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Throughout the first half of 2026, we’ve already gotten several exceptional movies, but also ones that have been nothing if not disappointing. It’s one thing for a film to not be great, but when that film was expected to deliver and it didn’t, it makes the case all the sadder. Unfortunately, this year, there have already been eight particular films that have stood out for all the wrong reasons, having failed to meet the expectations that cinephiles around the world had of them.
From indie movies by exceptional directors like A24’s Mother Mary, to wannabe blockbusters like Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu, these are film which have proven that, even though 2026 has generally been quite a good year for cinema so far, it hasn’t been perfect. Some of them are actually quite serviceable, others are downright awful; but what they all share in common is that people expected them to be infinitely better than they actually were.
8
‘Mother Mary’
A dark psychological drama with musical elements directed by David Lowery, distributed by A24, and starring Anne Hathaway and Michaela Coel? The elements were all there for Mother Mary to be immensely exciting, but alas, it failed to live up to arthouse movie fans’ expectations. So far, 2026 has delivered some great thrillers, but this one is among the genre’s weakest entries that viewers have been subjected to this year so far.
Critics were generally quite positive toward Lowery’s latest, praising his stylish direction and Hathaway’s performance; but audiences were considerably less forgiving. By no means is Mother Mary a bad film, since its trippy atmosphere is visually engrossing and quite effectively scary. But it isn’t even close to Lowery’s other A24 efforts (A Ghost Story and The Green Knight), relying far too much on style without having any narrative meat on its bones.
7
‘Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man’
Peaky Blinders is not just one of the most beloved TV shows of the 2010s, but perhaps even one of the greatest crime series of all time. Steven Knight, the show’s creator, made it clear from early on that his goal was to conclude his war saga with a momentous feature film. As such, Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man had been one of the most long-awaited movies of the 2020s for several years, making it even more tragic that it failed to live up to expectations.
It’s by no means the weakest Netflix movie from 2026, as proven by the fact that critics and audiences alike seemed to love it on Rotten Tomatoes; but take one look at any other online platform and you’ll notice that many fans felt it fell short. The film constantly fails to give viewers a strong reason to care about these characters and this world, offering an ending that’s merely okay and nothing more.
6
‘Iron Lung’
The indie horror game Iron Lung by developer David Szymanski became an immediate cult hit upon release in 2022. But even considering how beloved it immediately became, it’s quite unlikely that anyone had legendary YouTuber Mark Fischbach (a.k.a. Markiplier) making his feature-length directorial debut with a movie adaptation on their bingo card. Written by, directed by, edited by, and starring Markiplier himself, the film went into production in 2023 and finally came out earlier this year.
Alas, the results were considerably below what fans of both the game and the film’s director were hoping for. Iron Lung is a decently atmospheric and immersive cinematic experience, and some may even go so far as to call it one of the best video game horror movies ever (which, in fairness, isn’t a very high bar to clear). But it’s also a bit too repetitive, a bit too shallow and meandering, and not nearly substantial enough to justify 127 minutes of runtime. Markiplier is undoubtedly a filmmaker to look out for going forward, but his debut left lots to be desired.
5
‘Supergirl’
Leading a multimedia superhero universe is no small task, particularly not in the modern day; but filmmaker James Gunn and producer Peter Safran have boldly been undertaking the task of spearheading the DC Universe. The franchise’s second film to date is Craig Gillespie‘s Supergirl, a direct adaptation of Tom King and Bilquis Evely‘s 2021–22 comic book miniseries Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow. Setting aside the pathetic grifter backlash that deserves nothing more than a passing mention, one must be fair: Supergirl isn’t nearly as great as the second film in a burgeoning cinematic unvierse should be.
It’s also not a bad superhero film by any means, since its fast-paced energy and powerhouse Milly Alcock lead performance allow it to stand out among some of the weaker superhero genre outings of the decade. But it’s also not one of the best superhero movies of the 2020s, since its messy story and lack of identity often let down Alcock’s endearing portrayal of the superhero. Supergirl deserves more love than what critics were willing to give it, but it doesn’t deserve even half as much fanfare as last year’s Superman did.
4
‘Lee Cronin’s The Mummy’
At first glance, people may be wondering who directed Lee Cronin’s The Mummy. It happens to be Lee Cronin himself, who gained notoriety for the successful Evil Dead Rise. Enough notoriety to justify putting his name in a movie title? Perhaps not, but what really matters about Lee Cronin’s The Mummy is not what it’s called, but that it’s bad. Indeed, this reimagining of the Mummy franchise would have been better off left in its sarcophagus.
Anyone who likes their gore with a hearty side of a fleshed-out story, interesting characters, and actual atmosphere, however, won’t likely be satisfied.
Blending the franchise’s classic Egyptian iconography with exorcism horror elements, Lee Cronin’s The Mummy should scratch the itch of those looking for nothing more than a gore-heavy experience. Anyone who likes their gore with a hearty side of a fleshed-out story, interesting characters, and actual atmosphere, however, won’t likely be satisfied by this film. Fans of Cronin and of this franchise deserved something far better.
3
‘Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu’
For the longest time, the small-screen side of the Star Wars franchise was limited exclusively to animation. It wouldn’t be until 2019 that the world would be treated to the first live-action television adventure set in the galaxy far, far away: The Mandalorian. Disappointing third season notwithstanding, it’s one of the best Star Wars TV shows to date, which made it unsurprising that Lucasfilm privoted from the production of a fourth season to the production of a full-on theatrical film. The result? Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu.
Alas, the movie ended up being even more dull and inconsequential than the show’s third season, delivering one of the most forgettable Star Wars experiences to date. There’s absolutely nothing aggressively bad about Mandalorian and Grogu, and it even has a few thrilling moments here and there. But when all is said and done, it adds next to nothing to the mythos of the franchise or even the show itself. It’s sad that watching one of the best Star Wars bounty hunters on the big screen ended up being such a disappointing event.
2
‘Scream 7’
Wes Craven‘s Scream revolutionized both the slasher genre and horror as a whole back in the ’90s, taking a genre that was then quite tired and revitalizing it with a self-aware, heavily meta approach. The franchise that the movie spawned led all the way to Scream 6, but after the controversial firing of Melisa Barrera and the subsequent departure of Jenna Ortega, Scream 7‘s story had to be significantly overhauled.
The product of such an overhaul ended up being the worst horror movie of 2026 thus far. After the production controversies and changes, it’s hard to imagine why anyone would have expected Scream 7 to be a huge hit, but fans at least had hope of its being solid. Instead, the movie feels rush, flat, emotionally manipulative, and entirely devoid of the meta touch that made the franchise so magical to begin with.
1
‘The Bride!’
Maggie Gyllenhaal is an exceptional actress, and back in 2021, she demonstrated that she was also a force to be reckoned with behind the camera. Her directing debut, The Lost Daughter, made its way to tremendous acclaim and three Academy Award nominations. As such, the announcement of The Bride!, a twist on Frankenstein and Bride on Frankenstein written and directed by Gyllenhaal, brought with it a lot of excitement. Tragically, what should have been one of the year’s biggest hits ended up landing with one of its biggest whimpers.
This is another instance of a movie that drew significant online criticism in the grifter space; and just like Supergirl, that controversy here deserves no further discussion. But even just looking at the film in a vacuum reveals all manner of flaws that are impossible to ignore, all stemming from messy and tonally discordant writing and direction. There’s no doubt that Gyllenhaal still has another hit in her as a director, but The Bride! was a significant misstep in spite of Jessie Buckley‘s unforgettable lead performance.
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https://collider.com/most-disappointing-movies-2026-so-far-ranked/
Diego Pineda Pacheco
Almontather Rassoul
