July is always one of the biggest months for cinema in any given year, and 2026 has been no different. From Christopher Nolan to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, this month has been incredibly competitive, not just for the box office, but for critical acclaim. And for all the great efforts it provided, we’ve also been hit with our fair share of the worst that the month — and perhaps the entire year — has had to offer. Here’s what to rush towards whilst they still occupy cinemas, and what to save your hard earned money from.
The Best:
The Invite (Dir. Olivia Wilde)
The Invite received rave reviews coming out of the 2026 Sundance Film Festival earlier this year, and it’s clear to see why. This is Olivia Wilde’s third time in the director’s chair — after 2019’s Booksmart and 2022’s Don’t Worry Darling — and the result is one of the year’s best-written works yet, courtesy of a script penned by Rashida Jones and Will McCormack.
The movie follows Joe (Seth Rogen) and Angela (Olivia Wilde), a married couple whose relationship is on thin ice. In an attempt to revitalise their struggling marriage, they host a dinner party for their mysterious, uninhibited upstairs neighbours, Hawk (Edward Norton) and Pina (Penelope Cruz). Throughout their night, they discover an array of things about each other and themselves, spiralling this into unexpected places, for both the characters and audience alike.
Seth Rogen seems to be on an incredible dramedy run recently, following on from The Studio, and The Invite is one of the most well-written movies you’ll watch this year, as well as containing some incredibly admirable blocking throughout. This is the kind of movie that can be dissected for hours after you watch, so I’d suggest you do so, especially with it being under two hours long.
Evil Dead Burn (Dir. Sébastien Vaniček)
The Evil Dead franchise has been a staple of horror comedy for the last 45 years, essentially defining the genre with Sam Raimi’s original. Over the almost half a decade since The Evil Dead’s release, the franchise made a few drastic turns, from Monty Python-like medieval comedy to scrapping any semblance of comedy all together — and that’s just in two movies. The last instalment in this franchise, 2023’s Evil Dead Rise, brought the deadites to the city, and Burn seemed to try to find a middle ground between this and the original ‘cabin in the woods’ secluded style — which I’d say it succeeded in, though not with flying colours.
This movie follows Alice (Souheila Yacoub), a woman whose husband, Will (George Pullar), recently died in a car accident after drunk driving due to an argument he had with her. Alice goes to live with her husband’s family shortly after the funeral, while she gets her life back in order. Throughout, each member of Will’s family becomes possessed, all with the intent of finding Will’s grandfather’s research on deadites and destroying their only weakness. As Alice fights for her life, she comes to realise that the vows she made in life also follow into death.
Evil Dead Burn is on this side of the list as it has much higher highs than it does lows, even if it does have plenty of the latter. My favourite thing about this is its exploration into grief and how it can affect people in different ways, as well as how people can perceive others so differently, depending on their experiences with that person.
The main downsides to this, however, are that it can often become somewhat convoluted and lacks much of the comedy that audiences have come to know and love this franchise for. Ultimately, while this may not end up as one of your favourite movies of the year, it’s definitely a fun time and worth the day out.
The Odyssey (Dir. Christopher Nolan)
Absolutely nobody is surprised at The Odyssey showing up in this list. I’m sure most people were confident in this movie from exactly a year before it was released, after every 70mm IMAX viewing sold out instantly. Christopher Nolan is a master at his craft and The Odyssey is no different.
The Odyssey is based on Homer’s Greek poem, dating all the way back to the 8th century BC. This follows Odysseus (Matt Damon), a great warrior and ruler of Ithaca, after the events of the Trojan War, on his ten year journey home. After battling a Cyclops, cannibalistic giants, a witch who turns his entire crew into pigs, sirens intent on luring them into dangerous waters, two sea monsters, and being stranded on an island inhabited by sacred cattle — goading the crew into cursing themselves by eating this cattle — Odysseus is left as the sole survivor. After being trapped on an island with Calypso (Charlize Theron) for seven years, Odysseus is finally able to return to Ithaca, only to find a mass of suitors living in his palace.
This is truly one of the year’s best movies, and I’m sure it will stay that way. Christopher Nolan, once again, displays his talent as a filmmaker with the incredible set pieces, practical effects, and of course the writing blowing audiences away. This is one of the movies I’d say are essential to watch by the end of this year, even for a casual cinemagoer. If you have an IMAX cinema anywhere near you, do not spare the trip.
Spider-Man: Brand New Day (Dir. Destin Daniel Cretton)
Spider-Man: Brand New Day is the newest movie in this list and, whilst it definitely isn’t the best, it is likely the most fun. It’s been five years since we last saw Tom Holland’s Spider-Man on the big screen, with Destin Daniel Cretton taking up the directors chair held by Jon Watts since Homecoming, bringing a practical flair to this iconic character.
This movie follows Peter Parker shortly after the events of Spider-Man: No Way Home, forgotten by the world — but more importantly, Ned and MJ. As he tries and fails to throw himself into Spider-Man, leaving behind his life as Peter Parker, he attempts to keep a distant eye on his friends, making sure they’re safe. A new threat shows up in New York, however — one that nobody can fight, because they can’t even see it.
Whilst Brand New Day is definitely not the greatest Spider-Man movie — not even the best of Tom Holland’s — there’s no denying the enjoyability throughout. Cretton introduces some incredibly choreographed, much more personal fight sequences, as well as many, much more tangible swinging scenes. This does have its fair share of issues, mostly with it feeling much more like a Marvel movie than a Spider-Man movie, but this is a guaranteed hit and I’m sure you’ll enjoy it if you have any interest whatsoever in Spider-Man as a character.
Pinocchio: Unstrung (Dir. Rhys Frake-Waterfield)
Pinocchio: Unstrung isn’t on this side of the list because it stands beside the powerhouses that released this month, because it definitely doesn’t, but rather because I admire this movie. After the release of Winnie The Pooh: Blood and Honey, we were subjected to many more attempts at reimagining these iconic Disney characters as horror villains. However, Pinocchio seems like the only one that could actually fit.
This movie follows James (Jude Evan Lloyd), a child whose parents, and best friend, both died, leading him to live with his grandpa, Geppetto (Richard Brake). Geppetto creates a doll for James, designed to be a friend who’ll never die — because he is alive. Pinocchio becomes so obsessed with the idea of becoming a ‘real boy’ that he decides to scavenge many of the things that he believes could make him one — including hair, skin, and teeth. This doll goes on a murderous tirade, under the guise of ‘protecting’ James. We later find out the truth about Pinocchio’s existence, causing our perception of Geppetto to come into question.
Whilst this is, by no means, a good movie, I admire how this was made. Pinocchio himself is completely practical, with the use of a real doll, as well as many other effects being done in camera. This does have its flaws, mainly in its pacing and dreadful dialogue, but it can often be quite an enjoyable, and sometimes oddly terrifying watch. Whilst this isn’t one I’d tell you to watch as soon as possible, if you’ve already seen everything that interests you in the cinema, I’d suggest giving this a try.
The Worst:
Minions & Monsters (Dir. Pierre Coffin)
Minions & Monsters is a continuation of Illumination’s scourge on children’s cinema, the Minions franchise. Whilst this may not be good in really many ways at all, this is actually surprisingly not quite as terrible as its predecessors, simply due to it trying something new — at least for the most part.
This follows a group of Minions who find themselves in the movie business. Even though they became icons of silent cinema, they struggled to adapt to the talkies. Due to this, they’re cast out of Hollywood. Eager to redeem themselves, they devise a plan for a monster movie, the only thing missing is their monster. After summoning and finding enough monsters for their movie, they find themselves way out of their depth, as these monsters don’t have the best intentions with the Minions.
At times, this can feel like a love letter to cinema, ironically. Unfortunately, anything that’s good about this ends after the second act, ultimately falling back to the generic Minions shenanigans that occupied the first two movies. This is paced awfully and often retreads the same steps as its first movie — at least in its first act. I wouldn’t waste your time taking your children to this, there’s plenty of, much better, kids movies out right now.
Moana (Dir. Thomas Kail)
Despite mountains of pushback, Disney continues to release their unimaginative live action remakes, Moana being the shortest gap between the original and remake of only nine years. The only reason I can see this being for is that Dwayne Johnson wanted to play Maui in live action before he became even more ‘too old’ than he is already.
Moana follows a Polynesian girl, from the island of Motonui, who travels further than anybody from her island has before, through the ocean to restore the heart of Tefiti and, in turn, the fruitful nature on her island. She’s joined by Maui, demigod of the wind and seas, who has been unable to use his powers due to the loss of his magical fishhook, and so has been stranded on a deserted island for a thousand years.
This movie, obviously, simply retreads the same steps as the original, adding almost nothing to the story. At times, this seems to even remove moments that were once very impactful to the character of Moana. If you want to watch this movie, save your money and watch the animated version on Disney+ — it’s miles better and features much more interesting visuals, as well as any actual colour.
Animal Farm (Dir. Andy Serkis)
Animal Farm by George Orwell is an inventive retelling of the Russian Revolution of 1917, crafting a story that lived on through classrooms around the world, and still feels just as relevant as when it was first written. This new movie is not that, it simply shares a name and a few major plot details.
This movie follows a group of animals that fight against their neglectful owner in the name of equality and freedom. However, as the pigs gradually take control, power is not removed, just changed hands. This revolution turns to tyranny, with the pigs seeming to become the same as the humans as they change every rule that they once stood for.
Who’s idea was it to make Animal Farm into a family movie? It does achieve what it’s trying to do, but that doesn’t make it Animal Farm, in fact it does almost the exact opposite. This removes many impactful scenes and messages in the name of being ‘family friendly’, while adding an entire consumerism subplot. That can be an interesting story to add, but is again not appropriate for Animal Farm. I’m not sure why the creators wanted to use the name if they were going to write an almost completely different movie, by the second act. Once again, don’t waste your money, there’s plenty of good children’s movies out right now.