Sci Fi Movies This Week: Weekly column tracking what is coming in the current week in the way of sci fi, fantasy, and horror releases as well as news and updates on genre films, streaming and theatrical.
Premiering This Week:
It is a slow weekend for sci fi and fantasy again, with only a few genre releases in theaters, and again not much in the way of news. The sci fi/horror entry Exit 8 gets a limited release on Friday, along with the supernatural thriller The Whistler. On Demand, The Yeti will also be available on Friday. You can see highlights for the week below, and you can watch trailers and get info for all the current and upcoming sci fi and fantasy films at this link.
Exit 8 (In Theaters-Limited, Apr 10): A man trapped in an endless sterile subway passageway sets out to find Exit 8. The rules of his quest are simple: do not overlook anything out of the ordinary. If you discover an anomaly, turn back immediately. If you don’t, carry on. Then leave from Exit 8. But even a single oversight will send him back to the beginning. Will he ever reach his goal and escape this infinite corridor?
Directed by: Genki Kawamura
Starring: Kazunari Ninomiya, Yamato Kochi, Naru Asanuma, Kotone Hanase, Nana Komatsu
The Whistler (In Theaters-Limited, Apr 10): Reeling from the loss of their daughter, a couple unexpectedly inherit a secluded farm. Hoping to start fresh, they instead encounter a cult claiming it can summon spirits from beyond, forcing them to deal with dark forces and their own inner demons.
Directed by: Diego Velasco
Starring: Diane Guerrero, Indhira Serrano, Juan Pablo Raba, Laureano Olivarez
The Yeti (On Demand, Apr 10): Renowned adventurer Hollis Bannister and Oil tycoon Merriell Sunday Sr. have disappeared without a trace in the windswept wilds of northern Alaska. As Ellie Bannister and Merriell Sunday Jr., set out to search for their missing fathers, danger mounts. Something has taken notice of their trespassing expedition…and that prehistoric something is now stalking them… hunting them… THE YETI.
Directed by: Gene Gallerano, William Pisciotta
Starring: Brittany Allen, Corbin Bernsen, William Sadler, Eric Nelsen, Jim Cummings, Heather Lind
Sci Fi Movie News of Note
The latest Avatar film–Fire and Ash–is approaching $1.5 billion in global ticket sales, but that may not be enough to assure that the franchise will continue. Work has already begun on the fourth film, which has a tentative premiere window of 2029, but Disney is rethinking things at the moment and considering how that property can continue with installments that are cheaper and less risky. When James Cameron was asked about the next film at the Academy Awards, he had the following to say: “To be perfectly clear, we haven’t even made a decision if we’re going forward right now”. The franchise has seen diminishing returns in theaters with the first entry counting as the top-grossing film of all time at $2.9 billion, the second pulling in $2.3 billion, and the third currently at just under $1.5 billion. But still, a tally of one and a half billion is nothing to sneeze at, and with a budget of around $400 million, the third film should be in the black at this point, depending on Hollywood accounting. Fans definitely want more from the franchise, and it will certainly continue in some form, but at this point, Disney has not officially given the greenlight for the planned fourth and fifth films. Cameron previously said that if the movies end with the third entry, he would consider continuing the story in novel form.
An X-Men reboot is finally moving forward at Marvel Studios with Jake Schreier (Thunderbolts*) directing and Lee Sung Jin (Undone) and Joanna Calo (Thunderbolts*) penning the script. No specifics on the film are available at this point, nor have there been any casting announcements, but work has begun on this one, as it has shown up in the latest Production Weekly listings.
Apple Original Films is working on the movie Liminal based on the graphic novel Telepaths by J. Michael Straczynski, Steve Epting, and Brian Reber. That focuses on a world thrown into chaos when a sudden event grants telepathic powers to a tenth of the population, forcing both authorities and newly empowered individuals to navigate fear, persecution, and the struggle for control in a rapidly changing society. Vanessa Kirby (The Fantastic Four: First Steps) and Yahya Abdul-Mateen II (Wonder Man) are set to star in the film, and Louis Leterrier (The Dark Crystal: The Age of Resistance) will direct. A target premiere date on the streaming service has not been set yet, and this will presumably stream on the Apple TV service.
In production news, work has begun on the Elden Ring movie–based on the video game of the same name–with images from the set leaking online. An entry has also shown up for Pandemonium which may be an English remake of the French arthouse horror-fantasy film written and directed by Quarxx. We will keep an eye out for updates on that one.
Recent Trailers
Stop! That! Train! (In Theaters, June 12, 2026): This film follows best friends Tess (Ginger Minj) and DeeDee (Jujubee), train stewardesses who trade their dreary shifts on the Stank Rail for the glitzy Glamazonian Express. When a catastrophic “Stormaganza” threatens to derail the high-speed train and crash it into Los Angeles, the duo in coach must join forces with the snobby first class attendants (Symone, Brooke Lynn Hytes, Marcia Marcia Marcia) and President Gagwell (RuPaul) to save the day in this wild ride of camp and comedy.
Directed by: Adam Shankman
Starring: Ginger Minj, Jujubee, RuPaul Charles, Brooke Lynn Hytes, Chris Parnell, Latrice Royale, Sarah Michelle Gellar
Be sure to follow our Sci Fi Movie Schedule page to keep up with all the upcoming genre releases.
