OKLAHOMA CITY – Like the old saying goes, the only guarantees in life are death, taxes, and a desperate mid-year blockbuster season where the major studios dump all of their tentpole offerings into theaters in a make-or-break bid for summer supremacy.
At least, I think that’s how Ben Franklin said it.
Well, 2026 is shaping up to be no different, even if it’s already feeling like it might not be the most historic or record-breaking summer.
The next big “Avengers” installment isn’t until December (and the summer is only seeing one Marvel film,) the season’s big sequels and franchise pictures aren’t exactly the freshest or most demanded properties, and the couple high-profile, high-budget originals could frankly go either way.
In fact, we may have already seen the two biggest breakouts of the year, with “The Super Mario Galaxy Movie” and “Project Hail Mary” both busting blocks in theaters right now.
So let’s take a look at some of the biggest competitors for the summer crown of 2026.
‘The Devil Wears Prada 2’ – May 1st
It’s an admittedly weird way to kick off the summer, but here we are.
The original “Devil Wears Prada” from a full 20 years ago (I know…) captured the hearts and minds of a generation through an astute exploration of expectations, judgments, workplace culture, and relationship dynamics at the intersection of adolescence and adulthood, not to mention at the outset of a pretty new, millennial world.
This one looks like nostalgia bait.
I’m sorry, but it’s true. It just doesn’t feel necessary to spin those characters into some belabored yarn about shifting generational struggles and the Boomer vs Millennial rivalry just to sell tickets to the late-30s crowd that’s the only demographic that has any disposable income right now.
But maybe I’ll be wrong and maybe it’ll be just as perceptive and sharp as the original. Or maybe not. Either way, Meryl Streep’s getting another Oscar nomination.
‘Disclosure Day’ – June 12th
The father of the summer blockbuster finally returns to the world of sci-fi tentpoles as the living legend Steven Spielberg finally casts off many of his serious, historical trappings and jumps back into big-budget, sprawling-cast epics.
What’s it about? What’s it hoping to say? What’s the target audience and will anyone care about an all-original new entry into Spielberg’s already extensive blockbuster œuvre?
Well, no one knows yet.
It’s been a long time since we’ve seen a major summer offering so fully leave prospective audiences in the dark to build mystery, and I’m here for it. In an age where spoilers abound and every film seems intent on showing all but the last ten minutes of a story in its trailer, I fully welcome a little head-scratching before buying a ticket.
It feels likely that it’s about aliens and probably about the authorities attempting to prevent a mass “disclosure” of their existence, but what else could that disclosure be about? Time travelers? Lizard people? Could even be angels and the governments of the world concealing the existence of God. That’d be kinda wild.
But right now, your guess is as good as mine.
‘Toy Story 5’ – June 19th
More nostalgia bait? Probably, yeah.
But Pixar hasn’t been able to break through lately with anywhere near the consistency that they used to boast, despite a lot of really heartfelt and respected recent offerings.
This time, it’s an examination of how kids today would rather play with devices than toys, which is a long way of saying that this movie is being made more for the parents than the kids.
‘Supergirl’ – June 26th
The first official entry into the new DC Comics cinematic universe not helmed by overseer James Gunn, this is a direct counterpart to Gunn’s highly regarded “Superman” from last year, and it could be an especially fun one.
Kara Zor-El (that’s Supergirl’s real name, for the uninitiated) is decidedly not like her big blue boy scout of an older cousin, and that means that she’s free to be a more volatile and surprising character, struggling with morality, purpose, and even the ability to care.
The movie is reportedly based on the fan-favorite “Woman of Tomorrow” series by Tim King and Bilquis Evely, which sees the hero traversing the cosmos on a sort of dark revenge quest, so it‘s likely to be a pretty big departure from what we saw in Gunn’s earthbound super-yarn.
It remains to be seen if audiences will turn out for this one, and it might need strong early reviews and word of mouth to really hit, but it does have the adorable Krypto returning from “Superman,” and that’s quite a selling point.
‘Moana’ – July 10th
Is it still nostalgia bait if the original is only 10 years old?
Disney keeps churning out these half-baked live-action remakes of their animated classics, and while adults and analysts keep complaining about them, kids keep propelling them to box office domination, so it’s not going to stop any time soon.
This time, The Rock gets to play the character that he voiced just a scant decade ago, so that’s fun, I guess.
I’m sure it’ll make money, and I’m sure that kids will appreciate it, and I especially love to see real Polynesian representation on screen with newcomer Catherine Laga’aia in the lead, but it just feels rehashed and the VFX are destined to look worse than the animation from 10 years ago.
Plus, I just can’t abide all of these unnecessary Disney remakes when they keep ignoring “The Black Hole.”
‘The Odyssey’ – July 17th
After finally winning a few deeply deserved Oscars for the atomically bleak “Oppenheimer,” box office golden boy Christopher Nolan could’ve gone back to smaller, psychological character studies or fallen back on the twisty, mind-warping thrillers he loves.
But doing the obvious wouldn’t be very “Nolan” of him.
Instead, he’s set his sights, a monumental cast, and $250 million on attempting something that still hasn’t fully been achieved in the current century: a legitimately good, critically-acclaimed, and massive-grossing sword-and-sandal epic.
Of course, to pull that off, Nolan has gone back to the source of fantasy epics by trying to do Homer’s pantheonic “Odyssey” properly, with war, gods, giants, magic, and all.
Will he pull it off? I guess if anyone can, it’s Nolan.
‘Spider-Man: Brand New Day’ –July 31st
Marvel has pumped the brakes hard on their output over the past couple years, owing to the 2023 Writer’s Guild strike and the loss of their big bet, Jonathon Majors, following some terrible allegations.
But that’s ended up being something of a blessing in disguise, giving the studio time to retool and reconsider their plans and the admitted audience ennui that’s been plaguing them since 2019’s “Avengers: Endgame.”
But a new “Spider-Man” entry always seems like a good bet, and 2021’s “Spider-Man: No Way Home” was arguably the best installment they’ve seen since that last “Avengers,” both in quality and in box office draw.
This time around, the web-slinger is facing a whole lot of new problems, from the low-income struggles of the inner city and his now total anonymity to his onetime closest friends to some new villains and even some problematic new allies (including Jon Bernthal’s Punisher.)
But the actual plots, stakes, and larger implications for the Marvel Cinematic Universe have all been kept under wraps so far, with only hints and breadcrumbs dropped about things like mutation and possibly even some more multiverse shenanigans.
We’ll have to wait and see how audiences take to this one, and how incoming director Destin Daniel Cretton pulls it all off.
Catch Brett Fieldcamp’s film column weekly for information and insights into the world of film in the Oklahoma City metro and Oklahoma. | Brought to you by the Oklahoma City Museum of Art.
Brett Fieldcamp is the owner and Editor in Chief of Oklahoma City Free Press. He has been covering arts, entertainment, news, housing, and culture in Oklahoma for nearly two decades and served as Arts & Entertainment Editor before purchasing the company from founder Brett Dickerson in 2026.
He is also a musician and songwriter and holds a certification as Specialist of Spirits from The Society of Wine Educators.
