11 Best Comedies Of 2026 (So Far)

Even though major studios don't have nearly as much faith in big screen comedies as they used to, there are plenty of laugh riots out there for those willing to seek them out.

Thankfully, 2026 has resulted in a wide variety of comedies, and these are the hilarious entries that we've deemed as being the best comedies of the year so far. Whether they're indie darlings that began their journey at the Sundance Film Festival at the beginning of the year, mainstream favorites from the animation masters at Pixar, or darker laughs from the likes of A24, Shudder, and IFC Films, there's something that will tickle everybody's funny bone here.

There are plenty of other movies we've seen that made us laugh hard, but these are the 2026 movies that have confirmed release dates in this calendar year already, even if they haven't been made available to general audiences just yet. But you can be sure that you'll be able to see each and every one of these movies this year, and some of them are already available for you to watch at home.

Here are the best comedies of 2026 (so far).

In storytelling, drama is the opposite of comedy, but no film this year has so far made me laugh and gasp the way Kristoffer Borgli's dark-as-midnight "The Drama" did. Robert Pattinson, proving once more his range and buffoonery skills, plays Charlie, who discovers his fiancée Emma (Zendaya) has a dark secret from her teenage years.

No spoilers, because "The Drama" works best when you can't prepare for what you'll see, but Emma's secret is extremely bad, the kind of thing that would make you ask if you ever truly knew the person once you learn it. That's certainly what Charlie asks, and his uncertainty threatens to unravel the wedding before it happens. The characters are in a situation where there's no right way to act, and the movie follows them (especially Charlie) bumbling around it.

Watching "The Drama" and its schadenfreude will have you thinking that sometimes it's better to not share uncomfortable secrets. But there's a point to it all; good satire can ask uncomfortable questions, and in "The Drama," those are about the subjectivity of forgiveness. What's the personal line you draw for irredeemability? Does your worst act or thought define you?

Outside of the no-longer-happy couple, "The Drama" has some gutbusting supporting turns, from Alana Haim as the indignant maid of honor Rachel (a performance worthy of her star-making turn in "Licorice Pizza") to the indifferent Misha (Hailey Benton Gates), who Charlie tries confiding in and only escalates the disaster by doing so. (Devin Meenan)

Horror and comedy go together like peanut butter and chocolate, or in the case of the cult hit in the making "Forbidden Fruits," cinnamon sugar and warm baked pretzels. Meredith Alloway's feature directorial debut is the result of tossing "Mean Girls," "The Craft," "American Psycho," and "Heathers" into the Brundlefly machine and then dressing up the result in next season's Free People collection. 

There's a delicate balance of sass and snark that keeps the sharp script from Alloway and Lily Houghton from falling off the rails, allowing the after-hours retail coven of Apple (Lili Reinhart), Cherry (Victoria Pedretti, in my favorite performance of the year thus far), Fig (Alexandra Shipp), and Pumpkin (Lola Tung) to make a meal out of the snappy dialogue, which includes references to everything from "The Devil Wears Prada" to "The Shining." Produced by Diablo Cody, the film reworks her signature female-driven horror-comedy in films like "Jennifer's Body" and "Lisa Frankenstein" for a new generation.

Blending satire, horror, and coming-of-age drama, the film explores the chaos and intimacy of zillennial female friendships with sharp cultural awareness and biting humor. The film also fully embraces its R-rating, with graphic gore serving as its own delightful punchline. While it clearly draws inspiration from earlier female-led cult favorites, "Forbidden Fruits" distinguishes itself through its contemporary voice, irreverent energy, and willingness to push both its comedy and horror to uncomfortable extremes. (BJ Colangelo)

Gore Verbinski is back, and he's made an absolutely bonkers, hilarious sci-fi adventure as his return to the big screen. Verbinski knows how to make even a small story feel epic in scale, and "Good Luck, Have Fun, Don't Die" is not the exception. This is a movie that starts out as "Repo Man" before ending up as "Akira," with a giant battle against a supernatural god. The film features a star-studded cast led by Sam Rockwell and a rather timely exploration of the horrors of artificial intelligence and our relationship with social media, which Matthew Robinson's script points as the beginning of the end of civilization as we know it.

Sure, this is a rather bleak movie without much optimism for the future, a movie that at times makes "Black Mirror" feel like sunshine and rainbows. And yet, "Good Luck, Have Fun, Don't Die" is also a riot. The film satirizes the way we've become desensitized to tragedy with a tongue-in-cheek tone that recognizes the horrors of our reality but still allows you to laugh at it. This is undoubtedly a small movie, yet Verbinski manages to make it feel big, with wildly inventive visuals that add stakes to the story. (Rafael Motamayor)

Pixar has made some of the greatest movies of the past 30 years, animated or otherwise. "WALL-E" is about as fine as sci-fi gets in any medium. One thing Pixar probably doesn't get enough credit for though is being a great purveyor of comedy on the big screen. "Hoppers" is the funniest Pixar movie in years, and it proves why the storied animation studio is the best in the business and has been for a long time. They've still got it.

Directed by Daniel Chong, the movie centers on 19-year-old animal lover named Mabel (Piper Curda) who gets her hands on some cutting edge technology that allows her to place her consciousness in a robotic beaver, allowing her to uncover mysteries within the animal kingdom. Chong gets a lot of hilarious mileage out of getting the audience familiar with the premise in the first act, but once Mabel becomes the fish out of water, it ramps up to gut-busting levels for kids and adults alike.

From Dr. Sam angrily proclaiming, "This is nothing like Avatar!" (even though this is a lot like "Avatar") to completely changing how you'll think of the word "lizard" for the rest of your life, this movie is funny as heck all the way through. Plus, it has perhaps the funniest on-screen death of the year and the funniest chase scene of the year, all in the same movie. (Ryan Scott)

What's in a name? When it comes to "Idiots," the upcoming comedy which premiered at this year's Sundance Film Festival as "The S**theads," a surprising amount. That original title better prepared you for the type of grimy, greasy, sleazy comedy romp from writer/director Macon Blair. "Idiots," while certainly retaining a self-deprecating wink, just isn't as punchy a name (also, why remove the "The" too?). Still, just like you shouldn't judge a book by its cover, hopefully audiences won't be put off by a far more generic (if marketable) title, as Blair's comedy is a consistently surprising, at times even shocking, hoot.

Where "Idiots" gets its unique power is in Blair's control over the film's tone, which feels perfectly pitched between the more downbeat "I Don't Feel At Home in This World Anymore" and the more loose "The Toxic Avenger." Mark (Dave Franco) and Davis (O'Shea Jackson Jr.), an odd couple of transporters, find themselves driving a rich boy (Mason Thames) to rehab, only to discover he's more than just a handful. Blair makes "Idiots" like a grodier "The Last Detail," or a nightmare road movie buddy comedy version of "Apocalypse Now." 

Not only are Jackson Jr. and Franco excellent in the film, there's one moment with Franco in a hotel room which could, perhaps, be the greatest gross-out gag of all time. Knowing all that, you'd have to be an idiot not to give the film a shot when it hits theaters this August. (Bill Bria)

We've enjoyed so many high-concept comedies in cinema for so long that perhaps studios and filmmakers alike have forgotten that the genre doesn't require excess to be a success. The theater has long understood the value of great actors delivering sharp, witty dialogue for centuries, and with "The Invite," it feels like Hollywood is finally rediscovering that. Which is not to say the film, adapted from Cesc Gay's stage play, concerns a mundane concept. Rather, it's that the tension which results in the film's hilariousness is more internalized than externalized, requiring the aforementioned great actors and great dialogue.

That tension and concept is deceptively simple: Married couple Joe (Seth Rogen) and Angela (Wilde) have their upstairs neighbors Pína (Penélope Cruz) and Hawk (Edward Norton) over for dinner, during which the latter couple invite the former to join their frequent raunchy parties. What follows is an unleashing of every type of middle aged Millennial anxiety surrounding etiquette, insecurity, relationship issues and more. 

Wilde demonstrates she's no fluke as a director, giving herself and her cast space to craft fully realized comic performances. Will McCormack and Rashida Jones' script is on par with Christopher Durang or Albert Brooks, and Wilde handles their overlapping, erudite dialogue like a modern-day Robert Altman. The result is the next phase in distributor A24's campaign to bring back the adult comedy, and so far, like "The Drama" and "Materialists" before it, "The Invite" looks close to a sure thing. (Bill Bria)

The last couple decades have been dominated by comedies that were either high-concept goofs or cringe-comedy mockumentaries. While the outrageous will always take up the most space, it's the quieter, subtler, and more relatable comedies which contain more power thanks to their resonance. Chandler Levack's "Mile End Kicks" is one of those comedies, a character study of Grace (Barbie Ferreira), who's a Canadian music journalist navigating young adulthood in 2011. 

Though the film understandably contains some nostalgia due to its setting, this isn't some rose-colored glasses tale. Levack demonstrates a winning willingness to get messy in her approach to her protagonist. Grace is neither plucky heroine nor cautionary tale, but somewhere in between, which only adds to the hilarity of the mishaps she gets herself caught up in.

There's a lot to recommend in "Mile End Kicks" — its cozy period setting, inside baseball look at the Montreal music scene (and the state of music journalism, particularly for women, at that time), and more. Yet most attractive are the rough edges and layered honesty that Levack includes, likely thanks to the film being a true indie as opposed to a studio comedy. The movie's nuanced look at relationships, power dynamics and the like hit harder when there's not a corporate-friendly Moral Message behind it and Levack doesn't have to reassure the audience about how to feel. 

Whether you're laughing in disbelief or cringing in recognition — or both simultaneously — "Mile End Kicks" is far from frivolous or forgettable. (Bill Bria)

Don't worry if you haven't heard of "Nirvanna the Band the Show" before you discover the Canadian treasure that is "Nirvanna the Band the Show the Movie." In fact, you're probably better off knowing as little as possible about this outstanding big screen venture from on-screen duo and co-writers Matt Johnson (who directs as well) and Jay McCarrol.

All you need to know is Matt and Jay have been desperately trying to get a gig at Toronto's music venue The Rivoli for years. It has defined their friendship, for better and worse, as Matt comes up with endless scenes to get their foot in the door, despite not having any rehearsed songs or any kind of solidified performance (even though Jay is a gifted musician). That kind of unpredictability and improvised feel is exactly what makes "Nirvanna the Band the Show the Movie" so great.

If you can go into this movie unspoiled, you'll be rewarded with a stealthy remake of one of the greatest movies of all time — one infused with the unique, chaotic, comedic charm of Johnson and McCarrol, not to mention some of the most ingenious guerrilla filmmaking tricks you've ever seen. Take a small dose of "Borat," add a sprinkle of "This is Spinal Tap," and mix in some "Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping" and "American Movie," and you've got the perfectly hilarious recipe for "Nirvanna the Band the Show the Movie." Just watch it, okay? (Ethan Anderton)

"Over Your Dead Body" isn't just a romance, nor a comedy, but some secret third thing: a rom-com thriller pitched towards the most heightened and bleakly absurd tone possible without breaking its entire premise. It's easy to imagine how director Jorma Taccone (known for writing on "Saturday Night Live," co-founding the Lonely Island, and directing "MacGruber" and "Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping") sold this in just a single elevator pitch. Cast a pair of comedic geniuses in Jason Segel and Samara Weaving, establish an entire series of Russian nesting dolls setups over the course of a marriage drama that's clearly soured, and spend the rest of the film paying off those breadcrumbs as both parties (and a few unexpected ones) attempt to kill each other and get away with the perfect crime.

This basic synopsis of "Over Your Dead Body" just so happens to be wrapped up in a violent, hilarious, and weirdly moving romp that tests the bounds of how much mayhem audiences can keep up with. From the pettiest verbal jabs you'd expect from a longtime couple to pathologically repressed grudges just waiting to burst out into open warfare, the central dynamic between Weaving's aspiring theatre actor Lisa and Segel's washed-up commercial director Dan might as well be catnip to film types. The script itself remains in on its own joke every step of the way too. In an age where studio comedies are killed in the cradle, this proves they can still come in unexpected packages. (Jeremy Mathai)

Two millennial comedians making an honest-to-goodness entertaining Gen Z stoner comedy in 2026 wasn't something I saw coming, but you know the drill. Drawing from their internet sketch comedy background, writer/directing duo Brian McElhaney and Nick Kocher know to keep the absurdist gags and scenarios coming fast and furious in "Pizza Movie," and joke-wise, the hits handily outnumber the misses. They even bring some visual inventiveness to the table, using wayward camera angles, psychotropic lighting, and one-off bits like a shadow puppet sequence to create a DIY low-budget aesthetic that's actually interesting to look at.

Story-wise, "Pizza Movies" follows two dweeby college buddies (respective "Stranger Things" and "The Goldbergs" stars Gaten Matarazzo and Sean Giambrone) and, in time, their estranged gaming pal (frequent Mike Flanagan actor and "Becky" movie franchise star Lulu Wilson) as the trio deals with the ever-more-surreal effects of taking home-brewed drugs cooked up by one of their dorm room's prior occupants (as played by a fittingly twisted comedian, though I dare not spoil whom). Rest assured, the simplicity of the film's plot is a feature, as it turns out you can still make a silly, silly college laughfest with an earnest message (we're all weirdos and should hang out with the folks who cherish our strangeness) without being wildly problematic. That and one that features a vengeful butterfly voiced by ... you know what, just watch the movie. (Sandy Schaefer)

"The Sheep Detectives" sets the audience up for a fairly broad comedy right from the title, which gives away the film's kooky premise. A mash-up of talking animal family films and Agatha Christie-style murder mysteries could've made for a lazy parody filled with referential humor and animal puns. Instead, the film is one of the most surprising delights of the year, in large part because of how endearing and well-observed it is. One of the smartest choices made by director Kyle Balda and writer Craig Mazin lies in the film's balancing of the human and sheep ensembles. Where the sheep are, in general, given the bulk of the film's earnestness, the humans are the ones where the caricature, satire, and character comedy come most into play. The sheep understand humans when they talk, but humans just see (and hear) the sheep as normal.

As such, the film gets a lot of comedic juice from the presence of baa-ing sheep in various scenes. With the sheep taken mostly seriously, it allows actors like Nicholas Braun, who plays a small town policeman tasked with officially solving a murder, to become the movie's comedic MVP. Coming from the mind of Mazin, who's a veteran of such ribald comedies as "The Hangover Part II" and "Identity Thief," the comedy in "The Sheep Detectives" is a great example of how an all-ages film can be every bit as hilarious and entertaining as their more adult counterparts. (Bill Bria)