Quick TakeArticle at a glance
- The best superhero movies of 2026 , ranked, start with one clear answer: Spider-Man: Brand New Day, and it isn't especially close — a 92% Rotten Tomatoes score and a $2.52 billion worldwide gross make that a short conversation.
- Here's the thing: Brand New Day had nothing left to prove.
- Forbes critic Erik Kain called it “one of the best superhero movies in years,” and most reviews agreed the franchise finally found Peter Parker's actual emotional ceiling instead of raising the stakes with another cosmic threat.
The best superhero movies of 2026, ranked, start with one clear answer: Spider-Man: Brand New Day, and it isn’t especially close — a 92% Rotten Tomatoes score and a $2.52 billion worldwide gross make that a short conversation. The longer conversation is why the year’s two newest universes, DC’s Supergirl and Clayface, landed on opposite ends of it.
Here’s the thing: Brand New Day had nothing left to prove. Four Tom Holland movies deep, Marvel let it get smaller and sadder than any Spider-Man film before it, and critics rewarded the swing. Supergirl and Clayface didn’t have that luxury — both were early auditions for whether the rebuilt DC Universe actually works, and only one of them passed. One more movie, the biggest of the year, is still waiting in the wings.
No. 1: Spider-Man: Brand New Day
Released July 31, 2026, Brand New Day broke Avengers: Endgame’s domestic opening-weekend record with roughly $360 million in its first three days, and went on to gross $959 million domestically and $2.52 billion worldwide — the biggest movie of the year, superhero or not, according to Box Office Mojo’s 2026 rankings. Forbes critic Erik Kain called it “one of the best superhero movies in years,” and most reviews agreed the franchise finally found Peter Parker’s actual emotional ceiling instead of raising the stakes with another cosmic threat.
It’s No. 1 because it did the hardest thing a fourth installment can do: get more personal instead of more bloated. The record-breaking opening weekend is already covered in our full box office breakdown.
No. 2: Clayface
James Watkins’ Clayface opened October 23, 2026, to a 75% Tomatometer score, a near-perfect 94% audience score, and an A- CinemaScore — strong numbers for an R-rated DC horror movie. It debuted at No. 1 with $24.5 million domestic and $43 million worldwide, clearing its budget in one weekend. Critics singled out Tom Rhys Harries’ body-horror performance as the thing holding together what reviewers called a messy but genuinely distinctive take on a C-list villain.
It lands at No. 2 for doing something Supergirl didn’t: picking a weird, specific lane (horror, not spectacle) and nailing it. More on the opening numbers in our Clayface box office recap.
No. 3: Supergirl
Supergirl opened June 26, 2026, to a 52% Rotten Tomatoes score — the lowest of any DC Universe film to date — and underperformed at the box office. Almost every review landed on the same split verdict: Milly Alcock is the best part of the movie, playing “an unapologetically rough-around-the-edges Kara Zor-El,” while the script leans on a flat villain.
Alcock still walked away with the 2026 Critics Choice Super Award for Best Actress in a Superhero Movie, the clearest sign the problem was the writing and not the star.
It’s No. 3 and not lower because the movie’s actual problem is the script, not the star — which is also why it’s the DCU’s clearest “fix it for the sequel” case. We’re tracking what’s next for the character in our Supergirl guide.
Still to Come: Avengers: Doomsday
Avengers: Doomsday closes out the year on December 18, 2026, with the biggest ensemble cast Marvel has ever assembled — Robert Downey Jr. returning as Victor von Doom, plus Chris Hemsworth, Chris Evans, Anthony Mackie, Sebastian Stan, Patrick Stewart and Ian McKellen’s X-Men, and Pedro Pascal’s Fantastic Four, among others. Its first trailer debuted alongside Avatar 3. It isn’t ranked here because it hasn’t opened yet — see our trailer breakdown for what we know so far.
| Movie | Release Date | Rotten Tomatoes | Opening Weekend (Domestic) | Studio |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Spider-Man: Brand New Day | July 31, 2026 | 92% | ~$360M (record) | Marvel Studios |
| Clayface | Oct. 23, 2026 | 75% | $24.5M | DC Studios |
| Supergirl | June 26, 2026 | 52% | Under $40M | DC Studios |
| Avengers: Doomsday | Dec. 18, 2026 | Not yet released | TBD | Marvel Studios |
The Real Divide This Year
Brand New Day had nothing left to prove and spent that freedom on getting smaller and sadder. Supergirl and Clayface were both auditions for whether the rebuilt DCU actually works, and the results split right down the middle — one genuinely good movie, one good performance stuck in a flat script.
The real test for that new foundation isn’t a sequel. It’s whether Avengers: Doomsday, circling the same holiday calendar real estate, makes 2026 a three-way race retroactively — and what that pressure means for Man of Tomorrow, the DCU’s next theatrical swing, due next July.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the best superhero movie of 2026?
Spider-Man: Brand New Day, by both critics and box office — a 92% Rotten Tomatoes score and a $2.52 billion worldwide gross, the highest of any film released in 2026.
How many superhero movies came out in 2026?
Four: Supergirl (June 26), Spider-Man: Brand New Day (July 31), Clayface (Oct. 23), and Avengers: Doomsday, which closes out the year on December 18.
Is Avengers: Doomsday good?
It hasn’t opened yet as of this article, so it isn’t rated or ranked here. This list will update once reviews and box office numbers are in after its December 18, 2026 release.
What’s the lowest-rated superhero movie of 2026?
Supergirl, at 52% on Rotten Tomatoes — the lowest score of any DC Universe film released so far, despite strong reviews for star Milly Alcock.
