A quick summary of the movie year so far: The box office is booming, Gen Z is flocking to theaters and aliens are … real?It’s been a curiously seesawing first six months. The movies have been dominated as much by 26-year-old YouTuber-turned-filmmaker Curry Barker as they have 79-year-old Steven Spielberg. Some much-prized Hollywood IP has struggled ( “Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu” ) while other franchises ( “Toy Story 5” ) have been more than fine.The favorites so far of AP Film Writers Jake Coyle and Lindsey Bahr are fittingly varied, running from shattering debuts to goofy sci-fi. Here are their picks. “Disclosure Day”Listen, I realize the alien stuff is a little blunt. And you can question the nostalgia baked into a modern-day movie where everyone huddles around TV sets. But when “Disclosure Day” is moving, Spielberg is back in an idiom all his own — and what reconnecting to that spirit means isn’t simply wistful. This is a stealthily political movie about whether Spielberg’s warm belief in humankind can exist today — if he can rebuild that suburban family home. “Disclosure Day” is as much Spielberg phoning home as was his autobiographic “The Fabelmans.” (In theaters) — J.C.
The best movies of 2026 so far, from 'Project Hail Mary' to 'Rose of Nevada'
The best films of the year so far include “Project Hail Mary,” “Disclosure Day” and “Nirvanna the Band the Show the Movie.”






