Updated Jan. 8, 2026
All of the New Family Movies Coming to Theaters in 2026
This year is shaping up to be another strong one for family movies in theaters. In 2025, family films dominated the box office. And we packed theaters to see them. We bought candy and sodas and ridiculous (ly awesome) popcorn buckets. We subscribed to movie theater memberships. We stabilized the movie industry. Looking at 2026’s release calendar, I’m guessing we’ll show up strong again. There’s a lot to look forward to this year.
There are two Pixar films, a Marvel mega-movie, an international award-winner, a fantasy film from stop-motion masters Laika, and several Disney movies. The good news, as I explained in December, it’s a great time to return to the theater if you haven’t been in a while.
Enough chatter. Let’s get to what you’re here for. The list. Here are the family movies coming to theaters in 2026, from wide releases to smaller theatrical runs. This list will be updated every time I get an update from my insider sources (Google).
January 9
Starbright
Rating: PG-13
Director: Francesco Lucente
Premise: A modern fantasy about a young girl who becomes the guardian of a fallen star after making a wish. She hits the road, teaming up with unlikely allies to uncover where it came from. Mystery always adds a little magic to fantasy.
January 16
Charlie the Wonderdog
Rating: PG
Director: Shea Wagemen
Premise: A rescue dog becomes an unlikely hero when a small town rallies around his second chance. Owen Wilson voices the lead in what looks like a straightforward feel-good family film.
January 30
Arco
Rating: PG
Director: Ugo Bienvenu
Premise: A star-studded, festival award-winning sci-fi film that briefly hit theaters last year now gets a proper wide release. The cast is worth a scan beforehand — you won’t want to miss anything while trying to figure out whose voice that is.
Tafiti: Across the Desert
Rating: PG
Directors: Timo Berg and Nina Wels
Premise: A kid-friendly, talking-animals desert adventure based on the popular European children’s books. Likely a good pick for first-time moviegoers.
February 6
Buffalo Kids (limited release)
Rating: PG
Director: Pedro Solís García
Premise: An animated period adventure about orphaned siblings traveling the American frontier to find their family. An international production with a storybook tone, it finally reaches U.S. theaters after a long overseas run.
Scarlet
Rating: PG-13
Director: Mamoru Hosoda
Premise: The next film from acclaimed anime director Mamoru Hosoda, whose work you can find throughout my recommendations page. Scarlet is about a young girl who slips between worlds, confronting her identity and legacy.
February 7
Time Hoppers: The Silk Road
Rating: PG
Director: Flordeliza Dayrit
Premise: A kid-led sci-fi adventure built around time travel and the history of the Silk Road. With Muslim characters and cultural context at its core, it brings a fresh perspective to a familiar genre.
February 13
GOAT
Rating: PG
Director: Tyree Dillihay
Premise: A small goat gets a shot at the pros in the all-animal, high-intensity game of roarball. Produced by Stephen Curry, the film comes with a stacked voice cast and a full Sony Pictures Animation rollout.
March 6
Hoppers
Rating: PG
Director: Daniel Chong
Premise: Hoppers is Pixar’s first animated feature after Elio. It’s about animals who use experimental technology to experience the human world, with unsurprisingly messy results.
March 20
The Pout-Pout Fish
Rating: G
Director: Ricard Cussó, Rio Harrington
Premise: A children’s picture book classic about a gloomy fish who learns how emotions spread and how one smile can change everything.
Project Hail Mary
Rating: PG-13
Director: Phil Lord & Christopher Miller
Premise: Based on Andy Weir’s novel, an astronaut (with the help of a new friend) races to save humanity in a sci-fi adventure that mixes The Martian’s ingenuity with The Lego Movie’s playful spirit.
April 3
The Super Mario Galaxy Movie
Rating: PG
Director: Aaron Horvath & Michael Jelenic
Premise: Mario and Luigi return, joined by familiar faces from the games as they venture beyond the Mushroom Kingdom into cosmic worlds where gravity itself becomes the challenge.
May 1
Animal Farm
Rating: PG-13
Director: Andy Serkis
Premise: Orwell’s classic satire of the Russian Revolution is reimagined in a more family-friendly manner. Andy Serkis directs, steering a large ensemble through what could be a politically charged story. Serkis, known for his role as Gollum in the Lord of the Rings movies, originally planned for this to be a motion-capture film, but settled on traditional animation to make the story more accessible to younger audiences.
May 8
The Sheep Detectives
Rating: PG
Director: Kyle Balda
Premise: A family mystery-comedy based on the novel Three Bags Full, with a flock of sheep investigating the death of their shepherd. Directed by Kyle Balda (Minions), the adaptation blends live-action elements with animal perspectives and a well-known ensemble cast.
May 22
Star Wars: The Mandalorian & Grogu
Rating: PG-13
Director: Jon Favreau
Premise: Grogu and Din Djarin make the jump to theaters in a Star Wars story that connects the franchise’s Disney+ series to its larger film timeline.
June 5
Masters of the Universe
Rating: PG-13
Director: Travis Knight
Premise: A big-screen reboot directed by Travis Knight, whose work on Bumblebee balanced large-scale action with character. The new generation may be aware of recent cartoon series but this one will attract parents with nostalgia for their action figure days.
June 12
Disclosure Day
Rating: PG-13
Director: Steven Spielberg
Premise: Steven Spielberg returns to sci-fi with a theatrical feature aimed more at older kids and teens than the E.T. crowd. Disclosure Day leans into the anxiety and unease that define his more recent sci-fi work, rather than the warmth of his Amblin era films.
June 19
Toy Story 5
Rating: G
Director: Andrew Stanton
Premise: Woody, Buzz, and friends return for Pixar’s second film of the year, exploring what playtime looks like in a world increasingly shaped by screens. Andrew Stanton (WALL-E, Finding Nemo) directs, marking a notable shift behind the camera for the franchise.
June 26
Supergirl
Rating: PG-13
Director: Craig Gillespie
Premise: The latest film in the DCU reset puts Supergirl front and center, framing Kara Zor-El as a more volatile, party girl counterpart to the measured, thoughtful Superman.
July 1
Minions 3
Rating: PG
Director: Pierre Coffin
Premise: For families looking for funny, semi-unintelligible slapstick that doesn’t demand much plot attention, the Minions will deliver.
July 10
Moana
Rating: PG
Director: Thomas Kail
Premise: Disney revisits one of its most beloved modern animated films in a live-action adaptation, bringing back Dwayne Johnson and tapping Broadway director Thomas Kail (Hamilton, In the Heights) to justify the transition from animation to flesh-and-blood spectacle.
July 17
The Odyssey
Rating: PG-13
Director: Christopher Nolan
Premise: Christopher Nolan adapting Homer places this firmly in the prestige-blockbuster lane, built for older kids and teens. Expect mythology, monsters, and epic journeys framed by a director who designs stories for the theatrical experience. Worth noting: Nolan designed the film for IMAX and premium formats, ensuring it prioritizes theatrical audiences.
July 31
Spider-Man: Brand New Day
Rating: PG-13
Director: Destin Daniel Cretton
Premise: This marks a fresh start for Peter Parker and Spider-Man. Directed by the filmmaker behind Shang-Chi, the story follows Peter rebuilding his life after No Way Home, shifting the focus toward something smaller and more personal than the multiverse detour.
August 14
Paw Patrol: The Dino Movie
Rating: G
Director: Cal Brunker
Premise: The last Paw Patrol movie showed more charm and theatrical polish than the TV series, even landing a few genuine laughs. This follow-up attempts to build on that formula with another big-screen mission.
August 28
Coyote vs. Acme
Rating: PG
Director: Dave Green
Premise: Wile E. Coyote takes Acme to court in a long-delayed Looney Tunes hybrid that finally makes its way to theaters after years in limbo.
September 25
Forgotten Island
Rating: PG
Director: Joel Crawford & Januel Mercado
Premise: A DreamWorks animated adventure from the Puss in Boots: The Last Wish team, known for taking kids’ emotional stakes seriously without losing humor. In Forgotten Island, two best friends get stranded, but their only way home appears to come with a cost: Their memories and bond.
November 6
The Cat in the Hat
Rating: PG
Director: Alessandro Carloni & Erica Rivinoja
Premise: A new animated take on Dr. Seuss’s The Cat in the Hat, leaning into familiar Seussian mischief in the vein of The Grinch (2018).
November 20
The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping
Rating: PG-13
Director: Francis Lawrence
Premise: Hunger Games goes deeper into its mythology with the same director who steered the series through its later chapters. A solid bet for older audiences.
November 25
Hexed
Rating: PG
Director: Josie Trinidad & Jason Hand
Premise: Disney has been on a run for more than a decade, though recent releases have leaned heavily on sequels. Hexed stands out as a more original movie, co-directed by longtime Disney artist Josie Trinidad alongside Moana 2 director Jason Hand. The story follows a kid who accidentally unleashes a curse and has to navigate the magical fallout.
November 26
Narnia: The Magician’s Nephew
Rating: PG
Director: Greta Gerwig
Premise: Greta Gerwig adapts The Magician’s Nephew, the first book chronologically in C.S. Lewis’s Narnia series. Rather than starting with the familiar wardrobe, this entry explores the origins of the world itself, setting the foundation for everything that follows. Netflix is backing the film with an IMAX-first theatrical release before it lands on streaming, an uncommon move that signals big-screen ambitions for its Narnia reboot.
December 11
Untitled Jumanji Film
Rating: PG-13
Director: Jake Kasdan
Premise: The franchise returns, likely continuing the modern Jumanji formula that centers on physical challenges, ensemble dynamics, and a game-like structure.
December 18
Avengers: Doomsday
Rating: PG-13
Director: Joe Russo & Anthony Russo
Premise: Marvel brings together a massive lineup of heroes and villains in its largest crossover since Endgame, recentering the MCU’s multiverse storyline by pulling together threads from recent films and series ahead of Secret Wars.
Dune: Part 3
Rating: PG-13
Director: Denis Villeneuve
Premise: With Paul already in power, the story shifts away from the climb and toward what comes next. This final chapter focuses less on triumph and more on the consequences that linger after everything changes. Expect Denis Villeneuve’s signature disciplined visual spectacle.
December 23
The Angry Birds Movie 3
Rating: PG
Director: John Rice
Premise: After a surprisingly successful first film and a quieter sequel, The Angry Birds Movie 3 brings the franchise back to theaters for another round of broad, kid-focused comedy.
Release Date To Be Determined
Air Bud Returns
Rating: G
Director: Robert Vince
Premise: After a public search for a new star dog, Air Bud Entertainment brings the franchise back to theaters. Directed by the longtime steward of the Buddies spin-offs, this entry promises more of the same.
The Legend of Aang: The Last Airbender
Rating: PG
Director: Lauren Montgomery
Premise: The film continues the story of Nickelodeon’s Avatar: The Last Airbender, expanding the world with a new threat and a globe-spanning journey. Directed by Lauren Montgomery, who worked on both the original series and The Legend of Korra, this marks the franchise’s first animated feature.
Thing One and Thing Two
Rating: G
Director: TBD
Premise: The Seuss-o-verse expands with a new animated film centered on the titular characters. Details remain limited beyond the basic setup.
Wildwood
Rating: PG
Director: Travis Knight
Premise: From Laika Studios — the stop-motion makers of Coraline and Kubo and the Two Strings — comes this ambitious animated fantasy. It’s based on a bestselling novel about a girl who goes into a hidden magical forest to rescue her kidnapped brother. This is Laika’s first release in seven years.
