August 2026 Film Rankings: Every New Movie I Saw, Ranked Worst to Best

During August 2026, I watched 11 new movies in theaters using my Regal Unlimited subscription. Here's my ranking of every movie I saw this month, from worst to best.

If you missed it, check out my July 2026 movie rankings where I reviewed The Odyssey, Spider-Man: Brand New Day, and other theatrical releases.

Warning: there are minimal spoilers ahead.

11. Buddy ★☆☆☆☆

"You love Buddy. Yes, you do. And I love each one of you."

Where do I even begin with Buddy? The marketing for this film? Brilliant. The premise itself? Captivating. Think Barney, except instead of a purple dinosaur, he’s an orange unicorn who turns violent whenever the children disobey him. On paper, it's the kind of absurd horror-comedy that practically writes itself. Unfortunately, the execution was sorely lacking. Far too many scenes felt as though they existed purely for shock value rather than because they served the story. At times, it seemed as though the writers simply plugged the plot into ChatGPT and asked it to generate the most ridiculous thing that could possibly happen next. The final result was a film with a 95-minute runtime that seemed twice as long. Two thumbs down.

10. Ice Cream Man ★★☆☆☆

"Someone hurt my mommy."

"Who?"
"Me."

Unsurprisingly, Ice Cream Man also slots in amongst the worst films I saw in theaters this month. There are plenty of criticisms to go around, from the use of AI to the gratuitous gore and painfully predictable storyline. My biggest issue, however, is the acting. With no shortage of talented child actors in the world, many of the casting choices here are genuine head-scratchers. Several performances feel as though the actors are reading their lines directly from the script for the first time—and somehow, those are the takes that made it into the finished film. There’s some entertainment to be found in how ridiculous the story becomes, and I wouldn’t even say it’s as terrible as its harshest critics make it out to be. Still, while Ice Cream Man is occasionally good for a laugh, it certainly isn’t a good movie.

9. The Magic Faraway Tree ★★⯪☆☆

"You don't quit your job over silly things like moral principles."

The Magic Faraway Tree required a bit of research on my end, as I didn’t grow up with the classic British novels published between 1939 and 1951. In most ways, this modernized adaptation, led by Andrew Garfield and his magnificent beard, delivers a charming, family-friendly adventure that younger audiences will likely enjoy. Unfortunately, it also feels like there was plenty of untapped potential. I left the theater wishing the film had explored the imaginative depths of this world more fully, or at least offered something compelling enough to keep adults invested. Perhaps longtime fans of the books will find more to appreciate, but given the premise and possibilities of this fantastical world, I simply expected more.

8. Super Troopers 3 ★★★☆☆

"He puts the 'hot' in Mahatma."

I should preface this review by saying that I found Super Troopers 3 immensely more entertaining than its predecessor, which struggled to provide many genuine laughs. This time around, Farva has fallen in love with Thorny’s younger sister, much to Thorny’s dismay as he spends most of the film attempting to break them up. It’s a ridiculous premise that suits this group of characters and infuses the sequel with comedic energy that was sorely missing in Super Troopers 2. With time, I suspect much of Super Troopers 3 will fade from memory in comparison to the endlessly quotable original. Still, it’s an enjoyable return to these characters and worth a watch for longtime fans of the franchise.

7. Insidious: Out of the Further ★★★☆☆

"You're not supposed to say 'kick-ass'."

To be perfectly honest, I’m not a huge fan of the Insidious franchise. There’s a formulaic pattern to these films: something sinister is lurking in the Further and haunting our protagonist(s), Elise shows up to guide them toward a solution and save the day, and then the cycle essentially restarts in the next installment. We rarely get any sense of permanent resolution, which eventually makes the whole thing feel somewhat pointless. With that said, I found this “reboot” refreshing in the way it introduced an entirely new set of characters with no connection to the Lambert family. If nothing else, the dental scenes were grotesque enough to justify embracing this latest addition to the franchise.

6. The End of Oak Street ★★★⯪✩

"You don't have to be rich to go to private school. You just have to be like Catholic or something."

An overwhelming part of me still wishes Obi-Wan Kenobi could have simply become one with the Force and sliced up the dinosaurs with his lightsaber. All jokes aside, The End of Oak Street was an enjoyable survival film from writer-director David Robert Mitchell. Many scenes reminded me of the first season of Fear the Walking Dead, with ordinary people suddenly thrust into a dystopian nightmare and forced to navigate a terrifying new reality they barely understand. Without spoiling anything, the film’s eventual resolution was a bit perplexing, but ultimately brought the Platt family's story to a more satisfying conclusion than an earlier plot twist suggested. 7 out of 10.

5. Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma ★★★⯪✩

"If it gets too real, you can always turn it off."

A frequent critique of 21st-century cinema is that there are no original ideas left, with seemingly everything being remade, rebooted, or rehashed. Ironically, Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma takes that very idea and turns it into something remarkably original. Viewers will need to be comfortable with gore, sexual content, and a bizarre meta narrative, but if you’re willing to embrace all three, there’s a unique and thrilling experience awaiting you at Camp Miasma. Without revealing too much, this is the type of film that sends audiences running to Google afterward, desperate to untangle the many layers of its narrative.

4. Coyote vs. ACME ★★★★✩

"It's a limited number of signs."

Originally intended for release in July 2023, Coyote vs. ACME was shelved by Warner Bros. later that year, with the studio reportedly seeking a roughly $30 million write-down. Three years later, the film finally hit theaters, and for longtime fans of Looney Tunes, it was certainly worth the wait. Blending the chaotic world of Looney Tunes with live-action characters, the film is jam-packed with comedic and heartfelt moments, and somehow manages to make audiences genuinely sympathize with Wile E. Coyote, who takes ACME to court over defective products that have repeatedly led to his injuries and inability to catch the Road Runner. After spending years stuck in cinematic limbo, perhaps Coyote vs. ACME proves that if you keep chasing something long enough, eventually you will catch it.

3. Nimrods ★★★★✩

"Everybody's always like 'Go Green!' so I went green!"

When a film featuring Billie Joe Armstrong, Mike Dirnt, and Tré Cool isn't playing at your local theater, you walk a lonely road—the only one that you have ever known—to a theater that is showing Nimrods. Quite honestly, this film is a riot. The premise? Three teenage musicians embark on a cross-country road trip to Los Angeles after mistakenly believing their band has been invited to open for Green Day on New Year’s Eve. While the teenagers depicted are fictional characters, the movie is inspired by Green Day's actual experiences touring in a van during their early years, before Dookie catapulted them to superstardom. For music enthusiasts, and Green Day fans in particular, this one is a must-watch. And for fans of The Office, it's always nice to see Jenna Fischer and Angela Kinsey on the big screen.

2. One Night Only ★★★★⯪

"See all these Doras? They're all just looking for their Diegos."

A controversial pick for my second favorite movie released this month? Certainly. However, I entered One Night Only expecting a run-of-the-mill romantic comedy, and instead spent nearly its entire runtime laughing as the plot became increasingly absurd. A society where unmarried individuals can legally have sex only one night per year is an insane concept—one that would be nearly impossible to enforce—but if you’re willing to switch off your brain and embrace the ridiculousness, director Will Gluck delivers one of the most entertaining movie theater experiences of 2026. Shoutout to Monica Barbaro and Callum Turner, whose performances helped this film shine in a month without many blockbuster releases.

1. Tony ★★★★⯪

“Is it titled ‘I’m Ugly: An Idiot’s Journey’?”

This was a difficult decision, and thus, I will be stingy and not award a 5-star film in August. Truthfully, I entered Tony with very little knowledge of Anthony Bourdain, and the film presents its 19-year-old protagonist as a complicated and often unflattering version of Bourdain, without much context for the man he would eventually become or the career that defined his legacy. At the same time, I spent nearly the entire runtime thinking about just how incredibly well-made it was. Even without a personal connection to its subject, Tony struck me as an exceptional piece of filmmaking. Dominic Sessa gave a convincing portrayal, Antonio Banderas was fantastic in his supporting role, and the film found an impressive balance between comedic and serious moments. 9 stars on the hedonic scale.

In summary...

Despite an obvious lack of blockbuster releases, August 2026 provided an eclectic lineup for moviegoers, with standout releases like Tony, One Night Only, and Nimrods leading the pack. 

What were your favorite movies released in August 2026? Let me know in the comments!