The 2026 summer movie season was historic. Not only did we see two films, The Odyssey and Spider-Man: Brand New Day, break major box office records, but several smaller films from young directors, mainly Obsession and Backrooms, broke through in a way few could’ve foreseen. So it’s been a fantastic summer. But how many of those films made this list? You’ll have to read to find out.
What you have below is io9’s five favorite films of the summer of 2026. Each member of the staff picked their favorites, we gave them weighted values, added them up, and voila. Let’s count it down.
First, honorable mentions. Here are films that got votes but did not make the top five: Disclosure Day, The End of Oak Street, Coyote vs. Acme, and Toy Story 5. Now, on to the list.
5. The Furious
Sometimes you sit down at the movies and just want to see a bunch of guys beat the crap out of each other for a few hours. Kenji Tanigaki’s new film, The Furious, was that and so much more. The premise is simple: a man’s daughter is kidnapped, and he has to fight his way to find her. But that story weaves into other things, and allows for some of the most over-the-top, unbelievable, and beautifully shot martial arts choreography we’ve seen in a long, long time. If you love films like The Raid or John Wick, The Furious is exactly what you’ve been looking for.
4. Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma
Having already dazzled horror fans craving offbeat genre takes with We’re All Going to the World’s Fair and I Saw the TV Glow, writer-director Jane Schoenbrun delivers a surreal slasher film that showcases equal love for gory campfire stories, Hollywood satire, fandom at its most earnest, sexual awakenings, and gummy candy. Gillian Anderson and Hannah Einbinder deliver top-notch performances as a reclusive scream queen and the determined young filmmaker who idolizes her, and despite all the homages crammed into Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma, the exuberant end result is an absolute original. – Cheryl Eddy
3. Spider-Man: Brand New Day
We all expected the new Spider-Man to be good. So much time had passed since the excellent No Way Home that there was a sense that Tom Holland and Zendaya wouldn’t have come back unless it was something special. Then you add director Destin Daniel Cretton into the mix, several mega names from the Marvel Cinematic Universe (Mark Ruffalo as Hulk, Jon Bernthal as Punisher), and also make it a crucial piece of the entire puzzle as an origin story for Jean Grey (Sadie Sink), and Brand New Day was so much more. Which is why we loved it and why audiences are loving it, to the tune of it potentially being the highest-grossing movie in U.S. history.
2. The Odyssey
When you think summer movies, you think blockbusters. Massive, action-packed, effects-driven spectacles that need to be seen on a big screen. With The Odyssey, though, director Christopher Nolan somehow took that entire notion up a notch. The Odyssey is all of those things, but it demanded to be seen on bigger screens with bigger stars, a bigger story, and a filmmaker at the top of his game. The end result is a movie that not only entertains and wows, but engages your feelings and curiosities. The Odyssey demands debate. It demands discussion, and it created cultural conversations the likes of which we hadn’t seen in years.
1. Obsession
We hate to say “We told you so,” but “We told you so.” Last year, we saw Obsession and loved it. From there, at every single chance we had, we tried to hype up what we thought was one of the best, most original, and most messed-up horror films we’d seen in years. And yet, even so, no one could have predicted the tale of Bear and Nikki would’ve grossed almost half a billion dollars globally. It was the rare movie that made more money over its first few weekends because of the incredible word of mouth. Quickly, it worked its way into pop culture and film history. Obsession is a movie we’ll be obsessed with for a long time, and it was our favorite movie of not just the summer of 2026, but maybe the year too. We’ll see how it all plays out.
Want more io9 news? Check out when to expect the latest Marvel, Star Wars, and Star Trek releases, what’s next for the DC Universe on film and TV, and everything you need to know about the future of Doctor Who.
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