Collider's Diego Pineda Pacheco has ranked the eight films of 2026 that have most let audiences down in the first half of the year, arguing that these titles hurt precisely because so much was expected of them. The piece stresses that 2026 has been a strong year for cinema overall, so the entries are singled out less for being outright terrible than for falling short of high hopes; some are described as serviceable and others as genuinely poor.

The countdown so far runs from Mother Mary (8th), David Lowery's A24 psychological musical drama with Anne Hathaway and Michaela Coel, faulted for prioritising style over story despite warm critical notices; through Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man (7th), Steven Knight's long-awaited Cillian Murphy send-off that fans felt failed to make them care; Iron Lung (6th), Markiplier's atmospheric but overlong 127-minute directorial debut adapting the horror game; and Supergirl (5th), Craig Gillespie's DC Universe entry led by Milly Alcock, praised for energy but criticised for a messy, identity-lacking story. The article's remaining higher-ranked entries, including the referenced Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu, are cut off in the provided text.