Between blockbusters selling out IMAX screens and some of the year’s biggest hits finally landing on streaming, this is genuinely one of the stronger months for movies in a while. This roundup of the best movies this month covers ten picks worth your time, whether you’re heading to a theater or just settling in on the couch.
Let’s get into the ten movies actually worth watching this month, from massive theatrical releases to the streaming hits everyone’s suddenly talking about.
Best Movies This Month
This list mixes theaters and streaming on purpose, since the two overlap more than ever right now. Here are the best movies this month worth actually setting aside time for.
1. The Odyssey
Christopher Nolan’s take on the classic Greek epic has already sold out IMAX screenings across the country, and honestly, that’s exactly the kind of reaction you’d expect from a director whose name alone gets people rushing to the biggest screen possible, and early buzz suggests this one lives up to the hype rather than just riding on his reputation. Best movies this month.
Quick Facts:
- Directed by Christopher Nolan
- Sold out IMAX screenings nationwide before wide release
- One of the two biggest theatrical releases of the month
2. Spider-Man: Brand New Day
Tom Holland is back in the suit for a fourth solo outing, set five years after the last film, with Peter Parker dealing with real isolation as his hero life takes over everything else. The cast is stacked, Zendaya, Jacob Batalon, Jon Bernthal, Sadie Sink, and Mark Ruffalo all show up alongside him, and the trailers suggest a noticeably darker, more grounded tone than the last few entries. Best movies this month.
Quick Facts:
- Fourth solo Spider-Man film starring Tom Holland
- Set five years after the previous installment
- Stacked supporting cast including Zendaya and Mark Ruffalo
3. Project Hail Mary
This Ryan Gosling space adventure became the year’s first genuine box office sensation, pulling in $683 million after a 105-day theatrical run, and now it’s landed on Prime Video for anyone who missed it on the big screen, which is genuinely one of the better ways to catch a movie this big without paying theater prices. Best movies this month.
Quick Facts:
- Starring Ryan Gosling
- Grossed $683 million theatrically
- Now streaming on Prime Video after a 105-day theatrical window
4. The Devil Wears Prada 2
Two decades after the original became a comfort-watch staple, Miranda, Andy, Emily, and Nigel are all back, with the same creative team behind the first film returning to steer it. Emily Blunt reportedly steals the show this time around, and the story smartly updates the original’s take on fashion and journalism for a very different media landscape two decades later. Best movies this month.
Quick Facts:
- Sequel arriving two decades after the original
- Same director and writer from the first film return
- Grossed $678 million worldwide
5. Super Mario Galaxy Movie
The animated sequel became the first billion-dollar grosser of 2026, and now it’s landing on Peacock, which is a genuinely huge get for the platform heading into the rest of the summer, since a billion-dollar hit landing on any single streaming service tends to move the needle in a big way. Best movies this month.
Quick Facts:
- First billion-dollar grossing movie of 2026
- Now streaming on Peacock
- A major family-friendly pick for the whole household
6. Moana (Live-Action)
Disney is betting the live-action remake trend still has plenty of gas left in the tank, and this one’s aiming to recreate the massive box office success of the original animated film that so many families already love, and the marketing push suggests Disney is treating this as one of its biggest bets of the year. Best movies this month.
Quick Facts:
- Live-action remake of the animated Disney classic
- In theaters this month
- Aimed squarely at the same family audience as the original
7. Enola Holmes 3
Millie Bobby Brown returns for a third round as Sherlock Holmes’s sister, and if the earlier entries are any indication, this franchise seems perfectly happy to keep going as long as audiences keep showing up, and there’s a comfort in that consistency even if nobody’s expecting it to reinvent the wheel. Best movies this month.
Quick Facts:
- Millie Bobby Brown returns in the lead role
- Third film in the Enola Holmes franchise
- New to Netflix this month
8. Thrash
This shark thriller made a real splash earlier this year, a small American town gets overrun with killer sharks during a hurricane, and somehow the film manages to be both genuinely funny and genuinely scary at the same time, with sharp social commentary woven in underneath the chaos, tackling climate change without ever feeling like it’s lecturing anyone watching.
Quick Facts:
- A hurricane-set killer shark thriller
- Balances horror with sly social commentary
- Now available to stream on Netflix
9. PAW Patrol: The Dino Movie
The third film in the wildly popular dog-based animated franchise sends the pups on a shipwreck adventure onto a mysterious island, exactly the kind of low-stress, high-energy pick that works for family movie night with younger kids who just want something fun and easy to follow.
Quick Facts:
- Third installment in the PAW Patrol movie franchise
- Follows the pups after a shipwreck onto a mysterious island
- In theaters this month
10. Descendants: Wicked Wonderland
The hugely popular franchise continues the story of Red and Chloe, who now face off against a new villain after he captures the Queen of Hearts. A handful of new characters join the cast, including the children of a few familiar faces from earlier films, which keeps the world feeling like it’s actually moving forward instead of standing still.
Quick Facts:
- Continues the story of Red and Chloe from the franchise
- Introduces several new next-generation characters
- New to Disney+ this month
Which Movie Should You Actually Watch First?
It really depends on the mood you’re in, and honestly, that’s what makes this month so good, there’s genuinely something for every kind of viewer no matter what you’re in the mood for. If you want the full big-screen event experience, The Odyssey and Spider-Man: Brand New Day are the two worth prioritizing a theater trip for, since both are built around scale and spectacle that a laptop screen just can’t fully deliver no matter how good your TV setup at home actually is.
My honest take: if you’re picking a streaming night in specifically, Project Hail Mary is the one I’d start with, it’s rare for a movie to become a genuine box office phenomenon and still hold up just as well on a smaller screen, but this one manages it without losing much of what made it work in theaters. That said, if you’ve got kids or just want something lighter after a long week, Super Mario Galaxy Movie and PAW Patrol: The Dino Movie are both easy, low-effort picks for a relaxed night in that the whole family can actually agree on.
If you can only catch one movie this month, make it The Odyssey, it’s the kind of film genuinely built for a theater experience, and with IMAX screenings already selling out, it’s clearly the one people are the most excited about right now.
