The best 2026 movies so far, from hits to hidden gems

USA TODAY’s June 2026 article ranks the year’s standout films so far, highlighting a mix of sci‑fi, horror, drama and animation from Ryan Gosling’s ‘Project Hail Mary’ to a Pixar comedy and a Spielberg alien thriller, and notes where each can be streamed or seen in theaters.

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Adore science fiction, horror and cartoon beavers? You might be having the best movie year ever.

We're not even halfway through 2026 and already we have some standout films that any discerning cinephile would love. And from all different sorts of genres, too: There's a Pixar animated movie(and not one from a franchise!), a Steven Spielberg alien jam, a Ryan Gosling astronaut outing, a bad romance with Margot Robbie and Jacob Elordi, and a documentary featuring none other than the King of Rock 'n' Roll.

So which ones have satisfied the most? Here are 2026’s best movies so far, definitively ranked:

10. 'Nirvanna the Band the Show the Movie'

Don't hold your breath for a "Back to the Future" reboot. Instead, be glad this scrappy Canadian comedy exists. Continuing their cult TV show, Matt Johnson and Jay McCarrol play best buds who form a band in 2008 so they can play at a Toronto music club. When they still haven't played there 17 years later, the two go back in a time-traveling RV – powered by Orbitz (the fruit beverage, not the travel site) – for existential crises and "Jackass"-style pranks.