2026 Summer Movie Draft

MAY (INCLUDES MEMORIAL DAY WEEKEND)

• Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu
• Passenger
• The Breadwinner

• Scary Movie
• Masters of the Universe
• Power Ballad
• Disclosure Day
• Toy Story 5
• Supergirl
• Jackass 5

• Minions and Monsters
• Moana (Live Action)
• Evil Dead Burn
• The Odyssey
• Cut Off
• Spider-Man: Brand New Day

• One Night Only
• Paw Patrol: The Dino Movie
• The End of Oak Street
• Insidious: Out of the Further
• Mutiny
• Coyote vs Acme
• The Dog Stars

• I Love Boosters
• Tuner
• Backrooms
• Pressure
• Caroline Caroline
• Stop! That! Train!
• The Death of Robin Hood
• Leviticus
• Rose of Nevada
• Girls Like Girls
• The Invite
• Lucky Strike
• Young Washington
• Gail Daughtry and the Celebrity Sex Pas
• Motor City
• I Want Your Sex
• Ice Cream Man
• Super Troopers 3
• Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma
• The Rivals of Amziah King
• Six: The Musical Live!
• Spa Weekend
• Idiots
• Cliffhanger
• Finding Emily

SUMMER MOVIE SEASON – Any movie released in U.S. theaters from Memorial Day weekend through Labor Day weekend is eligible for the draft. For 2026, that means movies released from Friday, May 22 through Friday, Sept. 4. Only theatrical releases count, because streaming services are still hiding their numbers in a mysterious vault guarded by algorithms. If the latest release picked in the draft comes out before Aug. 15, final results will be tallied on Sept. 15. If the latest release picked comes out after Aug. 15, final results will be tallied on Sept. 30.

DRAFTING TEAMS – Each team drafts seven movies. The team whose movies have the highest combined domestic box office total at the end of the summer wins. Last year’s winner gets to choose between taking the first pick or getting picks No. 2 and No. 3 consecutively. Shad holds this card this year, which is upsetting but technically legal. From there, the draft continues in an every-other-pick order.

BONUS STRUCTURE

• RAIDERS REWARD – Rewards the movie that makes money for the longest duration throughout the summer, or the movie with the “best legs.” Named after Raiders of the Lost Ark, which The Numbers reports is the “leggiest” movie of all time — opening with $8M in 1981 and ultimately earning $225M.
• WICK AWARD – Each team will guess their total box office before bonuses during the draft. Named for John Wick, who can seemingly fire a gun blindly and still hit his man. The team that comes closest to hitting the target — the actual box office result — WITHOUT GOING OVER gets a bonus.
• INDIE EQUALIZER – WITH THEIR FINAL PICK, each team has the option to select from a list of films released by independent studios. Named for The Equalizer because this bonus evens the playing field and allows indie movies to participate in the draft without immediately being obliterated by dinosaurs, superheroes, animated animals, or whatever Vin Diesel is doing now. If you choose one of these movies, you will be awarded the gross of the movie + A BONUS OF 3X THE GROSS OF THE MOVIE. So, for example, if a movie makes $15M, you will receive $15M + a $45M bonus for a total of $60M. You can also choose to pass on this option.
• TRADE BACK TO THE FUTURE – At the end of the summer, when final results are tallied, each team can choose to use this option with ONE of their picks. Named for the greatest time-travel movie of all time, this bonus transports a movie from another year into the draft. If you use this option, you trade back in time for a movie that finished in the domestic rankings at the same number as your pick No. 1–14. Here’s the twist: the year will be picked randomly from the years 1985–2024 by spinning a wheel. Some years could give you a great result, while other years might send your draft directly into a temporal ditch. Domestic rankings and box office figures will be according to Box Office Mojo. You can also choose to pass on this option.