Spring Slate '26 Preview

We take a look at five films ready to hit the big screen and our excitement level for each.

The ensuing month after the Oscars ceremony is the doldrums for moviegoers. Forgotten films, tax write offs, and unmarketable stories are released to little fanfare. However this year, the studios had some major releases that kicked off quarter one.

Overall ticket sales are up 23% from 2025 so far and going strong. Project Hail Mary and the animated film Hoppers have brought in over $500 and $350 million worldwide to date. Wuthering Heights and Scream 7 outperformed expectations pushing back on the “Dumpuary” traditional lull in February. The beginning of April saw the fifth highest animated opening ever with The Super Mario Galaxy Movie bringing in $372 million worldwide which begs the most annoying question in Hollywood today… Are movies back?

There are some tentpole films on the horizon including the multiple reshoot biopic Michael based on the King of Pop himself coming out April 24th. Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu should score big numbers in May. Steven Spielberg’s newest action Sci-Fi Disclosure Day and the mega successful animated series Toy Story will release its fifth installment in June.

After looking at the slate we picked five films that cover an overall spectrum of genres. Some will give scares, others star power performances, and a surprising amount of action as well. Click on any of the titles to see their trailers for our “Spring Slate” 2026 preview.

Lee Cronin’s The Mummy (April 17)

One thing I can say with certainty is this is not your parents 1999 campy action horror The Mummy starring a fresh faced Brendan Fraser. Blumhouse films and director Lee Cronin have rebooted the storyline to a full on horror story. After a stint in Egypt where their young daughter disappeared, she was found eight years later alive in an ancient sarcophagus.

As her family tries to nurture her back to life they find many more questions than answers about her whereabouts the past decade. This film is visually terrifying FULL STOP. For any parents out there, gird your loins for a two hour plus nightmare scenario. This won’t win any awards but will keep you up at night.

Matt at the Movies Excitement Meter: 7/10

Matt at the Movies Score: 6.5/10 (Extremely gnarly and visually gory mixed with some light mystery)

I Swear (April 24)

Robert Aramayo had an incredible year. He is already one of the stars of Amazon’s The Rings of Power series based on The Lord of the Rings Tolkien writings. He just played a chilling British intelligence officer in the film Palestine ‘36 which you can read from my interview with the director Annmarie Jacir.

However his biopic role as John Davidson, a man with uncontrollable Tourette’s, won him the BAFTA award for Best Actor. His tics which often involve incredibly offensive verbal spats have got him into trouble his whole life. We see the incredible wake of destruction it has caused within his family throughout both socially and emotionally. The film explores the process of trying to pinpoint the root of his tics through therapy, medication, and new discoveries in the medical field for Tourette’s Syndrome.

Matt at the Movies Excitement Meter: 8/10

The Devil Wears Prada 2 (May 1)

Has it already been twenty years since this classic comedy came out? I was listening to a Bill Simmons podcast and he put out a top fifty of the most re-watchable movies of the 21st century. His #1 film was none other than the original 2006 and I have to say it is easily in my top five most rewatched films of all-time. It is like a comfortable pair of sweats or eating your favorite midnight snack. So why is this not a 10/10 on my excitement meter?

How many sequels in your lifetime completely disappointed you and made it feel like a cash grab or intentional nostalgia hit to get you to drop $30 on a popcorn bucket? We have Anne Hathaway, Stanley Tucci, Emily Blunt, and our queen Meryl Streep all returning in their original roles which gives me incredible hope.

Hathaway’s character Andrea left Runway magazine to pursue her true passion in journalism and has been brought back into the fray as head of editorials because of scandal brewing at the famous publication. Streep’s character Miranda Priestly who is based on the fashion icon Anna Wintour seems as fierce as ever with little time for her former protégé. Can Andrea prove once again that she is capable of righting the ship of her former boss or take down this titan of industry in the process? Sad to say I’m more invested in this than the other four films combined!

Matt at the Movies Excitement Meter: 8.5/10

In the Grey (May 15)

If you have watched any Guy Ritchie films in the past decade you most likely know the beat by beat how his plot will end up. Incredible soundtracks with intermittent flashy cuts to create montages over top of snappy yet sexy dialogue. You get protagonists who are seemingly way over their head only to bring it together for the final act. Style over substance is usually the key and it can range from incredible to a little corny. I would equate him to an crime/action version of Wes Anderson. Let’s see how he fared the past decade:

The Good:

(2019) - The Gentlemen is a fun romp of high end gangster drug dealers with an amazing cast, hilarious scenes and very rewatchable.

(2021) - Wrath of Man is over the top cliche but in the best way possible that let’s Statham star.

(2023) - Guy Ritchie’s The Covenant: a solid heroes journal action set piece in the middle east starring Jake Gyllenhaal.

The Bad:

(2021) - Aladdin made a good chunk of cash but was a soulless live action remake starring Will Smith as the Genie.

(2023) - Operation Fortune: Ruse de Guerre was an overstuffed secret agent style mess.

(2024) - Fountain of Youth was a total cash grab from Apple TV+ and my worst reviewed Letterboxd film of the year

The “meh”:

(2017) - King Arthur: Legend of the Sword was extremely cool to look at but overall goes in the bucket of half thought out King Arthur reboots.

(2024) - The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare had all the pieces to be a great WWII spy thriller but was too stylish for it’s own good and fell apart in the third act.

I can’t make heads or tails of this new film starring Henry Cavill and Jake Gyllenhaal who, like Charlie Hunnam and Jason Statham appear to be part of the “Ritchie Universe”. Two hired mercenaries act as fixers to retrieve stolen money from bad guys. Looks hammy, fun, and stylish. We’ll see if the substance kicks over the style when it is released.

Matt at the Movies Excitement Meter: 7/10

The Furious (May 29)

Let’s bring you back to a simpler timeline. It’s 2011 and you hear whispers about an insane Indonesian action thriller that feels like Judge Dredd mixed with a video game script. The Raid: Redemption has a high probability threshold to being any martial arts fan’s favorite movie from the past 15 years. Two of its stars, Joe Taslim and Yayan Ruhian, are back in Hong Kong with a new story directed by Kenji Tanigaka the lifelong Japanese martial arts master.

A father must rescue his kidnapped daughter from a criminal empire. Seems simple enough. An average Joe with nothing left to lose so he and a journalist dive deep into the underground criminal world. Giving off hints of Liam Neeson’s Taken mixed or Denzel Washington in his Man on Fire remake. Do me a favor and watch the trailer then realize this film is like the previous two after taking steroids. As someone who grew up on corny Jean-Claude Van Damme and Dolph Lundgren action garbage, this trailer gave me chills. God bless Asian cinema for pushing boundaries in 2026 within this genre.

Matt at the Movies Excitement Meter: 10/10

Yes this season seems a little light in terms of quality compared to summer. There are still several hidden gems to discover and often smaller indies will make an unexpected splash. Remember April gave us Sinners last year and it had the staying power to claim multiple Oscars. I think that film for this year could be A24’s production of twenty year old director Kane Parsons web series Backrooms which comes out May 29th starring Chiwetel Ejiofor and Renate Reinsve. A very trippy film that involves an endless maze of rooms that adapt to those who enter making for some chilling horror.

Get out to see some films on a hot day or lazy weekend to keep this momentum going! We’ll be back soon to talk about some of the films mentioned above and more in the coming weeks. Check out Y’all Weekly for more culture and sports articles popping up on the regular. Thanks for reading Matt at the Movies.