The best of
2026, so far.

Critic score 93. A 70 earns nothing and a 98 earns all 40 points.

Audience score 94. A 60 earns nothing and a 98 earns all 20 points.

Barker's first feature. Before it he made sketch comedy on YouTube and a horror short, The Chair, that passed 10 million views.

Made for about $750,000, it earned more in its second weekend than its first, more again in its third, and reached $519 million worldwide, fifth among horror films before adjusting for inflation.

Critic score 100. A 70 earns nothing and a 98 earns all 40 points.

Audience score 87. A 60 earns nothing and a 98 earns all 20 points.

The Spy and the Traitor was a UK number one; Operation Mincemeat became a film and a musical.

Twelve days out with 200 ratings. Too early to call.

Critic score 90. A 70 earns nothing and a 98 earns all 40 points.

Audience score 97. A 60 earns nothing and a 98 earns all 20 points.

Directed by the maker of Shang-Chi.

#1 at the US box office six weekends in a row.

Critic score 89. A 70 earns nothing and a 98 earns all 40 points.

Audience score 93. A 60 earns nothing and a 98 earns all 20 points.

Capcom's Resident Evil team, fresh off the Resident Evil 2 and 4 remakes and Village.

Shipped more than 7 million copies in two months, the fastest-selling Resident Evil yet.

Critic score 96. A 70 earns nothing and a 98 earns all 40 points.

Audience score 91. A 60 earns nothing and a 98 earns all 20 points.

Cregger made Barbarian and Weapons before this, and this opening beat Weapons as the biggest of his career.

It opened to $108.3 million worldwide, a record for the franchise, and has grossed $196.5 million on a $75 million budget.

Critic score 96. A 70 earns nothing and a 98 earns all 40 points.

Audience score 85. A 60 earns nothing and a 98 earns all 20 points.

Christopher Storer ran all five seasons and the show has been an Emmy fixture since 2023.

The final season's premiere week drew 587 million minutes of US streaming, down from 917 million for season four.

Critic score 89. A 70 earns nothing and a 98 earns all 40 points.

Audience score 87. A 60 earns nothing and a 98 earns all 20 points.

A Brief History of Seven Killings won the 2015 Booker; the Dark Star trilogy followed.

Shortlisted for the Booker (winner Nov 9) and longlisted for the National Book Award, both within three weeks of coming out.

Critic score 96. A 70 earns nothing and a 98 earns all 40 points.

Audience score 85. A 60 earns nothing and a 98 earns all 20 points.

Jones created AMC's Interview with the Vampire, and this is its third season under a new name. The first two scored 98% and 100% on Rotten Tomatoes.

AMC says it passed its 30-day viewing estimate in seven days and doubled it in 20, but it has not been renewed yet.

Critic score 99. A 70 earns nothing and a 98 earns all 40 points.

Audience score 89. A 60 earns nothing and a 98 earns all 20 points.

Elizabeth Meriwether created New Girl and The Dropout, and Emmy Rossum carried seven years of Shameless.

It passed 43 million hours viewed about five weeks after launch and Hulu renewed it in August 2026.

Critic score 90. A 70 earns nothing and a 98 earns all 40 points.

Audience score 83. A 60 earns nothing and a 98 earns all 20 points.

Five previous Forza Horizon games, all well reviewed.

Peaked above 300K players on Steam at once, a record for Xbox Game Studios.

Critic score 94. A 70 earns nothing and a 98 earns all 40 points.

Audience score 93. A 60 earns nothing and a 98 earns all 20 points.

This is Chong's first Pixar feature as director, after creating the TV series We Bare Bears.

It earned $390 million worldwide, a solid run for an original Pixar film.

Critic score 91. A 70 earns nothing and a 98 earns all 40 points.

Audience score 84. A 60 earns nothing and a 98 earns all 20 points.

Third solo album after Stranger in the Alps and the Grammy-nominated Punisher, plus boygenius.

Debuted #2 on the Billboard 200, her first top-10, and #1 in the UK.

Critic score 91. A 70 earns nothing and a 98 earns all 40 points.

Audience score 81. A 60 earns nothing and a 98 earns all 20 points.

From the studio behind Shovel Knight.

Sold 500K+ in about ten days and held the year's top Metacritic score for weeks.

Critic score 98. A 70 earns nothing and a 98 earns all 40 points.

Audience score 77. A 60 earns nothing and a 98 earns all 20 points.

The Friend won the National Book Award and became a film; What Are You Going Through followed.

Collected stories rarely chart. 700 ratings in ten weeks says readers haven't followed the critics yet.

Critic score 89. A 70 earns nothing and a 98 earns all 40 points.

Audience score 86. A 60 earns nothing and a 98 earns all 20 points.

A cozy life sim, a new kind of game for the series, so the track record counts for less.

Sold 2.2 million in four days and passed 5 million in just over four months, per Nintendo.

Critic score 96. A 70 earns nothing and a 98 earns all 40 points.

Audience score 95. A 60 earns nothing and a 98 earns all 20 points.

Dave Green directed Earth to Echo and a Ninja Turtles sequel, so the draw here is the Looney Tunes name.

It has taken $65.9 million worldwide against a $70 million budget, after Warner Bros. shelved it for a tax write-off.

Critic score 88. A 70 earns nothing and a 98 earns all 40 points.

Audience score 83. A 60 earns nothing and a 98 earns all 20 points.

Third album. SOUR and GUTS both won or were nominated for Grammys.

Debuted #1 on the Billboard 200 with about 470K units and held #1 for more than two weeks.