(Photo by Focus Features / Courtesy Everett Collection. LORNE)

Best New Documentaries Movies of 2026

The latest: Morgan Neville gives us a behind-the-scenes glimpse at the man who built SNL, in his latest documentary, Lorne. Releasing everywhere in theaters.

Documentaries have the ability to enlighten us, broaden our minds, and show us a slice of the human experience that we didn’t know existed. They are often the best films of a given year, and 2026 is no exception, having already started off strong with Judd Apatow’s Mel Brooks: The 99 Year Old Man! Later in the year, we’ll get to see John Wilson’s hilarious Hallmark vision of concrete in The History of Concrete (which debuted earlier this year at Sundance), and Morgan Neville’s intimate portrait of SNL creator Lorne Michaels in Lorne. It’s going to be an incredible year for non-fictional storytelling, and we’re gathering them all and putting them in our list of the best 2026 documentaries. We start with the Certified Fresh, followed by Fresh movies, and end with the Rotten. Check out our rankings below! — Bryce Marrero

The AI Doc: Or How I Became an Apocaloptimist
(2026)

89%

Critics Consensus: A comprehensive survey of a brave new world, The AI Doc is a balanced inquiry into a transformative technology that weighs the risks with a touching amount of humanity.

Synopsis: From the Academy Award®-winning filmmakers behind Everything Everywhere All at Once and Navalny; a father-to-be tries to figure out what is happening with all this… View Full Synopsis

Directed By:
Daniel Roher, Charlie Tyrell

Everybody to Kenmure Street
(2026)

100%

Critics Consensus: A spirited and uplifting documentary, Everybody to Kenmure Street triumphantly captures a community’s witty, determined stand against injustice through the power of collective action.

Synopsis: Anti-establishment struggles and activism run in the veins of Glasgow inhabitants. So when In May 2021, a U.K. Home Office raid is launched at dawn… View Full Synopsis

Starring:
Emma Thompson, Kate Dickie, Keira Lucchesi

Directed By:
Felipe Bustos Sierra

Once Upon a Time in Harlem
(2026)

100%

Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.

Directed By:
William Greaves, David Greaves

Mel Brooks: The 99 Year Old Man!: Season 1

100%

95%

Critics Consensus: Blessed with an enthralling raconteur as its subject, The 99 Year Old Man! is an affectionate and hilarious retrospective as well as a wistful reminder that even a long life well-lived has its fair share of heartbreak.

Starring:
Mel Brooks, Jerry Seinfeld, Adam Sandler, Nick Kroll

The History of Concrete
(2026)

100%

Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.

Synopsis: A filmmaker applies lessons from a Hallmark movie writing workshop to pitch a documentary about concrete.

Directed By:
John Wilson

One in a Million
(2026)

100%

Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.

Directed By:
Itab Azzam, Jack MacInnes

Barbara Forever
(2026)

100%

Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.

Starring:
Barbara Hammer

Directed By:
Brydie O’Connor

Cookie Queens
(2026)

100%

Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.

Synopsis: It’s Girl Scout Cookie season, and four tenacious young women strive to be a top-selling “Cookie Queen,” navigating an $800 million business in which innocence… View Full Synopsis

Directed By:
Alysa Nahmias

#10

American Doctor
(2026)

100%

Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.

Synopsis: AMERICAN DOCTOR is a vérité non-fiction film following three prominent physicians–Palestinian, Jewish and Zoroastrian–friends who couldn’t be more different but are bound by their shared… View Full Synopsis

Starring:
Thaer Ahmad, Mark Perlmutter, Feroze Sidhwa

Directed By:
Poh Si Teng

#11

American Pachuco: The Legend of Luis Valdez
(2026)

100%

Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.

Synopsis: From founding a revolutionary theater troupe alongside César Chávez to bringing the Mexican American experience to mainstream America with Zoot Suit and La Bamba, Luis… View Full Synopsis

Starring:
Taylor Hackford, Cheech Marin, Lou Diamond Phillips, Rose Portillo

Directed By:
David Alvarado

#12

The Last First: Winter K2
(2026)

100%

Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.

Directed By:
Amir Bar-Lev

#13

The Lake
(2026)

100%

Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.

Synopsis: An environmental nuclear bomb looms in Utah, two intrepid scientists and a political insider race the clock to save their home from an unprecedented catastrophe.

Starring:
Bonnie Baxter

Directed By:
Abby Ellis

#14

Knife: The Attempted Murder of Salman Rushdie
(2026)

100%

Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.

Synopsis: Salman Rushdie’s recovery path after the attack, capturing both physical healing and renewed hope.

Starring:
Salman Rushdie

Directed By:
Alex Gibney

#15

Jane Elliott Against the World
(2026)

100%

Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.

Synopsis: A rural Iowa schoolteacher becomes a national voice against racism after leading a controversial 1968 lesson in discrimination with her all-white third-grade class. Now nearly… View Full Synopsis

Starring:
Jane Elliott, Killer Mike, Ibram X. Kendi

Directed By:
Judd Ehrlich

#16

Closure
(2026)

100%

Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.

Directed By:
Michał Marczak

#17

Nuisance Bear
(2026)

97%

Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.

Synopsis: A polar bear is forced to navigate a human world of tourists, wildlife officers, and hunters as its ancient migration collides with modern life. When… View Full Synopsis

Directed By:
Gabriela Osio Vanden, Jack Weisman

#18

Paralyzed by Hope: The Maria Bamford Story
(2026)

94%

Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.

Starring:
Maria Bamford

Directed By:
Judd Apatow, Neil Berkeley

#19

I’m Chevy Chase and You’re Not
(2025)

93%

Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.

Synopsis: From his Saturday Night Live beginnings to a string of classic comedies, Chevy Chase has always had huge comedic range. He is also a complex… View Full Synopsis

Starring:
Chevy Chase

Directed By:
Marina Zenovich

#20

Time and Water
(2026)

92%

Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.

Synopsis: Facing the death of his country’s glaciers and the loss of his beloved grandparents, Icelandic writer Andri Snær Magnason turns his archives into a time… View Full Synopsis

Starring:
Andri Snær Magnason, Andri Snær Magnason

Directed By:
Sara Dosa

#21

All About the Money
(2026)

91%

Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.

Directed By:
Sinéad O’Shea

#22

Queen of Chess
(2026)

88%

Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.

Synopsis: Hungarian chess prodigy Judit Polgár challenges champion Garry Kasparov and her controlling father over 15 years, breaking gender barriers to become the greatest female player… View Full Synopsis

Starring:
Judit Polgár, Garry Kasparov

Directed By:
Rory Kennedy

#23

The Best Summer
(2026)

85%

Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.

Synopsis: A found footage documentary from a concert tour in 1995 that features live performances, candid interviews and a behind the scene view of what it’s… View Full Synopsis

Directed By:
Tamra Davis

#24

Louis Theroux: Inside The Manosphere
(2026)

78%

Critics Consensus: Thoughtfully constructed and quietly probing, Louis Theroux: Inside The Manosphere uses Theroux’s signature, gently persistent style to illuminate a disturbing, tech-driven subculture with clarity and impact.

Synopsis: With rare access and no holds barred, the acclaimed documentarian investigates a growing ultra-masculine network and its controversial influencers.

Starring:
Louis Theroux, Myron Gaines, Justin Waller, Eddie Matthews

Directed By:
Adrian Choa

#25

The Oldest Person in the World
(2026)

76%

Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.

Directed By:
Sam Green

#26

Marc by Sofia
(2025)

73%

Critics Consensus: A fly-on-the-wall tour through Marc Jacobs’ day-to-day, Sofia Coppola’s documentary can feel more like third-wheeling a friendship than an informative exposé, but it does offer a chic glimpse into the artistic process.

Synopsis: An intimate, unconventional portrait of Marc Jacobs, crafted by Sofia Coppola to capture the genius and singular universe of the iconic American designer.

Starring:
Marc Jacobs, Sofia Coppola, Spike Jonze

Directed By:
Sofia Coppola

#27

Ghost in the Machine
(2026)

73%

Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.

Directed By:
Valerie Veatch

#28

Lorne
(2026)

71%

Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.

Synopsis: From Morgan Neville, Academy Award-winning filmmaker of 20 Feet from Stardom and Won’t You Be My Neighbor?, comes Lorne, an unprecedented, behind-the-scenes glimpse at the… View Full Synopsis

Starring:
Chris Parnell, Lorne Michaels, Tina Fey, Maya Rudolph

Directed By:
Morgan Neville

#29

Public Access
(2026)

60%

Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.

Synopsis: Public Access is the untold story of the most subversive media experiment ever to take over our television sets. Public Access takes viewers through the… View Full Synopsis

Directed By:
David Shadrack Smith

#30

Melania
(2026)

10%

Critics Consensus: Presented with great pomp and circumstance but little insight, this documentary purports to be an up-close view of the First Lady while curiously revealing very little about her.

Synopsis: Amazon MGM Studios’ film MELANIA offers unprecedented access to the 20 days leading up to the 2025 Presidential Inauguration — through the eyes of the… View Full Synopsis

Starring:
Melania Trump

Directed By:
Brett Ratner