Cup of Soul's 2026 Holiday Film Guide: Black and Brown Stories to See This Season

Oct 17

Every year I put together a holiday film guide, and every year I start in the same place: which stories this season center Black and brown people, and where do we show up in the big ones?

This season delivers. There's a Nigerian reimagining of a literary classic, a Sundance-winning documentary about the first all-Black special operations team in Vietnam, an Indian epic built for IMAX and a family comedy written by a Black mother-daughter team. And yes, the blockbusters are here too, with Avengers, Dune and Jumanji all landing in December.

Here's what's worth your time and your ticket money, starting with the stories that center us.

Stories That Center Us

Clarissa (Dec. 11, Neon, limited). My top pick of the season. Arie and Chuko Esiri move Virginia Woolf's Mrs Dalloway to present-day Lagos, with Sophie Okonedo as Clarissa and David Oyelowo as her former love. It earned some of the best reviews of the year at Cannes, then played the Main Slate at the New York Film Festival. India Amarteifio, Toheeb Jimoh and Ayo Edebiri play the younger versions of the leads.
Soul Patrol (Nov. 6 in New York, Nov. 13 in Los Angeles). J.M. Harper's documentary about the Long Range Reconnaissance Patrol, the first all-Black special operations team in the Vietnam War. The surviving members reunite more than 50 years later to tell their story. Nas is a producer, and the film won the U.S. Documentary Directing Award at Sundance.
Search Party: Where's PawPaw? (Nov. 13, theaters). A college student comes home to find her grandfather has vanished from his nursing home, and the search goes sideways. Tommy Davidson plays PawPaw and Tichina Arnold plays Aunt MeekMeek. Victoria Monai Richards stars and makes her directing debut, and she wrote the script with her mother, Sherrie Richards.
Ramayana: Rise of a Legend (Nov. 6, Sony, IMAX and 3D). Nitesh Tiwari's take on the Hindu epic arrives the same weekend as Diwali, with Ranbir Kapoor as Ram, Sai Pallavi as Sita and Yash as Raavan. It's the first of two parts and plays in Hindi and English.
I Play Rocky (Nov. 6 limited, Nov. 20 wide, Amazon MGM). Peter Farrelly's film about how Sylvester Stallone fought to make Rocky. The reason to go is Stephan James as Carl Weathers, the man who made Apollo Creed unforgettable. Make it a double feature: the original Rocky returns to select theaters Nov. 7 for its 50th anniversary.
Club Kid (Nov. 6, A24, limited). One I've already seen. A washed-up party promoter suddenly has to raise a 10-year-old son he never knew he had. Newcomer Reggie Absolom plays the son, Arlo, and Diego Calva plays his social worker.
Avengers: Doomsday (Dec. 18, Marvel/Disney). Anthony Mackie leads as Captain America, Letitia Wright returns as Shuri's Black Panther and Winston Duke as M'Baku, with Robert Downey Jr. as Doctor Doom.

Where We Show Up in the Big Ones

The Cat in the Hat (Nov. 6, Warner Bros.). Quinta Brunson joins Bill Hader in the voice cast of the animated Dr. Seuss film.
Ebenezer (Nov. 13, Paramount). Ti West's gothic take on A Christmas Carol stars Johnny Depp as Scrooge. Severance Emmy winner Tramell Tillman plays the Ghost of Christmas Present.
How to Rob a Bank (Nov. 13, Amazon MGM). Zoë Kravitz and Nicholas Hoult lead David Leitch's heist thriller.
Hexed (Nov. 25, Disney). In Walt Disney Animation's Thanksgiving release, a teen finds out she's a witch. Rashida Jones voices her mom, Alice, opposite Hailee Steinfeld. It's your family outing for the long weekend.
The Gallerist (Dec. 4, Roadside Attractions/Vertical). Cathy Yan's art-world satire stars Natalie Portman and Jenna Ortega, with Sterling K. Brown and Oscar winner Da'Vine Joy Randolph as an up-and-coming artist. Reviews out of Sundance were mixed, but the cast alone is worth a look.
Behemoth! (Dec. 4, Searchlight). Pedro Pascal plays a cellist in the first film in 14 years from Tony Gilroy, the creator of Andor.
Dune: Part Three (Dec. 18, Warner Bros.). Zendaya returns as Chani and Jason Momoa is back as Duncan Idaho in the final chapter of Denis Villeneuve's trilogy. It opens the same day as Avengers, so plan accordingly.
Jumanji: Open World (Dec. 25, Sony). Dwayne Johnson and Kevin Hart are back for what's billed as the final adventure. This is your Christmas Day crowd-pleaser.

The Rest of the Calendar

Nov. 6: Wild Horse Nine (Searchlight), Martin McDonagh's first film since The Banshees of Inisherin.
Nov. 18: Madden (Prime Video), David O. Russell's biopic with Nicolas Cage as John Madden.
Nov. 20: The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping (Lionsgate).
Nov. 25: Focker-in-Law (Universal), the latest Meet the Parents sequel.
Dec. 4: Violent Night 2 (Universal), with David Harbour back as Santa.
Dec. 11: The Debut (A24), Jesse Eisenberg's original movie musical.
Dec. 23: The Angry Birds Movie 3 (Paramount).
Dec. 25: Werwulf (Focus Features), from Robert Eggers, and Artificial (Neon), Luca Guadagnino's OpenAI drama.

Awards-Season Contenders to Catch

I Play Rocky is in the Building Momentum tier of our Best Picture tracking, and Clarissa could put Sophie Okonedo in the Best Actress conversation. From our festival coverage, La Bola Negra, the TIFF People's Choice winner, opens in theaters Nov. 6 before streaming on Netflix Dec. 4, and Elsinore opens in limited release Nov. 20. Follow every move on the Cup of Soul Awards Tracker.

Holiday Movies at Home

Not everything this season needs a ticket.

Christmas Everyday: Married and Bright (Lifetime, Nov. 28, 8 p.m. ET). Brandy returns as Fancy, now planning a Christmas wedding while trying to save her Chicago boutique. Debbi Morgan and Lamman Rucker co-star.
A Christmas Showdown 2 (OWN, Nov. 28, 9 p.m. ET).
Checking Inn for Christmas (Lifetime, Nov. 28, 10 p.m. ET). Vivica A. Fox and Jackée Harry star in a resort romance.
Christmas from the Heart (Lifetime, Dec. 5, 8 p.m. ET). Tia Mowry plays a widow who travels to Lisbon to meet the man who received her late husband's heart.
Tapping into Christmas (OWN, Dec. 5, 9 p.m. ET).
Frisco King (Paramount+, Dec. 18). Not a holiday movie, but Samuel L. Jackson's Tulsa King spinoff premieres with two episodes, and it might be the best gift on this list.