Movies releasing in September 2026 bring everything from long-awaited sequels and bestselling book adaptations to survival thrillers, horror and period dramas.
Some of the biggest movies releasing in September 2026 include Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman’s return in Practical Magic 2, Lili Reinhart and Tom Bateman in The Love Hypothesis, Maitreyi Ramakrishnan’s Netflix dance comedy Best of the Best and a terrifying new take on Resident Evil.
And, as always, we’re looking beyond the screen. From New Zealand doubling for the Alaskan wilderness to Prague transforming into Raccoon City and Montreal standing in for California, our guide to the movies releasing in September 2026 also reveals some of the real-world filming locations behind this month’s biggest releases.
1. Practical Magic 2
- Cast: Sandra Bullock, Nicole Kidman, Joey King, Maisie Williams, Lee Pace
- Release: September 11, 2026 (UK & USA cinemas)
- Where to watch: Theaters
Nearly three decades after the Owens sisters first cast their spell on audiences, Practical Magic 2 brings Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman back as Sally and Gillian Owens. The long-awaited sequel sees the sisters confronting a dark ancestral curse threatening their family, with Joey King and Maisie Williams joining the next generation of Owens women. Susanne Bier directs the follow-up, which is based on Alice Hoffman’s The Book of Magic.
The original movie’s picturesque New England setting became almost as beloved as its characters, and the sequel once again offers plenty for film-location fans. Production took place in the UK, with locations transformed to recreate the Owens’ magical world. Cinephile Tourist has a full guide to the Practical Magic 2 filming locations for anyone wanting to discover where the sequel was actually shot.
2. The Love Hypothesis
- Cast: Lili Reinhart, Tom Bateman, Nicholas Duvernay, Rachel Marsh, Jaboukie Young-White
- Release: September 23, 2026
- Where to watch: Prime Video
BookTok favourite The Love Hypothesis finally makes the leap from page to screen this September. Based on Ali Hazelwood’s bestselling romance novel, the Prime Video movie stars Lili Reinhart as PhD candidate Olive Smith and Tom Bateman as professor Adam Carlsen, whose unexpected kiss leads to a fake-dating arrangement that inevitably becomes a lot more complicated.
Although Hazelwood’s story is famously set in the world of Stanford academia, the movie was actually filmed in Montreal, Quebec, with Canadian locations standing in for California. Cinephile Tourist has already tracked down the major The Love Hypothesis filming locations, including the university campus that served as the setting for Olive and Adam’s academic world.
3. Best of the Best
- Cast: Maitreyi Ramakrishnan, Priyanka Kedia, Hasan Minhaj, Ankur Rathee, Janina Gavankar
- Release: September 18, 2026
- Where to watch: Netflix
Never Have I Ever star Maitreyi Ramakrishnan takes centre stage alongside Priyanka Kedia in Netflix’s Best of the Best. The coming-of-age comedy follows childhood best friends Maya and Anjali as they join UCLA’s fiercely competitive Bollywood-fusion dance team and discover just how cutthroat the road to the US championships can become. Hasan Minhaj co-writes, produces, and also appears in the film.
Despite its UCLA setting, the movie wasn’t primarily in Los Angeles. Production headed elsewhere to create its colourful collegiate world and high-energy dance sequences. We’ve broken down the real Best of the Best filming locations in our dedicated Cinephile Tourist guide.
4. Resident Evil
- Cast: Austin Abrams, Paul Walter Hauser, Zach Cherry, Kali Reis
- Release: September 18, 2026
- Where to watch: Theaters
The Resident Evil franchise gets another big-screen reboot this September, this time from Weapons and Barbarian filmmaker Zach Cregger. Rather than continuing the previous movie series, the new adaptation returns to the survival-horror world of Capcom’s games, making it one of September’s biggest releases for horror fans.
While the horror unfolds in fictional Raccoon City, much of Resident Evil was actually filmed in Prague, with the Czech capital transformed into the zombie-ravaged American city.
5. Fall 2: Deadpoint
- Cast: [confirm final billed cast]
- Release: September 2, 2026 (USA) & September 9, 2026 (UK)
- Where to watch: Theaters
Fall 2: Deadpoint takes the survival franchise to even more terrifying heights, following Jax and Luce as they attempt a notorious plank walk in Thailand while dealing with the aftermath of the first film. When a rockslide leaves them stranded thousands of feet above the ground, their climb turns into another fight for survival. The sequel is directed by Michael and Peter Spierig, with original Fall writers Scott Mann and Jonathan Frank returning for the screenplay.
And unlike the fictional Mount Kwan where the story takes place, Fall 2 was actually filmed on location in Thailand. Even the terrifying heights weren’t all movie magic: the cast revealed that production built its plank set roughly 14 metres (46–50 feet) above the ground at a Thai quarry, with the actors spending hours suspended above the landscape and green-screen work kept to a minimum. The country’s dramatic terrain therefore provides much of the real backdrop behind the movie’s vertigo-inducing adventure
6. The Uprising
- Cast: Andrew Garfield, Thomasin McKenzie, Jamie Bell
- Release: September 10, 2026 (USA) & September 9, 2026 (UK)
- Where to watch: Theaters
Andrew Garfield heads back centuries for The Uprising, a historical drama directed by Paul Greengrass. Set against medieval England, the movie brings a major episode from British history to the screen with the scale and intensity expected from the filmmaker behind United 93 and several of the Bourne movies.
For location lovers, a sprawling period production set in medieval Britain should offer plenty to explore. Historic buildings, countryside and carefully transformed modern locations help create the movie’s centuries-old England – making The Uprising another September release worth watching for its scenery as much as its story.
7. Heart of the Beast
- Cast: Brad Pitt
- Release: September 25, 2026 (UK & USA)
- Where to watch: Theaters
Brad Pitt heads into the wilderness in Heart of the Beast, an adventure thriller from Fury director David Ayer. Pitt plays Special Forces officer James Belmont, who survives a devastating plane crash alongside his combat dog Odin, leaving the pair stranded deep in the Alaskan wilderness and fighting to survive the elements.
Although Heart of the Beast strands Pitt’s character in the remote Alaskan wilderness, filming actually took place thousands of miles away in New Zealand. The South Island doubled for Alaska, with spectacular locations including Queenstown, Lake Wakatipu, Glenorchy, Mount Aspiring National Park and Milford Sound appearing on screen. Pitt was even spotted filming along the shoreline at Kinloch, while the trailer shows him trekking through The Remarkables and fishing along Glenorchy’s rocky riverbanks
8. Sense and Sensibility
- Cast: Daisy Edgar-Jones, Esmé Creed-Miles, Caitríona Balfe, George MacKay, Fiona Shaw
- Release: September 25, 2026 (UK) | October 16, 2026 (US)
- Where to watch: Cinemas
Jane Austen returns to the big screen with a new adaptation of Sense and Sensibility, starring Daisy Edgar-Jones and Esmé Creed-Miles as sisters Elinor and Marianne Dashwood. Directed by Georgia Oakley, the Working Title and Focus Features production puts a fresh spin on Austen’s much-loved story of romance, family and sisterhood.
And few genres deliver filming-location inspiration quite like an Austen period drama. Grand country estates, historic houses and sweeping British countryside provide the perfect backdrop for the Dashwoods’ world, making this one of September’s releases to watch for anyone who loves discovering the real places behind period films.
9. Pressure
- Cast: Andrew Scott, Brendan Fraser, Kerry Condon
- Release: September 11, 2026 (UK)
- Where to watch: Theaters
Andrew Scott and Brendan Fraser lead Pressure, a World War II drama centred on the extraordinary weather forecast that helped determine the timing of the D-Day landings. Scott plays Group Captain James Stagg, the meteorologist tasked with giving General Dwight D. Eisenhower a forecast upon which one of the most consequential military operations in history would depend.
Filming took place across England, with locations including Mentmore Towers in Buckinghamshire, Birling Gap and the Seven Sisters in East Sussex, London’s Science Museum, and the Historic Dockyard Chatham in Kent, helping to recreate wartime Britain.
What do you make of the movies releasing in September 2026? What will you be watching? Let us know!
