There are big years in Hollywood. And then there is what Anne Hathaway is doing in 2026.
The five acting credits set for release this year are more than Hathaway has ever had in a single calendar year. From a psychological musical drama that required years of vocal and dance training, to the long-awaited sequel to one of the most beloved fashion films ever made, to a Christopher Nolan epic with one of the most stacked casts in recent memory, the Oscar-winning actress is about to be everywhere – and by all accounts, she has earned every moment of it.
People magazine has already named Hathaway its World’s Most Beautiful Star for 2026, with the 43-year-old appearing on the cover and reflecting on a career that has taken her from teenage princess to Oscar winner to one of Hollywood’s most enduringly compelling leading women. And if the early reaction to her films is anything to go by, the accolades are just getting started.
The year begins – for Australian audiences – with Mother Mary, a psychological drama directed by The Green Knight filmmaker David Lowery, in which Hathaway plays a global pop star spiralling on the eve of her comeback. The film also stars Michaela Coel, and features original songs by Charli XCX, Jack Antonoff and FKA Twigs.
To prepare for the role, Hathaway didn’t just learn a few dance moves. She committed to the kind of training that would humble most professional performers. She trained eight hours a day for months to nail a demanding key dance scene, practised consistently while working on other projects, and spent a year crafting her character’s singing voice in a specific way.
“I didn’t want to just show up and do a good job,” Hathaway said at the film’s London premiere. “I wanted to do my absolute best and it took several years of being really committed to it.”
She drew inspiration from Beyoncé – and the results, early reviewers say, are extraordinary. Director David Lowery was in no doubt about the standard she reached. “We could have written top 10 hits, but she had to feel them,” Lowery said. “She had to sing them and she really pushed to make them as good as they are.”
Mother Mary sees Hathaway transform into a character described as a Lady Gaga–Taylor Swift hybrid, set within a psychological horror framework – a fashion-infused descent charged with sinister, psychosexual energy. Hathaway performs seven songs on the accompanying soundtrack album. It is unlike anything she has done before.
The 43-year-old said she felt she’d reached an age where she could finally understand her character’s journey. “I’ve been in successful films since I was a teenager, but I also knew that I really wanted to be an artist and I never wanted to lose who I was as a person in the limelight,” she said. “I feel I’ve reached an age where I can appreciate it and enjoy it and not feel buried by it, the way Mother Mary feels buried by it.”
Mother Mary opens in Australia on May 14.
If Mother Mary is the artistic statement, The Devil Wears Prada 2 – arriving May 1 – is the event of the year for a generation of women who know every line of the original.
Nearly 20 years after the original, Andy Sachs returns – but this time to face off against her former boss Miranda Priestly as a rival, with fans set to see Meryl Streep, Emily Blunt and Anne Hathaway together once again. Hathaway describes the reunion with Streep and Blunt as “beautiful and joyful,” and teases that Andy has changed dramatically over the past 20 years – now wearing “consignment luxury” clothing, indicative of a seasoned journalism career.
The film is sure to be one of the biggest hits of the year – everything that worked the first time around seems to be back. For the Starts at 60 audience, many of whom watched the original with their daughters or granddaughters, this is the cinema event of the year.
Hathaway plays Penelope in Christopher Nolan’s adaptation of Homer’s Greek epic, alongside Matt Damon, Tom Holland, Zendaya, Robert Pattinson, Lupita Nyong’o and Charlize Theron. The film follows Odysseus and his perilous 20-year journey home after the Trojan War, while Penelope waits – steadfast – for his return.
As the first film shot entirely with IMAX cameras, it promises audiences a spectacular cinematic experience – and reunites Hathaway with Nolan, who directed her as Catwoman in The Dark Knight Rises. The Odyssey is sure to be a hit – that talented cast with this iconic director feels like a surefire combination. It arrives in Australian cinemas on July 17.
The year rounds out with two more distinctive films. Flowervale Street – also known as The End of Oak Street – sees Hathaway opposite Ewan McGregor as parents in the 1980s whose suburban street is torn out of the world by a mysterious cosmic event. It arrives in August.
Then in October comes Verity, the adaptation of Colleen Hoover’s bestselling novel, casting Hathaway alongside Dakota Johnson in a psychological thriller about a struggling writer hired to ghostwrite for a bestselling author who has suffered a debilitating accident – only to uncover chilling secrets about her subject’s past. Hoover’s readership is enormous, and the appetite for this adaptation has been building for years.
What makes 2026 remarkable is not just the volume of work but its range. Psychological horror, fashion comedy, Greek mythology, science fiction, literary thriller – Hathaway is touching every corner of cinema in a single year.
She has described her 40s as a period of clarity and reflection – explaining that experience allows her to make more intentional decisions, and that the emotional highs and lows that once felt intense have softened, replaced by a steadiness she values deeply.
Hathaway’s 2026 run is a reminder that longevity in this industry often comes from evolution, not reinvention – and she has positioned herself at the intersection of blockbuster nostalgia and genre experimentation, which is exactly where Hollywood is right now.
She trained eight hours a day to be ready for this moment. The rest of us just have to find time to get to the cinema.
Mother Mary opens in Australia on May 14. The Devil Wears Prada 2 opens May 1. The Odyssey arrives July 17. Flowervale Street August 14. Verity October 2.