Happy new year! 2026 is shaping up to be the biggest year of Fantasy Box Office by far. Even though it's early January, we've already surpassed 2025's numbers of leagues, and new players are signing up and drafting every day.
With all that data, we're taking a look at the most-drafted movies of the year. Whether you're preparing for your draft or your league has already drafted, read on to find out what movies are anticipated to make a splash by other Fantasy Box Office players. (Officers?)
This list is a temperature check on what Fantasy Box Officers think about the upcoming year in film. Will all these predictions be right? No way! Every year there's plenty of surprises that nobody saw coming – whether that's breakout hits, new trends, or disastrous bombs. Think of this as a time capsule that we can review in a year to see how things actually played out.
Overall, this year is remarkably balanced compared to previous years. There are almost 30 retuturning franchises in 2026, including heavyweights like Star Wars, The Avengers, Spider-Man, and Dune. Proven filmmakers like Christopher Nolan and Steven Spielberg are releasing big-budget original movies, while Pixar and Illumination are each putting out two animated films. There are an overwhelming amount of movies with a legitimate shot at $1b, even as the future of theatrical exhibition looks grim. (Gulp!)
Without further ado, let's look at the most popular upcoming Hits, Bombs, and Winter Picks! As a reminder: within a league, each movie can only be drafted once, so we'll be looking at how many leagues drafted each movie.
The Hits
The Super Mario Galaxy Movie
The numbers don't lie: everybody wants Mario. Virtually every league drafted Illumination's sequel to 2023's The Super Mario Bros. Movie, one of the most profitable movies released since the game began. Galaxy was drafted as a Hit Pick in 71% of leagues, and as a Winter Pick in the remaining 29%.
Its popularity makes sense. Illumination produces movies for around $100m and regularly breaks $1b in gross. It's hard to find a better return on your investment – that's the main reason CEO Chris Meledandri is one of the most powerful people in Hollywood. If you have Mario in your league, congratulations! You're the player to beat and will have a sizeable lead leading into the Summer draft.
Avengers: Doomsday
In a pretty distant second place is the latest entry in Marvel's flagship franchise. Avengers: Doomsday was drafted in 62% of leagues – far fewer than Mario Galaxy. (Since Avengers releases in December, it is currently only eligible as a Hit Pick. The remaining leagues will be able to draft it later in the year, during the Fall draft.)
In my opinion, this is the biggest question mark of the year. The MCU has been in a slump since Avengers: Endgame, with a few bright spots like Deadpool & Wolverine and Spider-Man: No Way Home. Doomsday boasts an absolutely stuffed cast, including many of the franchise's legacy heroes, so it may be able to capture the old magic. I wouldn't be surprised if it hit $1.5b or more – but I also could see a world where it tops out around $800m.
However, it will likely have an enormous budget, considering all of those A-list actors' salaries and the MCU's track record of VFX bloat and reshoots. Even if it outgrosses Mario Galaxy, its budget will likely make it less profitable in Fantasy Box Office scoring. And at the time of this writing, it's set to open the same day as Dune: Part Three – which will get all IMAX screens.
Spider-Man: Brand New Day
The third most popular Hit Pick, Spider-Man: Brand New Day was drafted in 53% of leagues. Remember, No Way Home was one of the biggest post-pandemic movies, and Spider-Man has consistently punched above his weight across franchise reboots and animated reinventions. It probably won't reach No Way Home levels without Tobey Maguire or Andrew Garfield, but once the marketing ramps up, we'll have a clearer sense of its ceiling.
Like Doomsday, Spider-Man will give up all its IMAX screens to Christopher Nolan's The Odyssey. (IMAX likes doing business with auteurs who push the medium and have close relationships with Nolan and Villeneuve.)
Hit Picks Lightning Round
The Odyssey – 45% of leagues. A Best Picture contender and potential $1b grosser. One of my most anticipated movies of the year, and my own Hit Pick in my personal league.
Toy Story 5 – 36% of leagues.
Dune: Part Three – 18% of leagues.
Minions 3 – 12% of leagues.
Moana – 11% of leagues.
The Bombs
Masters of the Universe
Compared to Hit Picks, Bomb Picks were pretty evenly distributed across all movies. Every big movie was drafted as a Bomb in at least a few leagues, except for Mario Galaxy. Nobody wants to bet against the Italian plumbers!
In my opinion, there was only one ultra-potent Bomb Pick this year based on known information at the start of 2026. MOTU doesn't have a reported budget yet, but early estimates peg it just south of $200m. With no built-in fanbase and an onscreen performance by Jared Leto, this has almost no shot at profitability. (Tron: Ares was one of the biggest bombs of 2025.)
46% of leagues drafted it as a Bomb Pick, and I got it in my personal league. The one thing that makes me nervous: MGM/Amazon is handling U.S. distribution, which means there's a chance it gets pushed to streaming if the studio gets cold feet. (Maybe we need another Jared Leto meme so the studio knows how excited we are to see him again.)
Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow
Craig Gillespie's follow-up to Superman was drafted as a Bomb in 20% of leagues, making it the second most popular Bomb Pick. That surprised me – Superman did well! Were people put off by the paint-by-numbers trailer? Have they already lost interest in James Gunn's DC universe?
My guess: out of the few summer movies that have reported or estimated budgets, Supergirl is currently priced the highest. Forbes pegged it at $200m, which would make it a little more expensive than MOTU – but I expect it to gross far more.
Its reported budget could shift between now and release date, but I'd be surprised if this ends up losing money.
Mercy
Chris Pratt stars in this Screenlife AI murder trial directed by Timur Bekmambetov. It was drafted as a Bomb Pick in 21% of leagues. Coincidentally, it was drafted by an equal amount of leagues as a Winter Pick – meaning as many players expect it to succeed as to fail.
Mercy is one of January's biggest releases, making it the only movie on this list with a full-force marketing push. Trailers played in front of Avatar: Fire and Ash and Marty Supreme, and the response has been... mixed. We don't know the budget yet.
On a personal note: I'm friends with some of the people on the editing team, and worked alongside them on Missing, a Screenlife movie from 2023. Those movies are tough to make! I'm excited to see all their hard work onscreen.
Bomb Pick Lightning Round
Greenland 2: Migration – 20% of leagues.
The Bride! – 16% of leagues drafted it as a Bomb Pick, but 55% drafted it as a Winter Pick.
Street Fighter – 16% of leagues.
Mortal Kombat 2 – 14% of leagues.
The Mandalorian & Grogu – 13% of leagues. (Somebody tell Disney – they might be in trouble!)
Winter Picks
Scream 7
The latest installment in the meta horror franchise was the most popular Winter Pick, drafted by 83% of leagues. Scream VI was the highest grossing Scream film yet (unadjusted for inflation), but Scream 7 lost its predecessor's directors and fired its stars for pro-Palestine comments, prompting calls for a boycott.
Fun fact: the Scream franchise has grossed $911m since the first installment in 1996. 7 will take it into the billion-dollar club – joining other horror stalwarts like Saw, It, and Resident Evil.
28 Years Later: The Bone Temple
81% of leagues are taking it to the Bone Temple. The first 28 Years Later – the third entry in the 28 Days franchise – was a modest success in the game, barely breaking even. Bone Temple is unlikely to swing anybody's game too far in either direction. In the first few months of the game, that can be a smart conservative play.
Ready or Not 2: Here I Come
The sequel to 2019's micro-budget, ultra-profitable Ready or Not was drafted by 79% of leagues. No word on its budget yet, but this looks like a cheap pick that should make a solid return.
Winter Picks Lightning Round
Wuthering Heights – 76% of leagues.
Project Hail Mary – 75% of leagues.
Michael – 74% of leagues. (In my opinion, a total wildcard – and a possible billion-dollar grosser.)
Hoppers – 73% of leagues.
GOAT – 73% of leagues.
Send Help – 60% of leagues.
The Drama – 57% of leagues.
Overall, this is the most exciting year of movies I've seen since I started playing in 2022. There are still plenty of massive films not mentioned here – titles like Disclosure Day, Digger, and The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping are lying in wait, and are bound to be popular picks in the upcoming Summer and Fall drafts.
Here's to another great year of Fantasy Box Office!