New sequels, adaptations, franchise installments, and intriguing original horror and drama movies lead the most anticipated movies releasing in May 2026. In partnership with predictive media data analytics company Diesel Labs, ScreenRant has exclusive data revealing which movies have recorded the most virtual hype prior to premiering. Each film is given a hype score, measured by engagement across various online platforms.
May’s most-hyped movies are ranked by Attention Signals, which are calculated using measures such as likes, shares, comments, and views on social and video channels like Facebook and YouTube. Before widespread reviews and box office numbers are revealed, these numbers provide insight into which films are making the greatest impact on prospective audiences.
The attention scale metric is the percentage of attention based on the show or movie in the number one spot (which is represented as 100%).
As blockbuster season heats up, May 2026 brings some heavy-hitters to the big screen. From a new Star Wars movie to star-studded comedies, there’s a wide variety of genres and target audience pools for the month’s films with the most hype. As revealed by Diesel Labs’ data, several of the most anticipated movies this May have the potential to dominate the cultural conversation for a long time to come.
Top 10 Most Anticipated New Movies – May 2026
|
Title |
Premiere Date |
Platform |
Genre |
Attention Scale |
Attention Signals |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
5/1/26 |
20th Century Studios |
Drama Comedy |
100.00% |
1,311,783,607 |
|
|
5/29/26 |
A24 |
Sci-Fi Horror |
31.72% |
416,112,673 |
|
|
5/22/26 |
Walt Disney Pictures |
Sci-Fi |
29.92% |
392,458,578 |
|
|
5/8/26 |
Warner Bros. Pictures |
Action & Adventure |
9.60% |
125,977,828 |
|
|
5/22/26 |
Neon |
Crime Comedy |
5.87% |
77,064,244 |
|
|
5/29/26 |
Sony Pictures |
Comedy |
4.97% |
65,155,324 |
|
|
5/8/26 |
Amazon MGM Studios |
Crime Comedy |
4.12% |
54,103,027 |
|
|
5/1/26 |
Neon |
Horror |
3.89% |
51,088,291 |
|
|
5/15/26 |
Focus Features |
Horror |
1.84% |
24,101,927 |
|
|
5/1/26 |
Angel Studios |
Comedy Adventure |
1.78% |
23,372,448 |
According to Diesel Labs’ data, the most anticipated movie of May 2026 is Disney’s The Devil Wears Prada 2, the long-awaited sequel to the 2006 classic starring Anne Hathaway, Meryl Streep, Emily Blunt, and Stanley Tucci. The second-most hyped release is Backrooms, A24’s sci-fi horror from Kane Parsons starring Chiwetel Ejiofor. These titles are followed closely by Disney’s The Mandalorian & Grogu film, the first theatrical Star Wars movie since The Rise of Skywalker in 2019, and the Karl Urban-led video game adaptation Mortal Kombat II.
Also among May 2026’s buzzy new movies are the Keke Palmer-starring Boots Riley crime comedy I Love Boosters, Nate Bargatze’s Mr. Mom-like comedy The Breadwinner, and Hugh Jackman’s murder mystery comedy adaptation The Sheep Detectives. Horror continues to dominate the online conversation with the releases of Adam Scott’s Hokum and the Blumhouse-produced Obsession in early and mid-May.
Rounding out May 2026’s top 10 most anticipated movie releases is Animal Farm, Andy Serkis’ adaptation of George Orwell’s 1945 dystopian novella of the same name. The animated film features a star-studded voice cast including Seth Rogen, Gaten Matarazzo, Steve Buscemi, Kieran Culkin, Glenn Close, and many more.
Though many of the May debuts are expected to be one-off adaptations and original stories, the new follow-ups and franchise offshoots releasing next month have more box office pressure to potentially decide the fate of future sequels. The success of The Devil Wears Prada 2, which is already projected to haul in a lucrative opening weekend, could potentially inspire Disney to make a third, with The Mandalorian & Grogu‘s box office performance expected to be a deciding factor in a potential sequel or Disney’s desire to produce similar Star Wars projects for the big screen.
Diesel Labs is a Content Intelligence company that produces audience insights for the entire media landscape. With a sophisticated machine-learning based approach, they measure millions of audience members’ attention with content across many sources including major social and video platforms YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, TikTok (beta), and Reddit (beta). For more information, visit www.diesellabs.com.
