Sci Fi Movies This Week: Weekly column racking what is coming in the current week in the way of sci fi, fantasy, and horror releases as well as news on genre films.
Premiering This Week:
There is only one genre feature film of note premiering over the holiday week, and that is the action comedy Anaconda which bows in theaters on Christmas Day. Also of note, on December 31st, the series finale for Stranger Things will get a limited theatrical run through January 1st. You will need to check your local theater listings to see where it is playing.
Anaconda (In Theaters, Dec 25): Doug and Griff have been best friends since they were kids, and have always dreamed of remaking their all-time favorite movie: the cinematic “classic” Anaconda. When a midlife crisis pushes them to finally go for it, they head deep into the Amazon to start filming. But things get real when an actual giant anaconda appears, turning their comically chaotic movie set into a deadly situation.
Directed by: Tom Gormican
Starring: Paul Rudd, Jack Black, Steve Zahn, Thandiwe Newton
Sci Fi Movie News
Avatar: Fire and Ash grossed $89 million in domestic Box Office receipts for its opening weekend. That was a little below projections, but still has the film on target as a third straight success in the franchise. It also took in $258 million in foreign markets which has it at nearly $350 million across the globe, and likely set to pass $1 billion for its theatrical run. Initial work has already begun on a fourth film, and with these Box Office numbers, that will likely be getting the greenlight shortly.
Ridley Scott’s upcoming sci fi movie Dog Stars–based on the book of the same name by Peter Heller–has received a new release date. Previously set for March 27, 2026, it has been moved to August 28th. That change is presumably to move it to a less competitive week, as the highly-anticipated Project Hail Mary comes out on March 20th.
The animated feature film The Legend of Aang: The Last Airbender will not be going to theaters as originally suggested, but will head directly to streaming on Paramount+. The film will focus on the main cast from the animated series in their young adult years, and following is the description provided by The Hollywood Reporter:
The world’s last Airbender learns of an ancient power that could save his culture from extinction. With the help of his friends, he embarks on a global quest to find it before it falls into the wrong hands and threatens to upend the peace they sacrificed everything to achieve.
The voice cast includes Eric Nam, Dionne Quan, Jessica Matten, Román Zaragoza, Steven Yeun, Dave Bautista, and Taika Waititi, and it is scheduled to premiere in October 2026. A new animated series titled Seven Havens is also in the works, and that will take place after the events of The Legend of Korra.
James Gunn has cast Lars Eidinger in the role of Brainiac for the second Superman film in the rebooted DC Universe, and this will be the first time that the villain has appeared in one of DC theatrical releases. Man of Tomorrow is currently scheduled to premiere July 9, 2027.
Recent Trailers
Avengers: Doomsday (In Theaters, Dec 18, 2026): Fourteen months after the events of Thunderbolts, the Avengers, Wakandans, Fantastic Four, New Avengers, and the “original” X-Men team up to face Doctor Doom.
Directed by: Anthony Russo, Joe Russo
Starring: Chris Hemsworth, Vanessa Kirby, Anthony Mackie, Sebastian Stan, Letitia Wright, Paul Rudd, Wyatt Russell, Tenoch Huerta Mejía, Ebon Moss-Bachrach, Simu Liu, Florence Pugh, Kelsey Grammer
Be sure to follow our Sci Fi Movie Schedule page to keep up with all the upcoming genre releases.
