The hard science fiction genre takes alluring storytelling and combines it with a genuine respect for scientific principles, granting it a unique place in the world of cinema. Unlike traditional science fiction movies that dabble in fantasy and the supernatural, hard science fiction films build their narratives around plausible scenarios that are rooted in areas such as physics, astronomy, or artificial intelligence and essentially challenge audiences to immerse themselves into a world that feels both extraordinary and believable.

Since 2000, filmmakers like Christopher Nolan and Ridley Scott have embraced this approach with remarkable ambition, delivering visually stunning stories such as The Martian, Ex Machina, and Interstellar that explore humanity’s relationship with science and technology. From intimate character studies like in Spike Jonze‘s Her to the thrilling space adventure of Gravity starring Sandra Bullock and George Clooney, these are six hard science fiction movies that demonstrate how scientific accuracy and emotional depth can coexist while inspiring curiosity about the real universe, making them the best hard sci-fi films of the 21st century.

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‘Ex Machina’ (2014)

Image via A24

Ex Machina is a thoughtful and realistic exploration of artificial intelligence grounded in contemporary research, notably the Turing Test, which evaluates a machine’s ability to exhibit intelligent behavior, making its central premise feel plausible rather than fantastical. The movie follows a young programmer, Caleb (Domhnall Gleeson), who wins the chance to stay for a week at the private estate of his company’s CEO, Nathan Bateman (Oscar Isaac). When he arrives, Caleb discovers that he’s been chosen as the human component to test the abilities of a beautiful robot named Ava (Alicia Vikander), unaware that she is far more aware and conscious of her surroundings than he or Bateman ever expected.

Ex Machina goes beyond its scientific foundation and raises enduring and thought-provoking questions about consciousness, free will, manipulation, and the responsibilities of technological innovation. Combined with its minimalist storytelling, intelligent screenplay, and compelling performances, especially by Viaknder, who received rave reviews from audiences and critics, Ex Machina demonstrates how hard science fiction can use credible science to explore profound philosophical issues, earning its reputation as a defining hard science fiction film of the 21st century.

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‘Gravity’ (2013)

Image via Warner Bros.

Sandra Bullock and George Clooney star in Alfonso Cuarón‘s Oscar-winning movie Gravity as astronauts, Dr. Ryan Stone and Lieutenant Matt Kowalski, who become stranded in deep space after their space shuttle is destroyed while in orbit and must find a way to return to Earth. The film emphasizes scientifically grounded concepts and features a remarkably realistic depiction of spaceflight and the dangers of Earth’s orbital environment, creating a tense survival story rooted in real-world physics. It also received positive reception from several NASA astronauts, including Buzz Aldrin, who was captivated by the visual effects and impressed by the film’s authentic display of outer space.

Gravity received ten Academy Award nominations, including Best Picture and Best Actress for Bullock, and went on to win seven of its nominations, notably for Best Director, Best Cinematography, and Best Visual Effects. While it takes a few dramatic liberties to enhance the narrative, the film’s attention to the challenges of operating in space, such as isolation, limited resources, and the unforgiving vacuum, not only sets Gravity apart from more fantastical science fiction but also deems it to be one of the best modern contributions to the hard science fiction genre.

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‘Her’ (2013)

Image via Warner Bros. Pictures

Her is an endearing hard science fiction movie that features a deeply human exploration of artificial intelligence and the impact it has on society, specifically socialization. Joaquin Phoenix stars as a sensitive and lonely writer, Theodore, who, after being left heartbroken by his failed marriage, connects with an advanced operating system known as Samantha (Scarlett Johansson), sparking an unexpected friendship between man and machine that soon turns into an unconventional romance. Rather than focusing on futuristic action or advanced fantasy-based technology, the film examines how increasingly sophisticated AI could reshape relationships, communication, and personal identity, ultimately solidifying its place on this list.

Its depiction of a highly advanced operating system capable of learning, emotional growth, and natural conversation builds on trends already emerging in artificial intelligence and human-computer interaction, making its premise feel plausible (and even a bit unsettling). Her earned five Academy Award nominations, including Best Picture, Best Original Score, and Best Production Design, and went on to win for Best Original Screenplay for Jonze. By exploring themes of loneliness, love, consciousness, and the evolving relationship between humans and intelligent machines, Her is the prime example of how to effectively combine scientific credibility with emotional depth without losing its realistic footing.

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‘Arrival’ (2016)

Arrival is widely recognized as one of the best hard science fiction movies in recent years because of its scientifically grounded approach to humans making first contact with extraterrestrial life, which is brilliantly meshed with relatable themes of grief, loss, and morality. Amy Adams stars in one of her best films as Louise Banks, a linguistics professor, who finds herself in a race against time to find a way to communicate with recent extraterrestrial visitors before a potential global war erupts. Instead of emphasizing conflict or spectacle, the film centers on linguistics, communication theory, and the scientific process, portraying how language shapes understanding and perception.

While its exploration of non-linear time is speculative, Arrival is presented through a thoughtful framework that encourages audiences to consider the relationship between language, cognition, and reality, which resonates with audiences on an unusually emotional level. The film’s careful attention to problem-solving and scientific inquiry, combined with its emotional storytelling and philosophical depth, distinguishes it from conventional science fiction, placing it in its own category of an ingenious man versus alien tale. By blending plausible scientific concepts with profound questions about communication, choice, and human experience, Arrival undoubtedly stands as one of the most original and influential hard science fiction films of the 21st century.

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‘The Martian’ (2015)

Image via 20th Century Studios

Ridley Scott’s The Martian is a thrilling adaptation of Andy Weir‘s 2011 novel of the same name, and its strong commitment to scientific realism and problem-solving ultimately makes it one of the best hard sci-fi films released since 2000. The movie follows a group of astronauts who, after landing on Mars, are caught in a severe storm that forces them to evacuate the planet. Shortly after taking off, they realize they accidentally left Mark Watney (Matt Damon) behind, who they believed had died in the storm. With limited supplies and resources, Watney fights to survive on the desolate planet as his team and NASA devise a plan to save him before it’s too late.

The film portrays the challenges of surviving alone on Mars using plausible engineering, botany, chemistry, and spaceflight principles, with Damon’s character relying on scientific knowledge and ingenuity rather than fictional technology. Although it takes a few creative liberties, Scott strived for scientific accuracy, and the film’s depiction of life-support systems, resource management, and NASA’s mission planning is grounded in real science, which was supported by the expertise of James L. Green, the Director of the Planetary Science Division at NASA’s Science Mission Directorate. The Martian demonstrates how hard science fiction can create an exciting and emotionally engaging story while remaining firmly rooted in scientific possibility, making it one of the greatest hard science fiction films of the last twenty years.

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‘Interstellar’ (2014)

Image via Paramount Pictures

Matthew McConaughey stars in Christopher Nolan’s epic science fiction film, Interstellar, as a former NASA pilot, Cooper, who is recruited by a physicist, Professor Brand (Michael Caine), to find a new planet where the human race could survive before Earth becomes entirely uninhabitable, putting the fate of all of humanity in his hands. Guided by the expertise of theoretical physicist Kip Thorne, Interstellar presents scientifically informed depictions of black holes, wormholes, gravitational time dilation, and relativistic space travel, pushing the boundaries of what hard science fiction can achieve on screen.

While some elements become more speculative in the film’s final act, it remains grounded in real scientific theories and explores the practical and philosophical challenges of humanity’s search for a new home, effortlessly captivating audiences from start to finish. Interstellar earned five Academy Award nominations, including Best Original Score and Best Sound Editing, and went on to win for Best Visual Effects. Combined with breathtaking visuals, memorable performances, and the enduring power of human connection, Interstellar exemplifies how hard science fiction can inspire wonder while remaining rooted in credible scientific ideas, securing its place as the greatest hard science fiction film to be released since 2000.

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Interstellar

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Release Date

November 5, 2014

Runtime

169 minutes

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Writers

Jonathan Nolan

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Editor’s note: The below interview contains spoilers for The Vampire Lestat finale.

The Vampire Lestat wrapped up its tour this week — not with a raucous, rousing concert for immortals, but with a quieter reflection on death, love, and personal failures. While it might have felt like a calmer coda compared to the chaotic run viewers have already gone on with Lestat de Lioncourt (Sam Reid), series creator Rolin Jones now confirms that the surrealist, dreamlike review of Lestat’s most memorable moments at the long table was built into the bones of the story from the very beginning.

Between surprising cameos and callbacks to the past — all while Lestat’s head is being hauled around in a bowling bag by Daniel Molloy (Eric Bogosian) in a bowling bag — Louis (Jacob Anderson) is confronted by Armand’s (Assad Zaman) twisted efforts to clear the air between them, including a surprise appearance from someone (Delainey Hayles) who recontextualizes Louis’s entire arc this season. Despite Lestat and Louis ultimately being put back together again by the closing moments of “The Failures,” a fast-forward to Lestat looking out at a city in ruins confirms the arrival of, as Jones ominously teases, “a new sheriff in town,” which will impact everything for a potential Season 4. Below, the series creator discusses Lestat and Louis’ respective reckonings, the Talamasca’s role in the bigger picture (and why they’re so invested in the Great Conversion), why there might be another title change in the show’s future, and more.

COLLIDER: When did the idea to structure Lestat’s portion of the finale around the long table and the “failure finders,” as it’s referred to at one point, really come up in the plotting?

ROLIN JONES: Pretty early on, I gotta say. When we first were doing the Auvergne scenes, we were like, “Hey, we’re doing the monastery scene. Hey, we’re doing the scene where he’s with the players. Hey, here’s the wolf killing and snow.” Then, reality set in, and “Hey, you’re going to be shooting in April in Toronto. There’s going to be some greenery all around.” You’re like, “Huh. Oh boy, what are we going to do?” So when we consolidated all that onto the table and tried to tell the story of Auvergne as time passing, we started grabbing on to that.

We started building the opening credits to it. We talked about it in [Season] 3, but there are actually a lot of references to tables. The table has been there in all seven episodes. In my initial dreaming stages — everybody has them, every show goes through this — we were in a real Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind world by the finale. At some point, you’ve just got to get all the people that represent all of your self-loathing and put them around the table, and have a review of your goddamn three seasons of television life.

The long table concept has been seeded throughout the season. Similarly, there have been breadcrumbs dropped about how long a vampire can survive after their head is cut off. Obviously, Lestat is an older vampire than Louis, so it stands to reason he’s going to be able to survive that experience longer. Is the reason that Louis survives as long as he does because he drank a little of Lestat’s blood in the beer before their decapitation?

JONES: The more immediate thing is there’s somebody that, even in the most screwed-up way, is sitting across from him that he cares about: Regina. Then, I think the beauty of Jacob’s performance is that there is a movement when he gets into that telepathic conversation that goes from, “I’m saving Regina,” to, “Despite the weirdness of what’s going on around me, the barbaric scene around me, what do I owe this person who I iced out for 77 years?” So, some of that comes back to even Lestat, to himself at the altar in the pilot episode. “What am I accountable for? What were the conversations I didn’t have with [Armand]? Where am I culpable for having brought him to this level of extremity?” There’s a real beauty I can see.

I wonder, for all viewers, where the moment is when they can see that. I know the moment I see it in Jacob’s performance, when it moves. It’s so elegant. You could make such a giant landscape painting off of Jacob Anderson’s small choices, minute choices. They’re just infinite.

Rolin Jones Explains the Significance of Paul’s Cameo in ‘The Vampire Lestat’s Finale

“It’s not confirmation that Lestat killed Paul or anything like that.”

Image via AMC

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Going back to the Lestat of it all, you just said it yourself: let’s rehash three seasons and however many decades of failures. One of the ways the episode does that is by bringing back the tenor singer from Season 1 to do a review of Lestat’s performance from a random show in Fort Wayne. What really struck me, though, was Paul showing up. Does his appearance answer the long-standing question about Lestat’s role in his death in one way or another?

JONES: People can go ahead and go, “Oh,” when he describes why everyone is all there. By the way, Lestat murdered, blah, blah, blah. Who’s to say that Lestat’s even right when he says that? In all of our dreams, these things are fragmented. He’s got a full table full of fledglings, and then Marius pops up. Why is that? This is when the breakdown begins. There’s a guy named Enzo, for Christ’s sake, that comes in. We’re trying to replicate what a fever-dream life experience would be there.

For us, Paul was in an hour-long episode and arguably the entire season of manifesting failure and self-loathing. Was this a manifestation of self-love, or giving yourself a break? The fact that he chose not for Louis to say it, but the thing that Louis loved the most in the world seemed to be… of all the things, of all the people that could have shown up in his head, that he had housed that kindness, and saved that. It’ll always depend. If you hate Lestat, you’re going to really hate the fact that that’s Paul there. But if you love Lestat, I think you will understand. I remember when Jacob first heard that that’s who it was going to be, and I think it got Jacob very still and like, “Wow.”

It’s not confirmation that Lestat killed Paul or anything like that. No, no. He says, “I’ve traumatized you.” You probably did traumatize Paul! Paul’s last moments are, “You’re not seeing that guy, right? Grace is married off. She’s going to love it. Everything’s okay. It’s never going to be better than this day. I want the birds to stop. Go.”

I do love the show acknowledging Paul’s feelings briefly when he says to Lestat, “I still wish you were a woman,” and then Sam [Reid] has that little teary, “Me too, sometimes.”

JONES: It’s always like that in dreams, right? There is a character that you have experienced, that you are writing, but they’re also writing in that voice that you experienced them in. So everybody gets a little say. It’s a liminal space, the brain.

One thing that this episode confirms from a worldbuilding standpoint is the Talamasca’s plan. Even in their own spin-off, they were literally making more vampires in secret. What is their driving goal behind making sure that the Great Conversion ends up happening?

JONES: Like everything, you could say that Raglan is the messenger, right? He says it pretty boldly, “There are too many people on the planet. The giant governments of the world have used us to say, ‘Let this go. If you can manage this, if you can herd this, help us along.’” That’s one way. But with Raglan, and if you know the books, there is a personal journey he’s already on, so this idea of the evidence of the soul, he’s quite interested in that. Knowing where it’s going later on, I think that that’s important.

Our Talamasca in our show is, generally, Raglan and James, and that’s already a complex, weird thing. There was some talk when Talamasca was still going. There was some mutual plotting together on that. But they’re always just middle. They’re not the puppet masters. They’re just grease on the wheels, you know? That’s all.

The very last scene of the finale closes the loop on the Failures, with Lestat finishing a recording.

JONES: Album 55. That’s halfway there.

‘The Vampire Lestat’s Rolin Jones Teases an Even Bigger Future — and Potential Title Change

“In a show that is, generally speaking, dominated by male voices, there’s a new sheriff in town, and that will affect everything.”

Image via AMC

What did you want to set up in terms of that last shot of the city in ruins? How does that set a specific tone heading into, potentially, Season 4?

JONES: Doom’s been there the whole time. There’s reference to it in the narration, the rubble. Shit has happened out there. The currency is currently not being run by the dollar anymore. A lot of things happened out there.

Look, the concert wasn’t there. There’s a bunch of stuff that happened off-screen this year that wasn’t there. People who know these books know The Queen of the Damned has chapters full of strict points of view, and that should be very clear. There were some things that were left out of Season 1 because there was a man on a microphone talking about his experience, and those tangential things that helped get you to that last image. But there are a bunch of things that were, for this year and going forward, about the laissez-faire of living here and now as vampires and having awoken something. The show’s about to get pretty big. In a show that is, generally speaking, dominated by male voices, there’s a new sheriff in town, and that will affect everything.

I would say the biggest clue about what’s coming up is: That is what’s happened — how do we get there? Because it won’t be called The Vampire Lestat, if we get it. My guess is we’re going to be doing the books’ titles. You’re going to be hearing a lot of people’s versions of how this happened, too, coming forward.

I’m talking to Daniel [Hart] soon, and we’re going to do a deep dive into the music, but when did you all decide that “Butterscotch Bitch” would be the song to close out the season?

JONES: Very late. Very late in the game. I had that riff for the production of the dream concert, but the lyrics, for a while, he was in his car and he was in hotel rooms putting it together. It’s so artfully done. “Butterscotch Bitch” is like when you walk into a church and you see the Stations of the Cross. It tells this biographical story.

There’s an interior journey story song that he wrote where we had to have made it to the 50,000 [vampires]. I’m basically sitting on the best song that he wrote for this season. You haven’t heard it yet. But until I had it, I think I was playing The Libertines’ “Horror Show” at the end of the credits. After a year with all these songs, Daniel was like, “We’re not going out on the fucking Libertines. Nope, I got it. Don’t worry about it.”

I think the scoring on Episode 7 is the best work he’s ever done on our show. It’s incredible. It’s unbelievable what he managed to do, and we don’t wallpaper a lot on our show. We have a lot of music, but we are borderline 82% of the time scored. That’s impossible. The number of motifs over the three seasons that are being manipulated and played, and the music under the Witches’ Place is just the largest thing you’ve ever heard in your life. I admire the shit out of him. I can’t believe it.

All episodes of The Vampire Lestat are now streaming on AMC+.

Tom Holland has offered a mysterious new tease about Spider-Man: Brand New Day, revealing that the true meaning behind the film’s title may not become clear until its final shot.

Speaking in the new Disney+ documentary Generations: The Evolution of Spider-Man, Holland suggested that the “brand new day” referenced in the title is not where Peter Parker’s latest story begins.

“The ‘Brand New Day’ of this movie, it isn’t the beginning,” Holland said. “It’s the last frame of this movie.”

The cryptic comment has immediately sparked theories about how the upcoming Marvel Studios and Sony Pictures film could end. While the title initially appeared to reference Peter beginning a new life following the events of Spider-Man: No Way Home, Holland’s statement suggests the movie may instead conclude with a major transformation or new beginning for the character.

At the end of No Way Home, Doctor Strange’s spell caused the entire world to forget Peter Parker. Peter was left completely alone, separated from MJ and Ned while continuing to protect New York City as Spider-Man.

Some fans believe the final frame could show Peter finally accepting his new life and moving forward from everything he lost. Others think the ending may reveal that the physical changes and evolving powers teased in the film are permanent, creating a dramatically different version of Spider-Man moving forward.

A more extreme theory connects Holland’s comments to unconfirmed rumors involving the symbiote and Peter potentially being brought back from the dead. Other fans have suggested the “brand new day” could introduce another Spider-Man, including the long-awaited arrival of Miles Morales in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

None of those theories have been confirmed, and Holland’s carefully worded tease could ultimately point toward a more emotional conclusion rather than a massive franchise changing twist.

The comment does make one thing clear. Whatever happens during the final moments of Spider-Man: Brand New Day appears likely to establish the next chapter of Peter Parker’s journey in the MCU.

Directed by Destin Daniel Cretton, Spider-Man: Brand New Day stars Tom Holland, Zendaya, Jacob Batalon, Mark Ruffalo, Jon Bernthal and Sadie Sink.

Spider-Man: Brand New Day arrives in theaters on July 31, 2026.

Kara Keough Bosworth, daughter of former “Real Housewives of Orange County“ star Jeana Keough, recently shared that her mother had been diagnosed with tongue cancer. While doing so, the 37-year-old shared a GoFundMe link. Now, following the emotional revelation, Tamra Judge has offered her support ahead of Keough’s appearance on the newest season of “RHOC.”

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Following the revelation about Keough’s cancer diagnosis, Judge took to her official social media channels, including X, to offer her support. She did so by saying, “We love you, Momma Jeana. Keeping you in our prayers every step of the way. If you’re able to support her.” She then shared how others can help her former ‘RHOC” costar, writing, “Here’s the GoFundMe link: gofund.me/4d69c67ca.”  

Judge added, “Every donation, no matter the size, truly helps.” Judge’s support comes after she appeared on multiple seasons of “The Real Housewives of Orange County” with Keough, including the third through fifth seasons, when they were both full-time cast members.

Jeana’s Daughter’s Emotional Post About Her Mother

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Kara took to Instagram in July 2026 to highlight her mother amid her cancer diagnosis in addition to launching the GoFundMe. She began, “She is kind to everyone—even to people who have nothing to offer her in return. She is generous to a fault. She gives people the benefit of the doubt, even when they’ve proven, over and over again, that they don’t deserve her grace.”

From there, she went on to say that the 70-year-old’s home is always welcome to everyone, noting, “She has a gift for making people feel seen, included, and loved.”

Kara continued, “But that’s Jeana. Everyone who knows her knows this: she’s almost impossibly optimistic in the face of terrifying things—wildfires, cancer, uncertainty. Yet somehow she’s always been afraid of the simplest thing: being vulnerable enough to ask for help. So I’m asking for her.”

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Near the end of the post, she mentioned the GoFundMe, asking those who had been “touched” by her mother to “Please consider reading her story. The link is in my bio. Thank you for helping us carry her through this.”

Jeana Left The Show In 2011

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Keough joined “The Real Housewives of Orange County” in 2006 as one of the original cast members. She continued appearing in that capacity until season five, when she opted to leave the show after the third episode. However, she then returned for the show’s sixth season in a friend of role.

She opened up about her exit in a 2016 appearance on “Oprah: Where Are They Now,” saying the show had become too toxic for her. According to Keough, “I quit the show because it became not so favorable for me. I knew how to behave on camera, and they didn’t. I don’t think I missed out on anything by leaving.”

Keough continued by mentioning some of her former costars, saying, “I felt like it kind of saved my soul a little bit because Vicki is so sad. How she’s portrayed and how her boyfriend’s portrayed, and I would never want to be that sad.”

Additionally, the former “RHOC” star spoke about Judge having poured wine on her during the show’s sixth season. She stated, “Tamra had it all in her mind to do this. She knew it. She’s like stomping around and doing her little acting bit. She just did it for drama.”

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Now, in celebration of the show’s 20th anniversary, Keough is set to appear alongside several other former “RHOC” stars.

Tamra Judge Reunited With Jeana In 2024

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Judge took to Instagram in March 2024 to share a new photo alongside Keough. She captioned the photo, “We love a blast from the past! No red wine or cyst and deceased papers were thrown.”

The reunion came after a 2015 interview in which Judge expressed regret for throwing wine on Keough. She told Bravo’s The Daily Dish, “I still hear about it, still hear about it. And there’s been a lot of other franchises that have done it since mine — I think I was the first to do that, and I just cringe.”

Jeana Was Seen In The ‘RHOC’ Season 20 Trailer

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Bravo released the official trailer for “The Real Housewives of Orange County” season 20 in June 2026, ahead of its July 9 premiere. Not only does the short clip tease the changing dynamics among the cast, but it also shows Keough and several other alums at a finale party, seemingly thrown by Judge.

Additionally, according to Deadline, the “RHOC” original cast member will be featured on the upcoming “The Real Housewives Ultimate Girls Trip: Roaring 20th,” which premieres August 9.

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The biggest movie of 2026, and perhaps this side of the pandemic, is just a few months away now, and the first proper look at it is here. Marvel Studios has released the first trailer for Avengers: Doomsday, bringing the MCU’s biggest heroes back together for the first time since Avengers: Endgame. And finally, we see the man himself because Tony Stark is gone. Doctor Doom has arrived.

We’ve waited long enough to see Earth’s Mightiest Heroes return and the trailer makes sure we see plenty of them, but obviously we’re here for Doom. And this doesn’t look like an upbeat version of what we’ve seen before, this is the Avengers in trouble and splintered. And we see more of the X-Men, the Fantastic Four, the Thunderbolts and, of course, our beloved Steve Rogers.

For those looking to do their homework ahead of time — and you might need the months ahead for this — the most relevant titles likely include Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, Thor: Love and Thunder, Captain America: Brave New World, Thunderbolts, Deadpool & Wolverine, and The Fantastic Four: First Steps. On the Disney+ side, Loki Seasons 1 and 2 are perhaps the most pivotal because they’ll explain exactly how these multiverses are crashing into each other.

Who Is Involved in ‘Avengers: Doomsday’?

Joe Russo and Anthony Russo are returning to direct, having previously helmed Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Captain America: Civil War, Avengers: Infinity War, and Avengers: Endgame, so it’s both a triumphant return and also a safe pair of hands for Marvel.

The cast of Avengers: Doomsday includes Robert Downey Jr. (Iron Man) as Doctor Doom, Chris Hemsworth (Thor) as Thor, Chris Evans (Captain America: The First Avenger) as Steve Rogers, Patrick Stewart (Star Trek: The Next Generation) as Professor Charles Xavier, Ian McKellen (The Lord of the Rings) as Magneto, James Marsden (X-Men) as Cyclops, Pedro Pascal (The Last of Us) as Reed Richards/Mister Fantastic, Florence Pugh (Oppenheimer) as Yelena Belova, Tom Hiddleston (Loki) as Loki, and Channing Tatum (Deadpool & Wolverine) as Gambit, among many others.

Avengers: Doomsday arrives in theaters on December 18, 2026.

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Release Date

December 18, 2026

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Runtime

165 Minutes

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As Team Argentina and Team Spain faced off on the 2026 World Cup pitch, they received an onslaught of cheers from a sea of famous faces.

The highly anticipated FIFA championship tournament held on Sunday, July 19, featured Argentinian star Lionel Messi hoping to lead his team to another victory over Spain.

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“We will give it our all,” Messi, 39, said in a pregame press conference, also acknowledging that he once gave 19-year-old Spanish athlete Lamine Yamal a bath in a now-viral photoshoot almost two decades earlier. “Looking at that photo is crazy. Well, that’s life, right? I took a photo with him when he was a baby, and now here we are facing each other in a World Cup. Lamine is an amazing player, someone whom I follow closely because he plays for a club I love.”

The big match was held at New Jersey’s MetLife Stadium, where the likes of Tom Cruise, Kylie Jenner, Beyoncé and more celebrities turned out to catch the game that ended in Spain’s favor.

Keep scrolling for the best photos from the stands:

This article covers a developing story. Continue to check back with us as we will be adding more information as it becomes available.

During a recent episode on the Happy Sad Confused podcast, MCU boss Kevin Feige confirmed that Marvel has been trying for years to recruit Adam Driver for a role, saying, “It’s no secret that we’d like to [work with Adam]. But it’s a tradition, to zoom with him and then he passes. He’s usually up front about how he’s feeling.”

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Release Date

July 13, 2000

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Runtime

104 minutes

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Bryan Singer

Producers

Avi Arad, Lauren Shuler Donner, Ralph Winter, Richard Donner

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This article covers a developing story. Continue to check back with us as we will be adding more information as it becomes available.

In Spider-Man: Brand New Day, Stranger Things alum Sadie Sink is making her mysterious Marvel debut, and it’s had fans buzzing since the first trailer dropped. Theories have been circulating across the World Wide Web about the identity of her character, ranging from Jean Grey, who would bridge a gap for the X-Men and the MCU ahead of Avengers: Doomsday, to Spider-Girl, Firestar, and Gwen Stacy. Now, as we creep closer to opening day on July 31st, Collider’s Steven Weintraub has had the chance to chat with Sink about her leap from one major pop cultural sensation to another.

After the heartbreaking events of Spider-Man: No Way Home, Peter Parker (Tom Holland) has had to watch everyone he loves move on with their lives without him. His noble sacrifice wiped any memory of Parker from the minds of even his best friend, Ned (Jacob Batalon), and MJ (Zendaya). To make matters worse, something has triggered a frightening mutation in him, but this new transformation could be the key to stopping a powerful threat to the city that no one can see. Brand New Day also stars Jon Bernthal as Frank Castle/Punisher and Mark Ruffalo as Bruce Banner/The Hulk.

During their conversation, Sink revisits her time on Stranger Things, comparing the secrecy of Season 5 to this new Marvel-level of confidentiality, but shares what she knew from the jump. She talks about when she first learned about the role, working with director Destin Daniel Cretton on the character, and when she finally had a good sense of what she’d be doing in Brand New Day. She also addresses fan theories, avoiding any Holland-style press slip-ups, and more. You can watch the full interview in the video above or read the transcript below.

Sadie Sink Compares Working on ‘Spider-Man: Brand New Day’ to ‘Stranger Things’

Sink starred in 4 seasons of the hit Netflix series.

COLLIDER: I’m so happy for you that you can finally start talking about the movie, but you’re not really talking about the movie.

SADIE SINK: I’m not really talking about much. [Laughs]

How would you compare the secrecy of Spider-Man to your time on Stranger Things? Is it even more intense?

SINK: At this point, it is even more intense. Last season was hard with the coma of it all. I couldn’t really say much about Max’s fate, so that was kind of hard to keep a secret. But this, I can’t even say who I’m playing, which is pretty extreme.

Tom has a famous history of accidentally revealing spoilers. Was there a time that he told you something you should not have known?

SINK: No, I don’t think so. But he definitely told me stories of him, I guess, giving away some spoilers, and warned me not to do that.

He does have a history of that. I’m sure you have a family member or a friend that you needed to tell information to because you couldn’t just keep it bottled up. Which family member or friend ended up being the one you spilled to?

SINK: Well, the castmate that I lived with during Season 5 of Stranger Things, she was kind of around for all of it, so she might have been the first person that I told because I had to tell someone, and we lived together. And then a little bit of family here and there, but that’s kind of it. In the beginning, I was really terrified to say anything.

Sadie Sink on the “Sheer Volume” of Fan Theories About Her Secret ‘Spider-Man: Brand New Day’ Character

“There was a new character every day.”

Image via Sony Pictures / Marvel Studios

I’m sure you’ve looked at fan theories online. Is there one that has really amused you?

SINK: There’s not one specific one that’s amused me. I think it’s just like the sheer volume of theories that were kind of coming in every week. That was funny just because there was a new character every day, it seemed.

Have you seen the movie yet?

SINK: I have, yes.

I’m sure going in, you had an idea of what you were making. How did the finished film compare to what you thought it would be while you were making it?

SINK: Weirdly, I think it was exactly what I thought it would be, which doesn’t always happen. But for this, it felt like everything that we thought we were making on set, like the tone, all really translated beautifully, I thought.

But the one thing that is always going to be different is the visual effects component, because stuff that’s not there ends up being there in the final cut, so that’s always fun to see.

Marvel Fans Knew About Sadie Sink’s ‘Spider-Man: Brand New Day’ Casting Before She Did

“I don’t know where they got this information.”

Image via Sony Pictures / Marvel Studios

I read that you read online that you were one of the people possibly going to be in Spider-Man: Brand New Day, and then it was two days later that you actually got a phone call. What the hell was this like for you? What was it like reading the script for the first time?

SINK: The casting was so bizarre because I did see the fan theories online saying that I had a role in the new Spider-Man movie. You see those every once in a while, and you’re like, “I don’t know where they got this information.” But then they actually did call a couple of days later, which was just wild to go from reading something to it actually being a possibility.

Then I had to wait a long time until I finally got to read the script. Obviously, I knew about the character and everything and had spoken to Destin [Daniel Cretton] about it, but it wasn’t until I got to London that I finally got to read it and get a better sense of what I’d be doing.

I don’t actually know the specifics of the arc, but when you got cast, how much were you told about, “This is what we think could be your character?”

SINK: They were pretty transparent with me. I had a good sense of what I’d be doing.

Spider-Man: Brand New Day swings into theaters on July 31.

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Release Date

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July 31, 2026

Runtime

150 Minutes

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Director

Destin Daniel Cretton

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Action movies tend to be fun, even if fun is a subjective sort of thing, and different action movies are going to be different levels of entertaining for different people. It’s a bit like how, with horror, most people would appreciate certain horror films as being genuinely scary, but not everyone is going to be scared by such films in the same way, or to the same extent.

That’s a way to stress a good deal of subjectivity being involved with the creation of a ranking like this. Action movies that feel especially fun to one person are unlikely to be, in their entirety, counted among the most enjoyable or broadly entertaining in the eyes of another person. Also, “most fun” is different from “best,” which is why there are plenty of iconic action films that you won’t see mentioned below.

10

‘John Wick: Chapter 4’ (2023)

Image via Lionsgate

The first John Wick movie might be the best, or most important, or like, have the most interesting non-action parts of any John Wick movie, but the sequels are perhaps more entertaining if you’re really just after action. The first film has the titular character dealing with the loss of his wife, and then the murder of his puppy, and that launches him on a whole revenge-fueled rampage, the aftermath of which propels the narrative of the subsequent movies.

John Wick: Chapter 4 is a finale for the main series, at least for now, and it succeeds at going bigger – and getting more explosive – than any of the John Wick movies that came before it. There are too many good action sequences to even try and mention them all, and it’s instead easier to highlight the fantastic variety on offer, since you get great shootouts, impressive stunts, and tons of exciting hand-to-hand combat, too.

9

‘Kung Fu Hustle’ (2004)

Image via Sony Pictures Classics

Since it’s one of the goofier and more broadly comedic martial arts movies out there, Kung Fu Hustle feels like it’s required to be here. The story here has a hero’s journey and an attempt at training to better oneself thing going for it that sounds incredibly conventional on paper, but then you get to the execution of Kung Fu Hustle, and it’s anything but conventional or expected.

At the same time, it’d also be unfair to characterize Kung Fu Hustle as solely a parody of martial arts movies, just because it does take care with its action scenes, and the fight choreography impresses in much the same way it might impress in a more serious-minded martial arts film. There are two worlds here, so to speak, and perhaps you get the best of both of them. The fun that can be had here, thanks to the collision of action and comedy, is undeniable.

8

‘Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah’ (1991)

Image via Toho

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While there are plenty of great monster movies without Godzilla, so many all-time iconic ones do indeed have the king of the monsters at their center. See Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah for one of many examples, though it’s being included here because of how endearing and goofy it is, as an action-packed romp. Basically, it’s like The Terminator (altering the past to improve the present/future), but with giant monsters instead of cyborgs.

Tonally, you get a bit of everything when you watch all the Godzilla movies, with this particular film being one of the most fun. It’s also got a real emphasis on action and high-concept sci-fi ideas central to the whole thing, and that inevitably keeps the entertainment value high. Maybe Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah is too silly for some, but if it’s somehow not silly enough for you, then you can always go back to some Showa era entries that are arguably even goofier (like Godzilla vs. Megalon).

7

‘RRR’ (2022)

Image via DVV Entertainment

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The runtime of RRR is a big reason why it really does feel, like, big and everything, but then you get to how over-the-top the action is, and that proves to be an undeniable factor in the whole bigness thing here, too. There are two main characters in RRR that are loosely based on real people, though here, they’re basically made into superheroes, and both have their own reasons to become revolutionary warriors before they meet and team up.

Those real-life people didn’t meet in reality, but RRR isn’t too concerned with historical accuracy. It’s a bit like historical fan-fiction done on an epic scale, with the broader conflict here having some ties to India’s history, since that conflict involves the British colonial rule in pre-independence India. That does ensure the film has its serious and more dramatic moments, but so much of this is concerned with being a broadly entertaining and endlessly exciting action blockbuster. It succeeds in just about everything it sets out to do, well and truly feeling like one of the best epic movies released in recent memory.

6

‘The Raid 2’ (2014)

Image via Sony Pictures Classics

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2011’s The Raid felt a bit like a linear video game, and it also kind of had literal levels, since it took place inside a high-rise apartment and involved SWAT officers having to battle their way out of there. You could maybe compare The Raid 2 to more of an open-world game, because this one was far grander in scope, with all the fighting and violence happening across a much wider set of locations, and over a longer period of time, too.

Now, both movies in this series (if a series can be just two movies long… maybe it’s a duology, then?) are extremely violent, so if violence gets in the way of fun you might otherwise have, calling The Raid and The Raid 2 incredibly fun might not feel all that fitting. But if you don’t mind fight choreography that oftentimes feels gnarly and brutally real, these movies are essential, with The Raid 2 possibly being ever so slightly more entertaining than the already excellent The Raid.

5

‘Hard Boiled’ (1992)

Image via Golden Princess Film Production

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You could argue John Woo peaked, as a director, more than three decades ago, which might sound disappointing for someone who’s continued to direct over the last 30-ish years… but also, when that peak was achieved with a movie as good as Hard Boiled, is that really such a bad thing to say? For the kind of action movie it is, it’s basically perfect, being no-nonsense, unrelenting, potentially goofy (at least at times), and wonderfully over-the-top.

It’s about two guys, and they need to shoot a bunch of other guys. So they shoot away, and then other things explode, and there’s so much general destruction. Things end up at a hospital, and the action just keeps going on and on and on. It’s the best kind of mindless action movie, and for how generous it is, Hard Boiled really does feel like just about as classic as purely entertaining action-fests get.

4

‘Kill Bill: Vol. 1’ (2003)

Image via Miramax Films

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Now that it’s more widely available, Kill Bill: The Whole Bloody Affair is likely the best way to experience Kill Bill, rather than watching Vol. 1 (2003) and Vol. 2 (2004) back-to-back. But Kill Bill: Vol. 1 is the one going here just because it’s more of a full-on action movie than Vol. 2, with its final act being the main reason why that’s the case, since it does for restaurants what the final act of Hard Boiled did for hospitals.

You get a few more serious scenes in Vol. 1, admittedly, but not too many, with most of the drama of the whole revenge saga being saved for the more emotionally intense and dialogue-heavy Vol. 2. The action in Kill Bill: Vol. 1 is some of the best you’ll ever see in an English-language martial arts/samurai movie, and as a homage to such genres, it really is quite wonderful.

3

‘Hundreds of Beavers’ (2022)

Image via Cineverse

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Hundreds of Beavers is one of the more underrated movies released in relatively recent memory, but then, admittedly, it also might be among the strangest films of the 2020s so far, too. It’s a black-and-white homage to slapstick comedies of the silent era, being about a man who has to survive on his own in Wisconsin during the 1800s (seemingly), and while he’s doing that, he makes enemies with the titular beavers.

There’s more to it than just a guy fighting a bunch of people in beaver costumes, but that is the source of much of the action in Hundreds of Beavers, and that action’s equal parts silly and glorious. The rest of the movie is also a lot of fun, and even if it’s most concerned with being a great comedy over anything else, the creativity of all the fight and chase sequences makes it work surprisingly well as an unusual kind of action film, too.

2

‘Raiders of the Lost Ark’ (1981)

Not including Raiders of the Lost Ark here would be bold, and maybe even foolish. Hell, only putting one Indiana Jones movie here might well be a different sort of foolish, but the original here is the greatest and most approachable. It’s also right up there as one of the very best things Steven Spielberg has ever directed, and much of what it does feels definitive, as far as action/adventure movies go.

The MacGuffin here is the Ark of the Covenant, with Raiders of the Lost Ark showcasing an endlessly entertaining pursuit to find said object, set back in the 1930s, which was a time in cinema history when film serials were popular. Raiders of the Lost Ark itself seeks to homage and elevate those kinds of film serials, obviously doing so quite effortlessly, in turn becoming almost as timeless as films from the 1980s managed to get.

1

‘The Blues Brothers’ (1980)

Image via Universal Pictures

Steven Spielberg might have a cameo in The Blues Brothers, but it is a very different sort of action movie from Raiders of the Lost Ark, and is more in line with previously mentioned comedy/action romps like Kung Fu Hustle and Hundreds of Beavers. Its plot concerns two men who try to get their blues band back together so they can throw a charity concert, hoping that’ll earn them enough money to save the orphanage they were raised in from being torn down.

They’ve got a clear goal (a mission from God, even), and there’s something hilarious about the way they pursue it with such determination and casualness at the same time, while the most chaotic things imaginable keep happening around them. The Blues Brothers, on top of being very funny and action-packed, is also an all-timer of a musical. There’s a destruction-filled scene in a mall where one of the titular characters remarks, “This place has got everything,” and if you swap out the word “place” with “movie,” that’s a quote you can also apply quite effectively to The Blues Brothers.

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The Blues Brothers

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Release Date

June 20, 1980

Runtime

133 minutes

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Director

John Landis

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Writers

Dan Aykroyd, John Landis

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• 
• 

  John Belushi

  ‘Joliet’ Jake Blues

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Fox Sports announcer John Strong mistook Matt Damon for Brad Pitt while calling out celebrity guests at the 2026 World Cup.

“Brad Pitt among the fans here,” Strong, 41, said while announcing famous faces inside MetLife Stadium in New Jersey on Sunday, July 19, right before fellow announcer Stu Holden set him straight. “That’s Matt Damon,” his colleague corrected him before the pair laughed about Strong’s on-air gaffe.

As cameras moved on to other celebrity attendees, Strong admitted that star-spotting wasn’t his forte. “I’m letting you take the rest of these guys,” the announcer said in the mic. “I got cocky after the first three, and I missed an absolute sitter so I’m done.”

The live moment was shared by World Cup fans via X in the finals’ aftermath, with amused social media commentary included alongside the footage. “It’s been a hell of a weekend for Matt Damon. He has #1 movie at the box office, got to attend the World Cup Final, and just got mistaken for Brad Pitt on the TV broadcast,” wrote one X user.

Related: All the Celebrities Cheering on Global Soccer at the 2026 World Cup

The 2026 World Cup is officially here— and the stars are stepping out to root for their favorite teams. The global soccer tournament will be held in the United States, Canada and Mexico, with the qualifying teams competing in matchups throughout the three countries this summer ahead of the championship game at MetLife Stadium in […]

Indeed Damon, 55, was in attendance at Sunday’s event, stepping out with wife, Luciana Barroso, to witness Spain defeat Argentina 1-0 in extra time.

Other famous faces in the crowd included Jay-Z and Beyoncé, Alix Earle, Blake Lively, Richard Gere and wife, Alejandra Silva, David and Victoria Beckham, Kylie Jenner, Timothée Chalamet, and Brittany and Patrick Mahomes.

Justin Bieber and Madonna also performed as part of the event’s Topps Final Halftime Show, while Tom Cruise delivered a pre-match speech to mark the end of this year’s tournament.

While Pitt, 62, wasn’t seen at Sunday’s final, he was spotted in California’s SoFi Stadium on Friday, July 10, as Spain defeated Belgium 2-1 as part of their run in the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

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Attending alongside friends Javiar Bardem and his wife, Penélope Cruz, Pitt brought girlfriend, Ines de Ramon, along for the match and at one point, the couple kissed as they celebrated Spain’s success.

Related: Brad Pitt and His Girlfriend Ines de Ramon Show PDA at French Open

Brad Pitt cuddled up with girlfriend Ines de Ramon during a visit to the French Open. The couple made a rare public appearance on Saturday, June 6, to watch Mirra Andreeva secure the first Grand Slam title of her tennis career with a 6-3, 6-3, win over Maja Chwalińska in the women’s singles final on […]

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Additional photos published by Page Six also showed Pitt, who first sparked romance rumors with de Ramon, 33, in November 2022, placing a hand atop his partners’.

The PDA flowed over in Damon’s corner on Sunday as Barroso, 49, was seen leaning into her husband as he held an arm around her waist. Prior to the game starting, the couple, who married in December 2005 and share four daughters together, posed on the red carpet together.