A1Film Awards 2023 Best Picture, the first animated film to win Best Picture, with ‘Project Hail Mary’ marking their first live-action direction since ‘22 Jump Street’, more than 12 years ago in 2014.”
“‘Michael’, which is part of ‘The Biopic’ genre in the A1Film Preview, is set for release on April 21, 2026, as the major first cinema biopic about the late King of Pop, Michael Jackson, with the film starring his nephew, Jaafar, son of Jermaine, as Michael, with the film directed by ‘Training Day’ director Antoine Fuqua and produced by Graham King, the Oscar-winning producer of ‘The Departed’, and nominated for ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’, and who also executive produced ‘Argo’, No. 5 on the inaugural A1Film Top 10 Films of 2012.”
“‘I Play Rocky’, which is also part of ‘The Biopic’ genre in the A1Film Preview, is the biopic about how Sylvester Stallone, inaugural A1Film Awards Lifetime Achievement winner, wrote and starred in ‘Rocky’ in 1976, with the film becoming a box office smash, winning the Best Picture Oscar and becoming a world-famous global franchise with Stallone a global icon for now six decades. Set for release in November 2026 in ‘Rocky’s 50th Anniversary Year, the film stars cinema newcomer Anthony Ippolito as Stallone, and is directed by comedy director, Peter Farrelly, with Matt Dillon playing Stallone’s father.”
“‘King’, which is part of the ‘World Cinema’ genre in the A1Film Preview, is Indian cinema icon’s Shah Rukh Khan’s latest blockbuster film for 2026, following his unprecedented starring role in four blockbusters in 2023, with ‘Pathaan’, ‘Jawan’, ‘Tiger 3’ and ‘Dunki’ all ranked No. 8 in the A1Film Top 10 Films of 2023, and which earned Khan the Best Foreign Pictures in the A1Film Awards 2023, and making him the film actor with the highest number of films in any annual A1Film Top 10 list ever.
The A1Film Top Movies Preview for 2026 is focused on categories and genres such as ‘The Quintessential’, ‘The Blockbuster Franchise – Superhero, ‘The Intelligent Blockbuster’, ‘The Blockbuster – Historical Epic’, Franchise – Blockbusters’, ‘The Franchise – Sequels, Reboot, Spin-Off, Studio IP’, ‘The Biopic’, ‘The Literary Adaptation’, ‘The Genre’, ‘The Thriller’, ‘Animation/ Children’s Movies’ and ‘World Cinema’.
In the ‘The Quintessential’ category, the top 10+ films from across the genres chosen, are ‘Avengers: Doomsday’, ‘Spider-Man: Brand New Day’, ‘The Odyssey’, ‘Disclosure Day’, ‘Digger’, ‘Dune: Part Three’, ‘Project Hail Mary’, ‘Michael’, ‘I Play Rocky’ and ‘King’.
In ‘The Blockbuster Franchise – Superhero’, the main ‘Quintessential’ films chosen are ‘Avengers: Doomsday’ and ‘Spider-Man: Brand New Day’, followed by ‘Supergirl’ and ‘Clayface’.
In ‘The Intelligent Blockbuster’, the main ‘Quintessential’ films are ‘Disclosure Day’, ‘Digger’ and ‘Project Hail Mary’, followed by ‘The Dog Stars’.
In ‘The Blockbuster – Historical Epic’, the main Quintessential film is ‘The Odyssey’.
In ‘The Franchise – IP, Sequels and Remakes’, the films include ‘Godzilla Minus Zero’, ‘Star Wars: The Mandalorian & Grogu’, ‘Masters of the Universe’, ‘Street Fighter’, ‘28 Years Later: The Bone Temple’, ‘The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping’, ‘Greenland 2: Migration’, ‘Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man’, ‘The Devil Wears Prada 2’, ‘Moana’, ‘The Super Mario Galaxy Movie’, ‘Scream 7’, ‘Mortal Kombat II’, ‘Jumanji 3’, ‘Ready or Not 2: Here I Come’, ‘Violent Night 2’, ‘Cliffhanger’, ‘Resident Evil’, ‘Scary Movie 6’, ‘Return of the Living Dead’, ‘The Angry Birds Movie 3’ (Netflix’s ‘The Adventures of Cliff Booth’).
In ‘The Biopic’, the main Quintessential films are ‘Michael’ and ‘I Play Rocky’, followed by ‘Giant’, ‘Madden’, ‘Maserati: The Brothers’, ‘Killing Castro’, ‘Jimmy’, ‘Young Washington’, ‘Hershey’ and ‘Untitled Joni Mitchell Biopic’.
In ‘The Literary Adaptation’, the films include ‘Wuthering Heights’, ‘Narnia’, ‘Ebenezer: A Christmas Carol’, ‘The Magic Faraway Tree’, ‘Sense and Sensibility’ and ‘The Death of Robin Hood’.
In ‘The Genre’, the films include ‘Remain’, ‘Fjord’, ‘Wild Horse Nine’, ‘The Social Reckoning’, ‘Paper Tiger’, ‘Psycho Killer’, ‘Flowervale Street’, ‘The Riders’, ‘Mother Mary’, ‘I Love Boosters’, ‘Wildwood’, ‘The Whisper Man’, ‘Lear Rex’, ‘Deep Water’, ‘Send Help’, ‘The Bride’, ‘The Drama’, ‘Werwulf’, ‘Crime 101’, ‘How to Make a Killing’, ‘Verity’, ‘The Wrecking Crew’, ‘Soulm8te’, ‘How to Rob a Bank’ and ‘The Third Parent’.
In ‘The Thriller’, the films include ‘Mercy’, ‘Apex’, (Netflix’s ‘The Rip’), ‘Shelter’ and ‘In the Grey’.
In ‘The Comedy’, the films include ‘Focker-In-Law’, ‘Kung Fury 2’, ‘The Man With The Bag’, ‘Practical Magic 2’, ‘The Breadwinner’, ‘Solo Mio’ and ‘Cut Off’.
In ‘Animation/ Children’s Movies’ include ‘Toy Star 5’, ‘Hoppers’, ‘Coyote Vs Acme’, ‘The Sheep Detectives’, ‘GOAT’, ‘The Legend of Aang: The Last Airbender’, ‘Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Echoes of the ooze’ and ‘The Cat in the Hat’,
In ‘World Cinema’, the main Quintessential film is ‘King’, followed by ‘Blades of the Guardian’, ‘Hope’, ‘The Entertainment System is Down’, ‘1949’, ‘Parallel Tales’, ‘Alpha’, ‘Asad’, ‘Battle of Galwan’, ‘Happy Patel’, and ‘Love & War’.
“For 15 years, Alpha1Media has aimed to ensure the global cinema industry and audience alike have a single list of movies they can check for the global popular movies they may want to see throughout the year, and the A1Film Preview 2026 has 100 global popular cinema films,” said Ms. Maria Felce, Head of Media & Talent at Alpha1Media.
“The A1Film Preview 2026 highlights the Quintessential must-see films of 2026 and they are predominated not by or two but at least a6 blockbuster movies, 3 of which star ‘Spider-Man’ actor Tom Holland, 2 of whose films release in less than two weeks of each other, with 2 blockbusters released on the same day of December 18, all from top-tier filmmakers and studios and envisaged as must-see events, making it a critical year for the global theatrical cinema experience.”
Alpha1Media also releases the inaugural A1Film Calendar 2025, (highlighting the calendar of top movie releases, anniversary and events throughout the year, with these highlighted as the release dates for Quintessential films in the A1Film Preview 2026:
https://alpha1media.com/cinema/vault/a1film-calendar-2026/
* March 20 – ‘Project Hail Mary’, Quintessential in the A1Film Preview 2026, is released. (Quintessential)
* April 24 – ‘Michael’, Quintessential in the A1Film Preview 2026, is released. (Quintessential)
* June 12 – ‘Disclosure Day’, Quintessential in the A1Film Preview 2026, is released. (Quintessential)
* July 17 – ‘The Odyssey’, Quintessential in the A1Film Preview 2026, is released. (Quintessential)
* July 31 – ‘Spider-Man: Brand New Day’, Quintessential in the A1Film Preview 2026, is released. (Quintessential)
* October 1 – ‘Digger’, Quintessential in the A1Film Preview 2026, is released. (Quintessential)
* November 2026 – ‘I Play Rocky’, Quintessential in the A1Film Preview 2026, is released. (Quintessential)
* December 18 – ‘Avengers: Doomsday’, Quintessential in the A1Film Preview 2026, is released. (Quintessential)
* December 18 – ‘Dune: Part Three’, Quintessential in the A1Film Preview 2026, is released. (Quintessential)
* December 20 – ‘King’, Quintessential in the A1Film Preview 2026, is released. (Quintessential)
In 2025, Alpha1Media CEO and Writer-Producer Talal Malik in February represented Alpha1Media at Berlinale – The 75h Berlinale International Film Festival in Berlin, Germany; attended US President Donald J. Trump’s first in-person address to an international audience on global governance & public policy on February 19, 2025 in Miami, USA as part of the the Public Investment Fund’s FII Priority Summit, also meeting with Tony Vinciquerra, non-executive Chairman of Sony Pictures Entertainment and former Chairman and CEO from 2017-2025, discussing Sony’s Spider-Man rights as well as Alpha1Media’s global film slate; in April, conducted his first skydive in Melbourne, Australia, as featured in the short film, ‘Man of Tomorrow’, the latter of which was announced as the title of the new Superman film on September 3; in May, attended the 78th edition of the Festival de Cannes in Cannes, France, where Alpha1Media launched their Sovereign IP slate for global cinema, including meeting with Hollywood bible, Variety; in June, was one of the rare attendees at both the comedy GOAT David Chapelle‘s new original set show in Abu Dhabi, UAE, and then in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, in October, which mad global headlines before Chappelle’s end of year blockbuster comedy special on Netflix, ‘David Chappelle: The Unstoppable’; in September, attended the Cultural Investment Conference, and met with Lord Ed Vaizey, former UK Minister for Culture, Communications and Creative Industries, responsible for helping bring major Hollywood productions like ‘Marvel’ and ‘Star Wars’ to the UK; in October, attended the prestigious Joy Forum, meeting with ‘John Wick’ creator, Derek Kolstad, and attending the first dialogue session in a decade of Bollywood stars Salman Khan, Shah Rukh Khan and Aamir Khan; in October, attended the Saudi Film Confex, featuring iconic Hollywood actor Johnny Depp and attended the Public Investment Fund’s 9th Future Investment Initiative Conference in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, and in December, the 5th Red Sea International Film Festival in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, including the VIP Closing Ceremony with guests such as Sir Anthony Hopkins, Salman Khan, Idris Elba and Riz Ahmed.
In 2024, Alpha1Media Founding CEO and Writer-Producer Talal Malik in May attended the 77th edition of the Festival de Cannes in Cannes, France, including the production launch of CoPilot by Microsoft, in October, the Public Investment Fund’s 8th Future Investment Initiative Conference in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, in November, Gateway Gulf in Bahrain in November 2024 and in December, the 4th Red Sea International Film Festival in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, where he attended a special presentation by iconic Hollywood film auteur, Michael Mann, of his classic 1995 film, ‘Heat’, with icons Robert De Niro and Al Pacino, as well as the launch of his director archive of his film, ‘Ferrari’.
In 2023, Alpha1Media Founding CEO and Writer-Producer Talal Malik published his exclusive perspective on ‘How the 1970s shaped the Hollywood blockbuster movie’ to mark the 50th Anniversary of ‘The Godfather’ winning the Best Picture Oscar; conducted his first interview with the iconic international film industry magazine, ‘Screen International’, founded in 134 years ago in 1889, about global cinema and marked the 100th anniversary of the iconic Hollywood sign in Los Angeles, with their commemoration fully endorsed on the anniversary day by the Hollywood Sign Trust itself. In 2022, Talal Malik as an official participant at the 75th Festival de Cannes, published his exclusive milestone perspective on the future of global cinema on May 23 in prestigious British newspaper, The Independent’ (Premium Section), expanded exclusively on Alpha1Media.com as ‘Cinema’s Next Quantum Leap’, and also published in Arabic in Fortune Magazine (US) and also in Mandarin.
Alpha1Media on December 29, 2025, launched its A1Film Awards for 2025, recognising colleagues in the global film industry, and celebrating the best of global popular cinema in 2025, based on the A1Film Top 10 Films of 2025.
The A1Film Top 10 Films of 2025 launched on December 27, 2025, are 1) ‘Avatar: Fire and Ash’, 2) ‘F1: The Movie’, 3) ‘One Battle After Another’, 4) ‘Sinners’, 5) ‘Mission: Impossible: The Final Reckoning’, 6) ‘Superman’, 7) ‘The Alto Knights’, 8) ‘Mickey 17’, 9) ‘Thunderbolts’ and 10) ‘The Fantastic Four: First Steps’.
Alpha1Media (Media. ENHANCED) is a global media and entertainment firm. In the film sector, Alpha1Media focuses on film development, production, financing and cultural advisory services.