What cinema releases to catch starting Wednesday, October 21, 2026? Our pick brings together eight titles, from a French thriller to family animation, with stops in horror, science fiction, and a Tsui Hark film restored in 4K.
Karma, from Guillaume Canet, follows a woman portrayed by Marion Cotillard who becomes a suspect after her godchild goes missing. With Clayface, James Watkins dives into the DC universe through corporeal horror. In Klara and the Sun, Taika Waititi directs Jenna Ortega in the role of a robot built to keep teens company.
Animation offers two family-friendly adventures on the big screen: Shaun the Sheep: The Halloween Monster, from Steve Cox and Matthew Walker, returns to Mossy Bottom Farm as Halloween approaches. Memory Island, by Joel Crawford and Januel P. Mercado, sends two friends to an island inspired by Philippine myths.
The week also features Le Roi du Game, an adventure comedy by and starring Éric Judor in a live-action role-playing game, and Une femme aujourd’hui, by Robert Guédiguian, about the reconstruction of a young woman played by Marilou Aussilloux. Finally, Peking Opera Blues, directed by Tsui Hark in 1986, is getting its first French theatrical release in a restored 4K version.
Browse the releases for October 21, 2026, then the films from the previous week and those still showing in theaters, to pick your next screening.
Clayface: the final trailer reveals the DC character's terrifying transformation
Clayface unveils its final trailer featuring Tom Rhys Harries. The DC horror film directed by James Watkins hits cinemas on October 21, 2026. [Read more]
The King of the Game: Éric Judor infiltrates a medieval-fantasy game
Éric Judor infiltrates a live-action role-playing game to find his daughter in The King of the Game, an adventure comedy starring Alexandra Lamy in theaters on October 21, 2026. [Read more]
Shaun the Sheep: The Halloween Beast, a creature prowls Mossy Bottom
Shaun the Sheep: The Halloween Beast, Aardman’s latest stop-motion feature, hits theaters on October 21, 2026. Watch the trailer. [Read more]
The Island of Memories: DreamWorks’ animated film hits theaters in October 2026
The Island of Memories, formerly titled The Forgotten Island, hits theaters on October 21, 2026. The DreamWorks film follows two friends stranded on an island inspired by Philippine myths. [Read more]
Klara and the Sun: Jenna Ortega plays a robot in Taika Waititi's film
Klara and the Sun, Taika Waititi's sci-fi film starring Jenna Ortega, Amy Adams, and Mia Tharia, hits cinemas in France on October 21, 2026. [Read more]
Karma: Marion Cotillard confronts her past in Guillaume Canet's thriller
Marion Cotillard stars as a woman under suspicion after her godson disappears in Karma, Guillaume Canet’s thriller. Also featuring Denis Ménochet and Leonardo Sbaraglia, the film hits cinemas on October 21, 2026. Watch its trailer. [Read more]
Peking Opera Blues: Tsui Hark's film arrives in theaters in a restored 4K version
Peking Opera Blues by Tsui Hark, starring Brigitte Lin, Cherie Chung, and Sally Yeh, makes its French cinema debut on October 21, 2026, in a restored 4K version. [Read more]
Une femme aujourd’hui : Robert Guédiguian follows the rebuilding of Marilou Aussilloux
Marilou Aussilloux tries to rebuild her life after an assault in Robert Guédiguian's Une femme aujourd’hui, in theaters on October 21, 2026. [Read more]
Les Misérables : Our take on Fred Cavayé's film, an adaptation that still surprises.
Our take on Fred Cavayé's Les Misérables, in theaters October 14, 2026: nearly three hours fly by, a story that still surprises, and a standout Camille Cottin–Benjamin Lavernhe pairing. [Read more]
Mochy, the ugliest dog in the world: the animated film is now playing in theaters.
Mochy, the ugliest dog in the world, an animated film by Jérémie Degruson and Yanis Belaïd, hits cinemas on October 14, 2026. A family-friendly adventure about embracing difference and self-acceptance. [Read more]
The Corset: Louis Clichy’s animated feature hits theaters
Presented in Un Certain Regard at the 2026 Cannes Film Festival, Le Corset, Louis Clichy’s animated feature, arrives in theaters on October 14, delivering a coming‑of‑age story set in the Beauce. [Read more]
Street Fighter: Saint-Denis, Doumbè and Dena join the French voice cast
Street Fighter unveils its French voice cast: Benoît Saint Denis, Cédric Doumbè and Paul Dena voice Zangief, Balrog and Joe in cinemas. [Read more]
Engulfed: Austin Abrams trapped inside a sperm whale in Brian Duffield's thriller
Englouti, a Brian Duffield-directed thriller starring Austin Abrams, Josh Brolin and Elisabeth Shue, hits theaters on October 14, 2026. Watch the trailer. [Read more]
Malfaisante: Jessica Chastain confronts her monstrous doppelgänger
Malfaisante, Rob Savage’s horror film featuring Jessica Chastain in a double role, hits theaters on October 14, 2026. Watch the trailer. [Read more]
Minotaure will represent France at the 2027 Oscars after taking the Grand Prix at Cannes
Cannes Grand Prix: Minotaur by Andrey Zvyagintsev will represent France at the Academy Award for Best International Feature Film. Release scheduled for October 14, 2026. [Read more]
Doraemon and the Submarine Castle: the robotic cat heads to the cinema for an adventure.
Doraemon and the Submarine Castle, an animated feature by Tetsuo Yajima, is in theaters as of October 7, 2026. A Japanese adventure suitable for viewers aged 8 and up. [Read more]
Digger in cinemas: Tom Cruise faces a global catastrophe
Tom Cruise plays an all-powerful man responsible for a global catastrophe in Digger, Alejandro González Iñárritu's dark comedy, which opens in cinemas today. [Read more]
Our salute to cinema: Swann Arlaud stars in the Cannes prize-winning film
Our Salvation, Emmanuel Marre’s film that won the Cannes 2026 Best Screenplay Award, opens in cinemas today with Swann Arlaud in the lead. [Read more]
The House of Our Dreams in cinemas: Kev Adams takes on Chantal Ladesou
Kev Adams and Camille Aguilar buy Chantal Ladesou's house on a life annuity in La Maison de nos rêves, which hits theaters today. [Read more]
A Misstep at the Cinema: Kad Merad Takes on Benoît Poelvoorde at the Opera
Kad Merad and Benoît Poelvoorde go head to head in Fausse Note, Alexandre Arcady’s claustrophobic historical drama that hits cinemas today. [Read more]
The Social Reckoning on the Big Screen: Aaron Sorkin Revisits the Facebook Files
Aaron Sorkin brings the Facebook Files to the big screen in The Social Reckoning, starring Mikey Madison, Jeremy Allen White and Jeremy Strong, in theaters today. [Read more]
Your Maternal Animal: Valentina Maurel’s family drama hits cinemas
In theaters since October 7, 2026, Your Maternal Animal by Valentina Maurel follows a young woman’s return to Costa Rica. Daniela Marín Navarro, Marina de Tavira and Mariangel Villegas were honored at Cannes. [Read more]
Kraken in theatres: an abandoned tower traps five young people
Kraken, a French horror film by Mohamed Chabane and Théo Jourdain Rhodes, opens in cinemas today with Alassane Diong, Manon Bresch and Guillaume Gouix. [Read more]
Joyful Jungle! in theaters: a family adventure in the tropical rainforest
Elizabeth sets off to find her little brother in the tropical forest in Joyful Jungle!, a family-friendly animated film opening in theaters today. [Read more]
Ducobu and the Saint-Potache Ghost in cinemas: a Halloween adventure
Ducobu makes his Halloween comeback in Ducobu and the Ghost of Saint-Potache, a family comedy directed by Élie Semoun, hitting cinemas today. [Read more]
Cars in theaters: Lightning McQueen marks 20 years on the big screen.
Cars returns to nearly 300 cinemas in France today. The Pixar film starring Lightning McQueen marks its 20th anniversary on the big screen. [Read more]
Neither seen nor known on the big screen: Isabelle Huppert dreams of a major role
Isabelle Huppert plays a background actress who dreams of landing a lead role opposite Sandrine Kiberlain in Ni vue, ni connue, which opens in theaters today. [Read more]
Girlhood on the big screen: Judith Godrèche adapts Annie Ernaux
Judith Godrèche adapts Annie Ernaux's A Daughter's Memoir with Tess Barthélemy and Valérie Dréville. The film hits theaters today after its Cannes premiere. [Read more]
The Addams Family: Back to the Big Screen for Its 35th Anniversary
The Addams Family by Barry Sonnenfeld is hitting the big screen again on February 18, 2026, celebrating its 35th anniversary. The beloved classic featuring Anjelica Huston has been restored for the occasion. [Read more]
Verity in theaters: Anne Hathaway and Dakota Johnson star in a taut thriller
Anne Hathaway, Dakota Johnson and Josh Hartnett lead the cast in Verity, an adaptation of Colleen Hoover’s thriller hitting theaters today. [Read more]
Aprile in cinemas: Nanni Moretti between politics, cinema and fatherhood
Aprile, Nanni Moretti's film, is back in theaters today in a restored version. An autofiction in which contemporary Italian politics intersects with cinema and the birth of his son. [Read more]
My Samurai Family: An animated film that bridges Brazil and Japan
My Samurai Family, Célia Catunda's animated feature adapted from the novel Nihonjin, hits theaters on September 16, 2026. Watch the trailer. [Read more]
What movies to watch in theaters right now? Our picks
Comedy, horror, animation, drama or blockbuster: our picks of films to see in theaters right now, tailored to whatever you’re in the mood for. [Read more]
Comedies, dramas, horror, animation, action or documentary: check out our genre-by-genre film guides to help you choose what to see in theaters. [Read more]
This page may contain AI-assisted elements, more information here.
What movies to watch in theaters right now? Our picks
Movie releases by genre: the films to see in theaters
