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The Best Movies to Watch This Month: Your October 2026 Edit
Skip the endless evening streaming scroll with this edit of the best movies to watch this month.
The best movies to watch this month run the gamut from an A24 biopic of acclaimed chef and writer Anthony Bourdain to a dreamy adaptation of Sense & Sensibility starring Daisy Edgar-Jones and Esmé Creed-Miles. There’s an intriguing climate satire starring Tom Cruise, Digger, as well as a highly anticipated companion film to the 2010 film The Social Network, The Social Reckoning, featuring Jeremy Allen White and Jeremy Strong. It’s a strong cinema month, so tee up some times with your local cinema and make a day of it.
The Best Movies to Watch at the Cinema This October
Tony
We’re very partial to an A24 release, especially one that traces the life and legend of one of our favourite chef/journalist/documentarians Anthony Bourdain. Dominic Sessa is perfectly cast as the intense, motivated, talented and slightly unhinged guy who ignited our early passion for food. This is the story before the screens.
In cinemas now
Digger
Very much one for our times, Digger is a satirical black comedy (how else are we to cope?) following a heavily disguised Tom Cruise as a heinously wealthy oil tycoon, and his attempt to save the world from the evils of his own making. The combination of climate satire with Wes Anderson-inspired palette means the trailer has more than a few YouTube commenters confused yet intrigued — our favourite way to head into a movie.
In cinemas now
The Social Reckoning
Jeremy Strong, Mikey Madison and Jeremy Allen White + a Wall Street Journal exposé on Facebook? Excellent. Inspired by true events, the film follows a young Facebook engineer who joins forces with a Wall Street Journal reporter to blow the whistle on some of Facebook’s most guarded secrets.
Arriving in cinemas October 8 2026
Practical Magic 2
Fire up a round of midnight margaritas, because Practical Magic is back. The sequel picks up 25 years after the first movie, where a heartbroken Sally (Sandra Bullock), has completely turned her back on magic (again!) in an attempt to protect her daughters, Kylie (Joey King) and Antonia (Maisie Williams) from the family curse. But after Kylie’s boyfriend falls into a cursed coma, the Owens women are forced to face the curse once and for all. Deeply nostalgic and filled with the same sisterly charm and witchy antics we fell for all those years ago, it’s a no-brainer for anyone chasing a feel-good flick.
In cinemas now
Sense & Sensibility
We will never, ever, ever tire of Jane Austen adaptations. Serving a similar aesthetic to the 2005 Pride & Prejudice adaptation, Sense & Sensibility is a tale of two sisters attempting to recover from the loss of their home and impending financial ruin. Daisy Edgar-Jones and Esmé Creed-Miles play our protagonists, the Dashwood sisters, one with an excess of sense, and the other, as you may have guessed, sensibility. Expect to yearn, expect to burn and expect plenty of Austen’s iconic quips.
Arriving In cinemas October 16 2026
Klara and the Sun
Kazuo Ishiguro’s tender, unsettling meditation on love and artificial intelligence comes to the screen via Taika Waititi, with Jenna Ortega as Klara, an Artificial Friend chosen to keep a sick teenager company. Amy Adams, Mia Tharia, Natasha Lyonne and Steve Buscemi round out a seriously stacked cast in a story asking what technology can replicate, and what remains stubbornly human.
Arriving In cinemas 22 October 2026
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The Invite
Having the neighbours over for dinner is a bold move when their sex life is keeping you up at night, and your own marriage is hanging on by a thread. But that’s exactly where Angela (Olivia Wilde) and Joe (Seth Rogen) find themselves when upstairs couple Pína (Penélope Cruz) and Hawk (Edward Norton) come knocking. As the evening unfolds, wine, weed and awkward hosting mishaps give way to barbed exchanges, simmering resentments and a sexual proposition that nobody saw coming. It’s tense, funny and impossible to look away from.
Stream on HBO Max From 3 October 2026
FAQs About the Best Movies to Watch This Month
The best movies to watch this October include Tony, Digger, The Social Reckoning, Practical Magic 2 and Sense & Sensibility in cinemas, plus The Invite on HBO Max. The lineup spans an A24 biopic of chef and writer Anthony Bourdain, a satirical black comedy starring Tom Cruise, a Facebook whistleblower drama, a witchy sequel and a new Jane Austen adaptation. With several titles already showing and more arriving mid-month, it’s a strong month for a cinema trip, and there’s a sharp dinner-party comedy to stream at home when you’d rather stay in.
Tony is an A24 biopic tracing the early life of Anthony Bourdain, the acclaimed chef, writer and documentarian. Dominic Sessa stars as Bourdain, capturing the intense, driven, talented and slightly unhinged personality that made him one of the most influential voices in food. Rather than revisiting his television years, the film focuses on the story before the screens, exploring the experiences that shaped him long before he became a household name. Tony is in cinemas now, with tickets available through Dendy.
Digger is a satirical black comedy starring Tom Cruise as a heavily disguised, outrageously wealthy oil tycoon who tries to save the world from the environmental damage he helped cause. Blending sharp climate satire with a Wes Anderson-inspired colour palette, it’s a timely, offbeat watch that has already sparked plenty of curiosity online thanks to its unusual trailer. If you’re after something darkly funny that still has something to say, Digger is one to add to your list. It’s in cinemas now, with tickets available through Hoyts and Event Cinemas.
The Social Reckoning arrives in Australian cinemas on 8 October. Inspired by true events and positioned as a companion film to 2010’s The Social Network, it follows a young Facebook employee who teams up with a Wall Street Journal reporter to expose some of the company’s most closely guarded secrets. The film stars Jeremy Strong, Mikey Madison and Jeremy Allen White, making it one of the month’s most anticipated releases for fans of tense, fact-based dramas. Tickets are available through Hoyts.
Yes, Practical Magic 2 is in cinemas now, with tickets available through Hoyts and Event Cinemas. The sequel picks up 25 years after the original, with a heartbroken Sally Owens (Sandra Bullock) having turned her back on magic to protect her daughters, Kylie (Joey King) and Antonia (Maisie Williams), from the family curse. When Kylie’s boyfriend falls into a cursed coma, the Owens women must finally confront it. Nostalgic, witchy and full of sisterly charm, it’s an easy pick for anyone after a feel-good film.
Sense & Sensibility arrives in cinemas on 16 October. This new adaptation of Jane Austen’s novel stars Daisy Edgar-Jones and Esmé Creed-Miles as the Dashwood sisters, one ruled by sense and the other by sensibility. The story follows them as they try to recover from losing their family home while facing the threat of financial ruin. With an aesthetic reminiscent of the 2005 Pride & Prejudice, it promises plenty of yearning, romance and Austen’s trademark wit, making it a must for period-drama lovers. Tickets are available through Hoyts and Event Cinemas.
Loved this edit of the best movies to watch in Australia this year? You might also like getting across what tv shows have dropped this month. Once you’re done there, maybe it’s time for a spot of reading!
