From Ramayana to Avengers: Doomsday, the biggest cinema releases are still aheadLast updated: August 04, 2026 | 08:004 MIN READDubai: The two heaviest hitters of the summer have already been and gone. The Odyssey opened here on 16 July and Spider-Man: Brand New Day on 30 July, then going on to break records worldwide.Which might make the rest of the year feel like an afterthought. It absolutely is not. November and December between them carry an epic mythological production years in the making, a franchise finale, and two of the most expensive films ever mounted opening on the same day.Here is what is left, in the order it arrives.1. Ramayana: Part 1UAE release: Diwali window, early November Director: Nitesh TiwariPart 1 opens during the Diwali holiday frame, with Part 2 following at Diwali 2027. Diwali marks Rama's return to Ayodhya after 14 years in exile, and the lamps that define the festival represent the city lit up on the night its prince came home.Ranbir Kapoor plays Rama, Yash plays Ravana, Sai Pallavi is Sita and Sunny Deol appears as Hanuman. Tiwari, whose Dangal remains the highest-grossing Indian film ever made, directs from a screenplay by Shridhar Raghavan.The technical line-up is the part that has people talking. Hans Zimmer and A.R. Rahman share score duties, and DNEG, the eight-time Oscar-winning visual effects house behind the Dune films, Interstellar and Inception, is handling the effects.Reports put the production and distribution deal at around ₹450 crore. For the UAE's large Indian population this is comfortably the release of the year, and multiplexes here will be running it in several languages.2. The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the ReapingUAE release: 19 November, one day before the US date of 20 NovemberDirector: Francis LawrenceThe fifth film in the franchise goes back to the 50th Annual Hunger Games, the Second Quarter Quell, and to a young Haymitch Abernathy.Joseph Zada takes the lead, with Jesse Plemons, Elle Fanning, Kieran Culkin, Mckenna Grace, Ben Wang, Whitney Peak, Maya Hawke, Kelvin Harrison Jr., Ralph Fiennes and Glenn Close alongside him. Francis Lawrence, who directed four of the previous instalments, is back, with James Newton Howard again on music.The turnaround has been unusually quick, with Lionsgate commissioning the adaptation before Suzanne Collins's novel was even published.3. Focker-in-LawUAE release: 25 NovemberThe fourth Meet the Parents film brings back Robert De Niro and Ben Stiller, with Ariana Grande joining the cast.Twenty-six years after Greg Focker first met Jack Byrnes, the fourth film in the series flips the arrangement round. This time Greg is the one doing the interrogating.Skyler Gisondo plays Henry, the grown-up son of Greg and Pam, who announces he is marrying a strong-willed woman who appears to be a complete mismatch for him. Ariana Grande plays the fiancée. De Niro returns as Jack, along with Teri Polo as Pam, Blythe Danner as Dina and Owen Wilson as Kevin, with Beanie Feldstein, Eduardo Franco and Liza Koshy joining.Whether Grande does any publicity for it is now an open question, given her team confirmed last weekend that she is stepping back from public-facing work once her tour ends on 1 September. The film's date has not moved.4. Dune: Part ThreeUAE release: 17 December, one day ahead of the USDirector: Denis VilleneuveThis is the one with a genuine local claim on it. The film's desert exteriors were shot exclusively in Abu Dhabi's Liwa Desert, continuing the trilogy's relationship with the emirate, so when Arrakis fills the screen in December, UAE audiences will be looking at their own back garden.The story picks up 17 years after Part Two and follows the consequences of Paul Atreides' rise to galactic emperor. The most recent trailer makes clear this is no longer a love story: Paul has been corrupted by power, and Chani appears to align with Scytale, played by Robert Pattinson, in a plot against him.Villeneuve shot on Imax cameras and the film runs exclusively in that format for three weeks, which matters if you are choosing between screens. 5. Avengers: DoomsdayUAE release: 17 or 18 December (see note below)Directors: Anthony and Joe RussoThe sequel to Endgame brings Robert Downey Jr. back as Doctor Doom and Chris Evans as Steve Rogers. Current runtime is reported at around 165 minutes, longer than Infinity War and shorter than Endgame.Disney is rolling out a new premium large-format brand called Infinity Vision for it, with pre-sales starting on premium screens first, though local chains have not confirmed if we will have those screens here.Every previous Avengers film has taken at least a billion dollars worldwide.Also In This PackageGet Updates on Topics You ChooseUp Next