The films you can’t believe will be 10 years old in 2026
From superhero shake-ups to modern Oscar classics
These are tumultuous times we’re living in, to state the bleeding obvious. Casting your mind back to the events of ten years grants a refreshing sense of perspective, though it’s also guaranteed to make you feel just a little old.
The year 2016 was the year of Brexit and of Donald Trump’s first election win. We have no further comment on either of those things. It was also a year of record-breaking heat and a global Zika Virus health emergency.
Physicists confirmed the existence of gravitational waves in 2016, and Leicester City won the Premier League. You can make your own mind up as to which of those two events was the more momentous.
In the world of showbiz, meanwhile, 2016 saw the deaths of two of the biggest musical legends, David Bowie and Prince. Not gonna lie, those ones still sting here in 2026.
Over in the world of film, which is what we’re here to discuss, you’ll be relieved to hear that 2016 was the first year to have ten films grossing $700 million worldwide. The only way was up for cinema, clearly...
All jokes aside, there were some absolutely cracking films released in 2016, some of which had a direct bearing on the movies and TV shows we’re watching today.
10. Hail, Caesar!
Yes, it really has been a decade since the Coen brothers last graced us with their combined presence in a proper cinematic release. Thankfully, Hail, Caesar! doesn’t let us get too maudlin about it. It’s having far too good a time for that, with a deeply daft plot filled with ‘50s Hollywood hijinks. It goes to great lengths to nail that golden era vibe too, incorporating tightly choreographed golden era song and dance numbers, red scare paranoia, and a now-legendary scene featuring a dim leading man constantly fluffing his lines. Would that it were so, indeed!
9. Deadpool
Three movies in, it’s easy to roll your eyes at Ryan Reynolds’s crass, juvenile superantihero. The relentless winks and one-liners certainly began to pall, for this writer at least, in Deadpool & Wolverine. But let’s not forget what a breath of fresh air the original Deadpool movie was in 2016. Here was a film that pricked the pomposity of a superhero genre that was starting to get a little too puffed up, whether through the grimdark scowling of Batman v Superman (also 2016) or the then-ubiquitous Marvel Cinematic Universe. Deadpool stuck a pin in it all with a hundred meta-quips.
8. Finding Dory
Pixar was arguably already on the other side of its golden era when 2016 rolled around, with relative disappointments like Brave and The Good Dinosaur pock-marking the company’s otherwise impeccable record. Finding Dory was a reminder, if any were needed, that the company still knew how to make a generation-spanning animated hit like no other. Yes, it was a sequel (to 2003’s Finding Nemo), but it somehow matched the brilliant original with its zippy script and inventive set pieces, and arguably even exceeded it for sheer emotional wallop.
7. Moana
Was Moana the last great original animation made by Disney’s animation studio? Given that the past decade of its output has mostly been made up of sequels, it wouldn’t be a particularly controversial claim. Still, this would be considered a great Disney movie in any era, with a likeable and fully fleshed out main character, lavish animation (those water effects...), catchy songs, and a winning support turn from a certain Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson as Polynesian demigod Maui.
6. The Jungle Book
A faithful live-action adaptation of a classic Disney animated feature? Yeah, right. To be fair, subsequent attempts have given some credence to such doubtfulness, but in The Jungle Book, director Jon Favreau struck gold. Here was a film that captured the exotic wonder of the 1967 original, and even managed to stir in some extra magic of its own. We’re not saying it’s better, but just look at that cast: Bill Murray as Baloo, Idris Elba as Shere Khan, Ben Kingsley as Bagheera, and Christopher Walken playing King Louie. Wowzer.
5. Captain America: Civil War
We made reference to the Marvel Cinematic Universe being everywhere in 2016, but it might surprise you to learn that there were actually only two Marvel movies in cinemas at the time. It’s just that both were absolutely huge. One of them in particular was essentially a third Avengers movie, pulling the super team’s heart (Steve Rogers aka Captain America) into direct conflict with its brain (Tony Stark aka Iron Man). The movie even found space to give us our first glimpse at Tom Holland’s Spider-Man, entering the fray in a hugely entertaining superhero royal rumble.
4. Rogue One: A Star Wars Story
Rogue One could have been a real career wrecker for England’s Gareth Edwards. An all-too-well-documented troubled production saw Tony Gilroy drafted in at the 11th hour for extensive (and expensive) reshoots. One thing saved Edwards: his film is a really good watch. The tale of how the original Death Star plans were purloined by a plucky crew of misfits turned out to be an unexpectedly poignant preface to the very first Star Wars adventure. It also led directly to arguably the finest Star Wars TV spin-off of them all in Andor.
3. Arrival
The past decade has seen Denis Villeneuve taking on the role of Hollywood’s sci-fi maestro. Christopher Nolan fans might well protest, but Arrival was a way more elegant attempt to create a cinematic palindrome than Tenet. Amy Adams plays the linguist brought in to try and communicate with a visiting alien species that seems to operate on another plane of thinking to humanity. Villeneuve’s subsequent Blade Runner 2049 and his two (soon to be three) Dune films would all have their merits, but none packed anything like the emotional punch of Arrival, nor its majestic narrative conceit.
2. La La Land
La La Land was the Oscar darling of 2016, gaining a whopping 11 nominations and winning five of them. It’s also a thoroughly charming romantic drama, and the rare kind of musical that even those who don’t really like musicals are likely to enjoy. Take it from someone who doesn’t and did. Emma Thompson and Ryan Gosling play aspiring artists (an actor and a jazz musician respectively) struggling to make their relationship work whilst they seek career success in LA. We don’t want to make a song and dance about it, but La La Land holds up beautifully.
1. Moonlight
Barry Jenkins’s critically lauded second film stands as one of the best films of the 21st century. You can’t say that about every Best Picture Oscar winner, can you? It’s an audacious piece of filmmaking, documenting a young black homosexual boy growing up poor in Miami across three distinct phases of his life. Each distinct phase sees a new actor embodying our protagonist to beautiful effect. Combined with Jenkins’s dreamy direction style, it creates an almost otherworldly vibe that beguilingly transcends the tough subject matter.
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