The best films of 2026 so far

A selection of standout films so far ranges from lovable crowdpleasers to austere remakings and brutal genre entries. Song Sung Blue turns a Neil Diamond tribute act into a sweet, startlingly strange true-life story about a Milwaukee married couple rising to fame with the real-life band Lightning and Thunder.

Chloé Zhao’s Hamnet is an audacious, Shakespearean reimagining of child loss, with Paul Mescal and Jessie Buckley giving unselfconsciously beguiling performances. 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple delivers a gruesome, energised fourquel, while Kaouther Ben Hania’s The Voice of Hind Rajab uses the real audio of a five-year-old in a fierce docufiction reconstruction.

Park Chan-wook’s No Other Choice is a sensational state-of-the-nation satire that morphs from caper to portrait of family dysfunction. Primate offers unpretentious B-movie fun with a pet chimp gone wild, and Aneil Karia’s Hamlet places Riz Ahmed’s tortured prince in a stark retelling set in a shady family business.

United States, Milwaukee

song sung, neil diamond, hamnet, chloé zhao, paul mescal, jessie buckley, riz ahmed, chan-wook, primate, hamlet