Fall 2026 Movies Preview: 26 Must-See Films Including \"Bad Apples,\" \"By Any Means,\" and More

Fall 2026 Movies Preview — 26 Must-See Films Heading to Theaters & Streaming

Boston.com just published a comprehensive fall preview covering 26 films arriving September through Thanksgiving, and the lineup is seriously stacked. Here are the titles millennials should add to their watchlists immediately.

This Week's Major Releases (September 18-25)

Today marks the start of serious cinema season. Opening September 18, \"Bad Apples\" drops alongside \"The Weight\" and the animated \"Shaun the Sheep: The Beast of Mossy Bottom\". Three days later, Friday September 25 brings \"Charlie Harper\" — a dark comedy starring Adam Sandler reuniting with director Dan Mays; \"Forgotten Island\", an adventure thriller set in Papua New Guinea directed by Chad Stahelski (John Wick); and \"Heart of the Beast\", a war drama featuring Timothee Chalamet as a young soldier during the Korean War.

Nightmare on Stage: \"By Any Means\" Steals the Spotlight

The strongest title so far is \"By Any Means\", arriving from Paramount. Directed by Elegance Bratton, this 1960s-set crime thriller stars Yahya Abdul-Mateen II and Mark Wahlberg. Based on a true story about a group of Black activists who robbed a bank to fund civil-rights operations, the film has been generating buzz at early festival screenings. It plays like a cross between \"Mission Impossible\" energy and \"The Help\" emotional weight.

What Else to Watch

The rest of the fall slate includes the raunchy \"Your Mother Your Mother Your Mother\" (a Kevin Smith-style buddy comedy), the horror anthology \"The Weight\", plus surprise returns from Christopher Nolan's next project (details under embargo) and a long-gestating Pearl Harbor spinoff that somehow made it past development hell. If you want to spend less inside and more at the box office this fall, start planning now.