5 Most Exciting Netflix Movies Premiering In Summer 2026

This summer is shaping up to be a big one for Hollywood. Exciting smaller movies like "Obsession," "Backrooms," "The Death of Robin Hood," and "The Invite" are scheduled alongside tentpoles like "The Mandalorian and Grogu," "Toy Story 5," "The Odyssey," and "Spider-Man: Brand New Day," which should make theater owners happy after a rough few years at the box office. But as much as we love to see movies on the big screen, it's also nice to kick back and stream something at home every once in a while.

Netflix has revealed its slate of summer 2026 movies, and we've combed through the list to highlight five entries that we're particularly enthusiastic about. With apologies to the atrocious-looking Sacha Baron Cohen comedy "Ladies First," the Kevin Hart comedy "72 Hours," and the Millie Bobby Brown-led sequel "Enola Holmes 3," none of those made the cut (although the "Enola Holmes" films are harmless enough). Instead, we have a documentary, two romantic comedies, a sci-fi movie, and a thriller that might pique your interest on a casual Sunday afternoon.

Director: Lawrence Kasdan

Executive Producers: Ron Howard and Brian Grazer

Why We're Excited About It: This one's pretty self-explanatory. Martin Short is a comedy legend with a career that's lasted over 50 years, and as anyone who's seen "Only Murders in the Building" can tell you, he's still bringing the house down. 

Lawrence Kasdan, the filmmaker behind "Body Heat" and "The Big Chill" and who recently directed the terrific "Light & Magic" documentary series (which is all about the formation and impact of visual effects company Industrial Light & Magic), is behind the camera again for this movie, which "combines never-before-seen archival footage and exclusive interviews with a star-studded list of friends and collaborators to tell Short's story." Short has also suffered tremendous losses in his personal life, so it's nice to have a trusted figure like Kasdan in charge to make sure those topics are broached in a sensitive way, assuming they're touched on here.

Director: Ol Parker

Cast: Jennifer Lopez, Brett Goldstein, Betty Gilpin, Amy Sedaris, Tony Hale, Bradley Whitford, Edward James Olmos

Why We're Excited About It: Netflix describes "Office Romance" as "a raunchy romantic comedy about a secret office romance and the trouble two workaholics get in when they start thinking with their hearts," which sounds like it has a ton of potential. It'd be nice to see another rom-com become a breakout hit that made people excited instead of something that people just passively watch while folding laundry and then never think about again. 

Ol Parker recently directed the Julia Roberts/George Clooney film "Ticket to Paradise," Jennifer Lopez has spent a significant portion of her career in romantic comedies, and Brett Goldstein was just in a really great romantic drama called "All of You" (which no one saw because it was made for Apple TV), so the pieces are all in place, and we have our fingers crossed this turns out well.

Director: Leah McKendrick

Cast: Zoey Deutch, Nick Robinson, Nick Offerman, Lukas Gage, Harry Shum Jr., Ciara Bravo, Megan Danso, Toby Sandeman, Leah McKendrick, Spencer Lord, Gil Bellows

Why We're Excited About It: To keep the rom-com train rolling, we're stoked about writer/director Leah McKendrick's sophomore feature, "Voicemails for Isabelle." This one has a hooky, '90s-style concept: "Jill copes with her sister's death by leaving her voicemails chronicling her chaotic life in San Francisco. When the number is unknowingly reassigned, an elusive Austin real estate agent begins receiving the hilariously confessional messages." 

Zoey Deutch, who starred opposite Glen Powell in the terrific Netflix rom-com "Set It Up" several years ago, is back in the lead role, and this time, she's appearing opposite Nick Robinson, who you might remember from "Jurassic World" and "Love, Simon." McKendrick's debut feature, "Scrambled," is well-liked, and we're hoping she knocks this one out of the park as well.

Director: Louis Leterrier

Cast: Greta Lee, Wagner Moura, Gabriel Barbosa, Emma Ho, Noah Alexander Sosnowski, Riley Chung

Why We're Excited About It: Louis Leterrier admittedly has a bit of a mixed track record as a director, but I'm a sucker for the first two "Transporter" movies, I dug "Fast X" considering how chaotic that production was, and I enjoyed what I saw of the heist thriller series "Lupin" and "The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance." 

Now, Leterrier's returning to sci-fi for "The Last House," and with the terrific Greta Lee and Wagner Moura leading the cast for this one, I'm already sold. The film's synopsis is just the cherry on top: "A family of four are suddenly sealed inside their home with no way out and must work together to survive against both their dwindling resources and the mysterious, looming threat that is keeping them trapped." Intriguing!

Director: James Ashcroft

Cast: Robert De Niro, Michelle Monaghan, Adam Scott, Hamish Linklater, Owen Teague

Why We're Excited About It: With films like "The Housemaid" and "Project Hail Mary" making serious money at the box office, Hollywood seems to be in another literary adaptation boom. "The Whisper Man," based on Alex North's bestselling novel, looks to continue that streak, and it's gathered one heck of a cast to do it. De Niro! Monaghan! Scott! Linklater! Incredible. Even Owen Teague, who may not be a household name yet, was spectacular as the lead ape Noa in Wes Ball's excellent "Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes."

Here's the synopsis for "The Whisper Man": "When his eight-year-old son is abducted, a widowed crime writer looks to his estranged father, a retired former police detective, for help, only to discover a connection with the decades-old case of a convicted serial killer known as 'The Whisper Man.'"

This sounds like it could be great, especially since it hails from New Zealand director James Ashcroft, who made a nasty suspense thriller called "Coming Home in the Dark" back in 2021 that felt like it took a chunk out of me as a viewer (complimentary). If he can bring that same unflinching approach to a narrative as fraught as this one, we just might be in for another banger.