There’s a unique joy to be found in watching movie stars pull off intricate, death-defying stunts from the comfort of your air-conditioned seat. Action movies remain among the best on-screen spectacles Hollywood has to offer, and 2026’s action slate is no exception.
This year, Christopher Nolan kicked it back to one of Western storytelling’s oldest epic tales with his adaptation of The Odyssey. Meanwhile, blockbuster franchises dominated the box office, from highly anticipated DC and Marvel sequels to reimaginings of best-selling video games. Below, we’ve put together a list of the best action movies of 2026—and the most intriguing, pulse-pounding films coming out soon. (And if you’re looking for more movie recommendations, here are the best action films of 2025).
The Best Action Movies of 2026 So Far
'Pretty Lethal'
Release date: March 25
Starring: Iris Apatow, Lana Condor, Millicent Simmonds, Avantika, Maddie Ziegler, and Uma Thurman
Why it's worth seeing: Ass-kicking ballerinas? We're sold. Gen-Z It girls lead this action-thriller about a troupe of dancers who must fight for their survival after they check into a mysterious inn when their bus to a competition breaks down...and armed men are on their tails. Don't expect any average dégagés and grand battements here!
'Project Hail Mary'
Release date: March 20
Starring: Ryan Gosling, Sandra Hüller, Lionel Boyce, Ken Leung, Milana Vayntrub, and James Ortiz
Why it's worth seeing: These days, we're extra lucky when Hollywood goes all-in on an original blockbuster—especially one with practical effects. Project Hail Mary, based on Andy Weir's best-selling novel of the same name, certainly got cinephiles into theater seats with its sci-fi thrill ride...and warmed our hearts just the same. Following a biologist/middle school teacher (Ryan Gosling) thrust onto a dangerous mission to save Earth, it becomes an unlikely friendship story between him and an alien who's set out to save his own planet. Gosling brings the charm, laughs abound, and you'll realize that you never knew you could feel so much for a rock.
'Masters of the Universe'
Release date: June 5
Starring: Nicholas Galitzine, Jared Leto, Camila Mendes, Alison Brie, Kristen Wiig, and Idris Elba
Why it’s worth seeing: Masters of the Universe marks the first time that iconic superhero He-Man has graced the big screen in almost 40 years. This time around, The Idea of You’s Nicholas Galitzine plays the titular “Master of the Universe,” a young man on Earth who discovers that he’s secretly an alien prince who must reclaim his home.
'The Odyssey'
Release date: July 17
Starring: Matt Damon, Tom Holland, Robert Pattinson, Zendaya, Elliot Page, Mia Goth, Anne Hathaway, Jon Bernthal, and Benny Safdie
Why it’s worth seeing: Hollywood’s preeminent blockbuster filmmaker putting his own spin on the cornerstone of Western storytelling? If that doesn’t make Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey a frontrunner for the movie of 2026, I don’t know what does. This take on Homer’s classic epic stars Matt Damon as Odysseus, a Trojan soldier who sets out on a years-long, battle-filled voyage to reunite with his family. Expect to see plenty more familiar faces in this mythical reimagining.
'Spider-Man: Brand New Day'
Release date: July 31
Starring: Tom Holland, Zendaya, Jacob Batalon, Sadie Sink, Liza Colón-Zayas, Jon Bernthal, Mark Ruffalo, Michael Mando, Tramell Tillman, and Marvin Jones III
Why it’s worth seeing: Power couple Tom Holland and Zendaya ruled the box office in 2026, with the latest Spider-Man movie arriving in theaters just two weeks after The Odyssey. It follows 2021’s Spider-Man: No Way Home—but marks a fresh start for Peter Parker, considering Dr. Strange's spell has made the world forget he exists. Though he's been fighting crime underground, when he reenters his friends's lives and a new threat endangers them, he inevitably suits up yet again.
'The End of Oak Street'
Release date: August 14
Starring: Anne Hathaway, Ewan McGregor, Maisy Stella, and Christian Convery
Why it's worth seeing: Raising a family is hard enough, but raising one while dodging hungry dinosaurs is a whole other ball game. Anne Hathaway and Ewan McGregor lend their movie-star chops to The End of Oak Street, playing parents whose suburban block is suddenly transported to a mysterious new land following a cosmic blip.
'Hope'
Release date: September 9
Starring: Hwang Jung-min, Zo In-sung, Hoyeon, Taylor Russell, Cameron Britton, Alicia Vikander, and Michael Fassbender
Why it’s worth seeing: Acclaimed Korean filmmaker Na Hong-jin returned this year with the mind-melting Hope. The film stunned (and confounded) Cannes attendees, unfolding as a standoff between police officers and mysterious creatures. Taylor Russell and married couple Alicia Vikander and Michael Fassbender play key alien characters, and the movie’s pulse-pounding chase sequences are bound to wow you.
'Street Fighter'
Release date: October 16
Starring: Noah Centineo, Andrew Koji, Callina Liang, Leati Joseph “Roman Reigns” Anoaʻi, David Dastmalchian, and Cody Rhodes
Why it’s worth seeing: If you’re interested in video game adaptations, this take on the famed arcade game of the same name should be on your radar. In the 2026 Street Fighter reboot, estranged street fighters Ken Masters (Noah Centineo) and Ryu (Andrew Koji) are thrown back together in hopes of ending up the sole victor of the World Warrior Tournament.
The Best Action Movies Coming Soon in 2026
'The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping'
Release date: November 20
Starring: Joseph Zada, Jesse Plemons, Ralph Fiennes, Kieran Culkin, Elle Fanning, Mckenna Grace, Maya Hawke, Whitney Peak, Kelvin Harrison Jr., and Glenn Close
Why it’s worth seeing: Are you ready to return to the arena? Based on Suzanne Collins’s bestselling Hunger Games prequel of the same name (set between the events of The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes and the first novel), Sunrise on the Reaping depicts Katniss’s mentor Haymitch Abernathy’s gruesome time in the games. When the District 12 victor was forced to fight to the death, he was selected during the Second Quarter Quell, or when each Panem district had to submit double the number of tributes. The hype for this franchise blockbuster is real: Fans have been very vocal about how pleased they are with the casting—including A-listers like Elle Fanning, Jesse Plemons, and Kieran Culkin as younger versions of key characters Effie Trinket, Plutarch Heavensbee, and Caesar Flickerman, respectively. Not only that, just as the first film was a breakout moment for Jennifer Lawrence (who’s set to return in a cameo), it should be a star-making role for newcomer Joseph Zada as young Haymitch.
'The Further Mis-Adventures of Cliff Booth'
Release date: November 25
Starring: Brad Pitt, Scott Caan, Elizabeth Debicki, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Carla Gugino, and Timothy Olyphant
Why it’s worth seeing: Brad Pitt won an Oscar for playing ‘70s stuntman Cliff Booth in Quentin Tarantino’s Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. Revisiting the character and New Hollywood on-screen would be exciting enough. This time, though, David Fincher directs, with a script from Tarantino, setting the stage for an action-packed collaboration between two of the most acclaimed directors working.
'Avengers: Doomsday'
Release date: December 18
Starring: Robert Downey Jr., Chris Hemsworth, Anthony Mackie, Letitia Wright, Paul Rudd, Chris Evans, Simu Liu, Florence Pugh, Vanessa Kirby, and Pedro Pascal
Why it’s worth seeing: Although Marvel’s recent output has been hit-and-miss, there’s no doubt this new Avengers team-up movie is shaping up to be one of the year's moviegoing events. In a major casting shakeup, Marvel founding father Robert Downey Jr. is back in a new role as the villainous sorcerer Doctor Doom. Now, newer heroes like the Thunderbolts and the Fantastic Four will team up with longtime favorites like Chris Evans’s Steve Rogers and Chris Hemsworth’s Thor, setting the stage for a grand, multiversal showdown.
'Dune: Part Three'
Release date: December 18
Starring: Timothée Chalamet, Zendaya, Florence Pugh, Anya Taylor-Joy, Josh Brolin, Rebecca Ferguson, Jason Momoa, and Robert Pattinson
Why it’s worth seeing: Lisan al-Gaib! The epic conclusion of Denis Villeneuve’s Dune trilogy is nearly here, adapting Frank Herbert's 1969 novel Dune Messiah. While Paul Atreides’s (Timothée Chalamet) fateful ascension to prevent a holy war was charted throughout the series, the final film will show the aftermath, reckoning with a young man with unchecked power. The main ensemble will return, with Jason Momoa reprising his role from the first film, Anya Taylor-Joy with likely more screen time than in the second, and Robert Pattinson as the villain, Scytale.