Welcome to the first Boom, Bust, or Meh for 2026, ladies and gentlemen! This is where we focus on five films released during the month and have some fun predicting their success! As with every BBoM article, each film receives one of the following scores from each participating GUG film critic:
Boom: A film you’ll remember for the rest of the year.
Bust: A film you’ll regret watching.
Meh: A film that entertains during the moment, but has no lasting impact.
At the end of each month, each of the films will be arbitrarily judged and the critic’s ongoing tally will be updated (the score is written beside their name: correct predictions – incorrect predictions).
The Results
Before we get to our film predictions for January, let us take a look at the outcome of our final 2025 predictions!
1. Five Nights at Freddy’s 2 – Meh
Rotten Tomatoes Critic Score: 16%
Rotten Tomatoes Audience Score: 84%
IMDB Score: 5.3
Box Office
Production Budget: $36 million
Worldwide: $231 million
Better than the first and filled to the brim with fan service, the low PG-13 rating is frequently cited as one of the film’s bigger barriers when it comes to truly fleshing out its premise.
2. Hamnet – BOOM!
Rotten Tomatoes Critic Score: 86%
Rotten Tomatoes Audience Score: 92%
IMDB Score: 8.1
Box Office
Production Budget: $30 million
Worldwide: $12 million
Raw, powerful, and hard-hitting, while some viewers struggled with the accents, many believe Hamnet is an Oscar contender.
3. David – BOOM!
Rotten Tomatoes Critic Score: 74%
Rotten Tomatoes Audience Score: 98%
IMDB Score: 7.5
Box Office
Production Budget: $60 million
Worldwide: $70 million
Adored by its target audience, even critics outside of the film’s demographic admit it’s a beautiful animated piece, albeit a little cringeworthy at times.
4. Avatar: Fire and Ash – Meh
Rotten Tomatoes Critic Score: 66%
Rotten Tomatoes Audience Score: 90%
IMDB Score: 7.4
Box Office
Budget: $400 million
Worldwide: $1 billion+
Visually stunning, but viewers found it too repetitive across its epic runtime.
5. Anaconda – Meh
Rotten Tomatoes Critic Score: 51%
Rotten Tomatoes Audience Score: 76%
IMDB Score: 6.1
Box Office
Budget: $45 million
Worldwide: $88 million
While critics found the film to have conflicting tones, many people just enjoyed the dumb fun nature of it all.
New Releases
Each “Boom, Bust, or Meh” article will include each writer’s current record next to their name. My record is (215-176), Tyler Hummel is (117-118), and Andrew Pair is (19-21).
Greenland 2: Migration
Rating: PG-13
Release Date: January 9, 2026
Synopsis: The surviving Garrity family must leave the safety of the Greenland bunker and embark on a perilous journey across the decimated frozen wasteland of Europe to find a new home. (IMDB)
Director: Ric Roman Waugh
Starring: Gerard Butler, Morena Baccarin, Tommie Earl Jenkins
The Predictions
Juliana Purnell (215-176): Meh – I haven’t seen the first one, so I feel I can’t really comment much on this. Gerard Butler seems to always be in these CGI-laden action films that aren’t bad, but they’re not exactly masterpieces either, and that’s how I think Greenland 2: Migration will go down as well.
Tyler Hummel is (117-118): Meh – Gerard Butler’s Greenland is one of the most bizarrely bleak films in recent memory. He’s certainly not averse to starring in dark films. Olympus Has Fallen was similarly bleak, but ends with a happy-ish ending. The world is saved! In Greenland, the world is most definitely NOT saved and literally ends. Billions of people die. The idea of a sequel to that film is bizarre, and maybe slightly misplaced. However, it must necessarily be more hopeful.
Andrew Pair (19-21): Meh – For the record, I thought the first Greenland movie was a very good effort. It managed to be a deeper take on disaster movies, and I think it’s well worth your time. It doesn’t need a sequel, at all. It was just fine the way it was. Regardless, the movie is here, and honestly, I think it will have some merit. Gerard Butler is one of the few actors I’ve seen to be able to breathe life into mediocre scripts. There will probably be some interesting moments, but I don’t think this will be as good as the first.
Primate
Rating: R
Release Date: January 9, 2026
Synopsis: A group of friends’ tropical vacation turns into a terrifying, primal tale of horror and survival. (IMDB)
Director: Johannes Roberts
Starring: Johnny Sequoyah, Troy Kotsur, Jess Alexander
The Predictions
Juliana Purnell (215-176): Meh – I’m a total sucker for violent animal movies, and Primate looks like the B-story of Nope turned into a feature length film. Getting a January release gives me pause, as sometimes this month is used as a bit of a dumping ground for the genre, but there have been some standouts in the past. As long as the film is tense and keeps moving along (as in, they don’t end up stuck in the pool for the majority of the runtime), then I don’t see why this can’t at least be decently entertaining.
Tyler Hummel is (117-118): Bust – Am I allowed to say that this is one of the funnier horror movie trailers in recent memory? Intellectually, I know chimpanzees are one of the most dangerous creatures in the world and regularly maul humans. Conversely, it’s a movie about an angry ape that wants to kill people but cannot swim. It feels like the kind of schlock horror that would naturally be dumped in January.
Andrew Pair (19-21): Bust – Look, I like horror films, and I’m a passionate fan of the Planet of the Apes series. Still, this movie just doesn’t speak to me. The trailer comes across as fairly uncreative and bland. I really don’t think this is a movie that will resonate much with audiences; I mean, how many times can we really make killer animal movies before audiences start losing interest? Just to be clear, sure, there is a way this could have worked out, but from what I’m seeing on the trailers, this looks bland and predictable. It’s really funny because I’m currently binging on a horror podcast called Welcome to Night Vale which started about ten years ago, and there’s a fake movie review of a film called “Primate” with the EXACT same plot line as the real movie! It’s both ironic and kinda creepy…
28 Years Later: The Bone Temple
Rating: R
Release Date: January 16, 2026
Synopsis: As Spike is inducted into Jimmy Crystal’s gang on the mainland, Dr. Kelson makes a discovery that could alter the world. (IMDB)
Director: Nia DaCosta
Starring: Jack O’Connell, Ralph Fiennes, Emma Laird
The Predictions
Juliana Purnell (215-176): Meh – 28 Years Later was okay, it just went in an unusual direction and occasionally possessed a bizarre vibe. This follow up looks like it may feature more horror, which would be welcome as I found the previous instalment to be somewhat lacking… except I don’t have much faith in Nia DaCosta’s direction. It’s Alex Garland’s script, which may finally pull DaCosta over the line, but otherwise I’m expecting maybe a good scene or two, with a mishandling of themes.
Tyler Hummel is (117-118): BOOM! – I must admit I didn’t catch the new 28 Years Later film over the summer. However, the reception seemed relatively positive overall. I feel like it is a safe bet to assume that its immediate sequel, less than a year later, will have some of that same energy.
Andrew Pair (19-21): BOOM! – I watched the trailer very carefully and this movie has a lot going for it. It looks raw, visceral and chilling. Everything this movie needs to be. As a writer myself, I know very well the myriad of ways this could go wrong, but I think this will end up being the movie that fans so desperately hoped for with Part 1 (which there was nothing actually wrong with it in my opinion). This is a gutsy, grisly, swing for the fences contagion/zombie film, and I believe fans will respond to it.
Mercy
Rating: PG-13
Release Date: January 23, 2026
Synopsis: In the near future, a detective stands on trial accused of murdering his wife. He has 90 minutes to prove his innocence to the advanced A.I. Judge he once championed, before it determines his fate. (IMDB)
Director: Timur Bekmambetov
Starring: Chris Pratt, Rebecca Ferguson, Michael C. Mahon
The Predictions
Juliana Purnell (215-176): Meh – This reminds of when I was holidaying in Florida last year; I hopped into an Uber and the driver was ecstatic because he apparently just launched the first AI-interface for legal council, and spent the drive excitedly explaining how in the future people will choose whether to be judged by a human or technology. As someone who has formally studied criminology… I was kinda horrified by the prospect! I think Mercy will do a decent job in fleshing out why the human element should not be removed from the justice system. I think it’ll be one of those films that will generate discussion, but it is giving off poor man’s Minority Report vibes, and it will never come fully out from underneath that film’s long shadow.
Tyler Hummel is (117-118): Meh – Chris Pratt is in a bizarre career niche. He’s still making MCU movies, at least ostensibly, but his non-MCU work is mostly burning out. He’s no longer starring in Jurassic World sequels, and he’s mostly getting work in action schlock like The Terminal List and The Tomorrow War. Naturally, seeing him in a Minority Report ripoff is almost fascinating, given that it will almost certainly be mediocre, but could hint at his ongoing career trajectory.
Andrew Pair (19-21): BOOM! – I’m taking a risk, this could be a Meh. However, after seeing the trailer and really mulling over the themes and concepts, I think its merits will outweigh any potential drawbacks. We’re living in uncharted waters from a technological standpoint, and a movie with a high stakes concept, like an AI judge, are more than just timely, it’s downright eerie. Chris Pratt and Rebecca Ferguson are usually an indicator of a good time. After watching the trailer twice, I had the feeling that scriptwriters took a lot of ideas from Minority Report, in my opinion, one of the all time greatest sci-fi/dystopian movies, though I doubt it will reach the psychological and creative brilliance of Spielberg’s masterwork.
Iron Lung
Rating: R
Release Date: January 30, 2026
Synopsis: In a post-apocalyptic future after “The Quiet Rapture” event, a convict explores a blood ocean on a desolate moon using a submarine called the “Iron Lung” to search for missing stars/planets. (IMDB)
Director: Mark Fischbach
Starring: Mark Fischbach, Troy Baker, Seán McLoughlin
The Predictions
Juliana Purnell (215-176): Meh – Out of all the YouTubers I’ve followed over the years, Markiplier has been one of the most wholesome, free from controversy, and I genuinely wish the very best for him in this endeavour. I think this foray into feature-length filmmaking marks an exciting time in cinema, when people with passion can create the work they want, and a lot of the time that love for the piece really can flow through the entire production. I think fans are going to absolutely adore this movie. However… his skill as a presenter doesn’t necessarily translate to narrative storytelling. Writer, producer, director, actor, editor… that’s a lot of hats! The director/actor combo is hard enough for most professionals in the industry to pull off, and I can’t help but feel that he may have been better off having this project as more of a collaborative project. I hope I’m wrong, but I think his acting will be the film’s weakest point, and critics will drag him for that. But if he pulls it off… Wow!
Tyler Hummel is (117-118): BOOM! – In an age when YouTubers seem to do nothing but create controversy, Markiplier remains a venerable elder of video game streaming and a wonderfully wholesome figure. Naturally, his new directorial and starring role in an adaptation of the 2022 video game Iron Lung has been one of the genuine curiosities of the past few months, and a possibly exciting breakout into horror that could make the FNAF movies look comparatively tame.
Andrew Pair (19-21): BOOM! – My prediction here is a little self-serving. When I was a teenager, I knew exactly who Markiplier was, and I liked his videos way more than PewDiePie or Logan Paul’s stuff. Markiplier was funny, creative, and one of those guys you wanted to hang out with. Over the past month I’ve been posting daily videos on YouTube myself, so I can’t help but root for Markiplier’s success. He’s managed to do something so rare, transitioning from YouTube alone and making full-fledged studio movies. I really do love the sci-fi horror concept here; it’s fun, creative, inventive, and potentially brilliant. I’m really looking forward to this one!
Thanks for reading this month’s edition! Let us know your predictions in the comment section. Join us next month for another edition of “Boom, Bust, or Meh!”