The summer of 2026 brought moviegoers a plethora of highly rated films, and I’d be lying if I said I was a stranger to my local AMC. The school year doesn’t give you many chances to go to the cinema, so I tried to find time for new films any chance I got. A few on this list were highly anticipated movies I had been waiting for, while others were either on a whim or were flicks my friends or family wanted to see. In the case of The Furious, the first on this list, my brother and I went into this movie not even knowing what it was! It had been marketed as a mystery movie–Tickets are cheaper, but you don’t know what you’re going to get–though I’d say we got pretty lucky. Grab your popcorn buckets–here are my top flicks from this past summer!
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- The Furious
Shown at the 50th Toronto International Film Festival in 2025, this movie was released in the U.S. this past June with very positive reviews. Directed by Kenji Tanigaki, The Furious follows Wang Wei, a mute tradesman and father to his young daughter, Rainy. The audience is swept up into a series of high-intensity action scenes after Rainy is lured and kidnapped by human traffickers. Wei runs into the local police station, frantic and covered in blood, begging and pleading for help. Realizing that the cops are virtually useless, Wei partners up with Navin, who is looking for his wife and daughter. Wei must find ways to communicate with Navin and fend off his daughter’s kidnappers to save his little girl. The Furious was praised by critics for its inventive use of martial arts choreography and fight scenes that don’t go over-the-top, while focusing on themes of family, culture, and dedication.
- The Devil Wears Prada 2
Is there anything Meryl Streep can’t do? After 20 years, the iconic actress steps back into the role of Miranda Priestly, editor-in-chief of the high-end fashion magazine Runway. The film also brings back several other stars, such as Anne Hathaway, Stanley Tucci, and Emily Blunt. This movie follows Andy (played by Anne Hathaway), a respected journalist who, along with the rest of her company, is laid off unexpectedly. After two decades, Andy is hired back at the financially-declining Runway magazine but struggles to navigate the world of modern fashion. She rejects the style of content Runway has pivoted towards, now consisting of clickbait and short-form videos, and dedicates her new career towards saving the magazine’s content quality–and its future with it. The film was met with fairly positive reviews, though a few critics described the movie as “flat” and “unsatisfactory.” However, The Devil Wears Prada 2 smashed the box office, grossing more in its opening weekend than the original in 2006.
- Power Ballad
This feel-good musical comedy drama stars Paul Rudd, playing wedding singer Rick Power, and Nick Jonas, who plays former boy-band member Danny Wilson. While performing with his wedding band Bride and Groove, Rick meets Danny, who helps him finish an original song, “How to Write a Song (Without You).” A few months after the two part ways, Danny puts out Rick’s song, which becomes a major hit and launches his career as a solo artist. Furious that his song was stolen, Rick desperately tries to find evidence that the song was originally his without much luck. Rick’s whole life is upended until he can prove Danny is a fraud and claim his well-earned stardom. Power Ballad was released in theaters on May 29th and was generally positively received by audiences.
- Backrooms
This film was definitely my most anticipated movie of this year. After being an avid backroom fan for years, I was ecstatic once I heard that Kane Parsons (only 20 years old!) would be directing an A24 film centered on this concept of a space full of liminal, limitless rooms. Backrooms is a psychological horror movie that centers on Clark, a failed architect who owns a struggling furniture store. After Clark finds an entrance to the backrooms, he spends days exploring the infinite amount of dull, yellow rooms, fluorescent lights, malformed furniture, and long corridors. Though he tells his therapist, Mary Cline, about the backrooms, she’s skeptical of its existence and Clark’s sanity. When a cryptic message tells Mary that Clark will not be coming back from the backrooms, she goes to the empty furniture store herself to find her deranged client. The rest of the movie follows Mary as she explores the liminal hellscape that is the backrooms. Upon the film’s release on May 29th, Backrooms was an instant success, quickly becoming A24’s highest grossing film ever.
- Spider-Man: Brand New Day
Marvel fans everywhere waited (not so) patiently for the release of the fourth installment of the MCU Spider-Man series. The movie follows Peter Parker (played by Tom Holland) as he protects the people of New York City as Spider-man while facing his own personal struggles and burnout. These issues are only amplified by the presence of a new telepathic threat. Spider-Man identifies the threat as teenager Jean Gray (played by Sadie Sink) and must reconcile with her through their mutual losses in order to save the city. The film also stars Zendaya as M.J., Peter’s ex-girlfriend, and Jacob Batalon as Ned, Peter’s best friend, both of whom had their memories of Peter erased in the previous installment. This Spider-man is currently the highest grossing film of 2026, bringing in over 2.4 billion dollars worldwide, and was highly received by critics.
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While I’m sure many of you have heard about a majority of movies on this list, I hope you check out any that you haven’t watched yet! I had a hard time narrowing down which movies from this past summer to include. Honorable mentions include Obsession, Hokum, Masters of the Universe, Toy Story 5, and The Death of Robin Hood. Remember to support your local movie theaters and keep the film industry alive and booming!