David’s Download: Ranking Anne Hathaway’s 2026 Films
No actress has been busier than Anne Hathaway this year, starring in five major Hollywood movies. Say what you want about the woman (looking at you, Jose…) but she has been putting in the work, also giving 100% for each film’s press tour.
With the release of Verity this past week, I’m sure she is breathing a sigh of relief now that her 2026 slate is fully out in the world. After catching a showing of Verity with The Drive Home crew on Friday night, I have now seen every Anne Hathaway flick of 2026, so it’s time to rank the movies overall.
The Odyssey
Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey is one of my favorite movies of 2026. With an epic story, dazzling effects, magnificent production design, and an all-star cast, it is a must-see on the big screen.
While Anne Hathaway is not the main star, she gives a strong performance as Odysseus’ wife, Penelope. She is essentially trapped in a castle for the movie’s 3-hour runtime, but she makes the most of it, balancing anxiety and longing for her husband and son with frustration and madness of having her home overtaken by suitors.
Check out The Drive Home’s full review here!
Verity
As a lover of 90’s domestic thrillers like Misery, The Hand that Rocks the Cradle and Basic Instinct, I am basically the target audience for Verity, with its dark and twisted storyline.
This Colleen Hoover adaptation follows an up-and-coming writer named Lowen, who is hired to ghostwrite the last few books in Verity Crawford’s extremely popular series after Verity is paralyzed by a car accident. While the job seems like an incredible opportunity to catapult her career, Lowen quickly learns that not everyone is telling the truth about what’s going on in the Crawford household.
Director Michael Showalter’s pacing is a bit languid at times, however the isolated setting, ominous atmosphere, and multiple twists will keep you on your toes.
In my opinion, Anne Hathaway is miscast as the mysterious Verity Crawford. Her narration feels a little melodramatic and some of the flashbacks were bordering on camp, but it was still entertaining to see her in a darker role than usual. (If I could recast the movie, an actress like Rose Byrne or Nicole Kidman would have nailed Verity’s icy and seductive nature.)
Regardless, this is the best Colleen Hoover adaptation yet. She should dabble in the thriller genre more often.
The End of Oak Street
The End of Oak Street was originally listed among my most anticipated movies of 2026, but then I saw dinosaurs in the first trailer and was immediately turned off. Who asked for another Jurassic Park knockoff?
Nonetheless, I was proven wrong. Oak Street is loads of fun, packing a Twilight Zone-style action-adventure into a breezy 90 minutes.
When the Platt family’s neighborhood is mysteriously transported to prehistoric times, they must find a way back to the present before all of their neighbors and loved ones are ravaged by dinosaurs.
Where most summer blockbusters go wrong - over-explaining and digging too deep into their own mythology or science - writer-director David Robert Mitchell keeps things simple, moving the story along at a brisk clip and landing the plane with a solid ending.
The cast clearly had a great time filming this one, and Hathaway shines as a badass, shotgun-wielding mother protecting her family.
Mother Mary
At the beginning of 2026, I thought that Mother Mary would be my favorite Anne Hathaway film of the year. Described as a “psychosexual pop thriller,” the movie should have been Black Swan meets Lady Gaga, but unfortunately it’s too heady and abstract to hold your attention and deliver much in the way of thrills.
The best parts of Mother Mary are Anne Hathaway’s layered performance and the catchy pop songs written by Charli XCX.
Read my full review here.
The Devil Wears Prada 2
Sadly, The Devil Wears Prada 2 was one of the year’s biggest disappointments for me. The original is one of my favorite movies of all time, but this legacy sequel does not do it justice.
The story picks up 20 years after the events of the original. At the peak of her journalism career, Andi Sachs returns to Runway magazine, now a struggling and unprofitable publication, to serve as Features Editor. Miranda Priestly is still Editor-in-Chief, but she is much less powerful, given the economic headwinds facing print media and the fashion industry.
The whole cast slips back into their roles with ease, but because Miranda is muzzled by corporate overlords, Meryl Streep doesn’t get to be nearly as sassy or funny this time around. On top of that, the subplot involving Emily Blunt’s character and a Jeff Bezos-esque billionaire just feels like a sad reminder of the hyper-capitalistic times we live in.
Whereas the original Devil Wears Prada was an energetic, insightful coming-of-age dramedy, this sequel is an overproduced slog about corporate buyouts and the death of journalism.
Ranking Hathaway’s 2026 Performances
While all of the films covered above didn’t land for me, Hathaway was typically on her A-game. Below is how I’d rank the movies, based strictly on her performances:
Mother Mary
The Odyssey
The End of Oak Street
The Devil Wears Prada 2
Verity