8 October 2026 Movies and Shows Worth Adding to Your Watchlist

1 The Social Reckoning brings Facebook’s whistleblower story to theaters

October 2026 movies include this Aaron Sorkin follow-up to The Social Network. Jeremy Strong plays Mark Zuckerberg, while Mikey Madison stars as Frances Haugen, the Facebook engineer who exposed concerns about the platform’s algorithms. It opened in theaters October 9, making it a timely pick for viewers drawn to tech, power and real-world controversy.^[1]

2 Verity turns Colleen Hoover’s bestseller into a psychological thriller

Anne Hathaway, Dakota Johnson and Josh Hartnett lead this screen adaptation of Colleen Hoover’s novel. The psychological thriller arrived in theaters October 2, giving book fans and suspense-watchers a star-powered pick to seek out. Its literary source and high-profile cast make it one of the month’s buzziest films.^[1]

3 Clayface takes DC into body-horror territory

Rather than another conventional superhero adventure, this DC Studios release leans into horror. Tom Rhys Harries plays Matt Hagen, an aspiring actor whose face is disfigured by a gangster. Clayface opened October 23, making it a fresh theatrical option for DC fans who prefer their comic-book stories darker and stranger.^[1]

4 Klara and the Sun pairs Jenna Ortega with a thought-provoking sci-fi story

Taika Waititi adapts Kazuo Ishiguro’s novel about a heartbroken family helped by Klara, an Artificial Friend. Amy Adams, Natasha Lyonne and Jenna Ortega lead the cast. The film opened in theaters October 23, and its intimate, human-focused premise offers a different kind of sci-fi than a spectacle-driven blockbuster.^[1]

5 The Mob turns celebrity competition into a Traitors-style game

Starting October 26 on Hulu, Parker Posey hosts this competition series from the team behind The Traitors. Twelve celebrity players—including Aida Turturro, Bruno Tonioli, Debi Mazar and Joe Gorga—take on tasks inspired by mob movies. The group chooses a don, who decides who gets paid and who goes home, with up to $250,000 at stake. New episodes arrive weekly.^[2]

6 The One About Matthew Perry revisits the actor’s life

This three-part Netflix docuseries premieres October 27, just before the third anniversary of Matthew Perry’s death. Director Mary Robertson draws on interviews with Perry’s sister, friends and collaborators, alongside previously unseen photos and videos. It’s a personal look at the life of the Friends star best known to many viewers as Chandler Bing.^[2]

7 Minions & Monsters heads to Peacock with a Hollywood-era adventure

Streaming October 28 on Peacock, the third Minions movie sends the yellow characters to 1920s Hollywood. They become silent-film stars and set out to make a monster movie. Director Pierre Coffin also voices the Minions. The new entry is the seventh film in the broader Despicable Me franchise and a family-friendly option for the Halloween stretch.^[2]

8 Nocturne brings a small-town crime thriller to Apple TV

Apple TV’s new series premieres October 30 with two episodes. Liev Schreiber plays a former soldier and homicide detective who moves to a small Pennsylvania town, where a serial killer threatens his community and family. Stephen Graham plays the killer, with Zazie Beetz as an FBI agent. Adapted from Lars Kepler’s novels Lazarus and The Sandman, the 10-episode series is a strong late-month choice for crime-thriller fans.^[2]