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2026 is here, and it’s time to make your plan. Let’s make a list of movies to watch in 2026. The Cinematic Schematic returns with our annual sneak peek episode to provide a look at what’s on the docket in the new year.
Hosts Caleb Masters and Laron Chapman continue the annual tradition with recurring guest Daniel Bokemper.
We start the show by catching up on our final viewings of 2025 before discussing the box office and selecting our top 3 most anticipated films of 2026.
To end the kick-off, we return for our third annual New Year Sneak Peek Movie Trivia.
Returning to our big 2025 box office bets
Time Stamp: 20:33
In our 2025 Sneak Peek last year, Laron, Daniel, and Masters all made bets on what the biggest hits at the 2025 box office would be.
A quick refresher:
- Laron bet on Wicked: For Good (1), Avatar: Fire & Ash (2), or Freakier Friday(3)
- Daniel bet on Avatar: Fire & Ash (1), Wicked: For Good (2), Fantastic Four: First Steps (3)
- Caleb bet on Minecraft (1), Jurassic World: Rebirth (2), Avatar: Fire & Ash( 3)
And the top 5 grossers were…
- Minecraft – $423,949,195
- Lilo and Stitch – $423,778,855
- Superman – $354,184,465
- Jurassic World: Rebirth – $339,640,400
- Zootopia 2 – $337,912,160
See the full list here.
MAJOR NOTE: Avatar: Fire & Ash is still in the middle of its theatrical run, and continues to defy typical box office trends with long legs, estimated to bring in somewhere between $1.5 and $1.8 billion worldwide.
The 2025 U.S. Domestic Box Office Analysis
According to Deadline, the U.S. domestic box office topped out at $8.87 billion, on par with 2024, but also coming in under 2023 (the year of Barbenheimer)
According to Variety, “The Movie Theater Comeback That Wasn’t: Why 2025 Was Such a Dud for Struggling Cinemas
“The past 12 months were supposed to turn things around for struggling cinemas. But instead of heralding a dramatic return to moviegoing, 2025 is running neck-and-neck with the middling 2024 box office, and will fall far short of the $9 billion in domestic ticket sales that most analysts expected the theatrical movie business to easily eclipse”
“More worrisome is the reality that many of the movie business’s biggest franchises are showing signs of oversaturation or fatigue. Marvel continued to struggle with its B Team heroes; February’s “Captain America: Brave New World” and May’s “Thunderbolts” lost tens of millions during their theatrical runs, while July’s “The Fantastic Four: First Steps” will only eke out a modest profit. And even though “Avatar: Fire and Ash” ($760 million and counting), “Wicked: For Good” ($504 million) and “Jurassic World Rebirth” ($869 million) will rank among the year’s top-grossing releases, they will fail to match the revenues of previous films in their respective series.”
Our 2026 box office prediction
To round out the extended box office conversation, each host hedges their picks for the top-grossing films of this new year.
- Laron bet on Toy Story 5
- Daniel bet on the Super Mario Galaxy Movie
- Caleb bet on The Odyssey
Reigning 2025 movie trivia champion Laron Chapman steps into the host seat for our third annual trivia game after reigning victorious last year.
How much do Caleb and Daniel know about the 2026 release schedule?
The Rules:
- A final round follows 15 questions.
- Each correct answer is worth a point.
- Contestants will buzz in to answer.
- Each contestant gets 3 clues for the full game that can be used at a time:
- An Actor/Actress from the movie.
- Genre
- Director
- In the final round, players wager their points, and correct answers will be rewarded with double the number of points wagered.
- The winner gets bragging rights and also hosts the trivia in 2027 (or nominates a person to host in their place)
Tune in to find out which host knows the most!
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