The landscape for nonfiction cinema is swift, fragile and constantly in flux in these absurd times; films we discuss now may not be released, and films we discuss a year from now may not even be the germ of an idea yet. But between the usual stable of celebrity retrospectives, music documentaries and the ongoing work to record the atrocities in Gaza, the documentary slate for 2026 already seems both full and promising. From the assassination attempt on Salman Rushdie to AI, a Billie Jean King retrospective to Elon Musk, here are 10 of the most hotly anticipated documentaries in 2026.
Knife: The Attempted Murder of Salman Rushdie
In recent years, the Sundance film festival has become the premier destination for buzzy and/or prestige documentaries – three of the last five Oscar wins have gone to films that premiered in Utah, and the festival is now routinely alight with major celebrity retrospectives. Potentially combining both at the festival this year is Knife: The Attempted Murder of Salman Rushdie, film-maker Alex Gibney’s nonfiction adaptation of the writer’s bestselling memoir, which detailed the 2022 onstage assassination attempt that cost him his vision in one eye. The film reportedly combines never-before-seen footage of the Indian-born, British-raised writer’s recovery, filmed by his wife (of 11 months, at the time) Rachel Eliza Griffiths, as well as interviews and excerpts from his work, including the fatwa for his death issued by Iran’s Ayatollah Khomeini in 1989.
Alex Gibney’s Musk
Speaking of Gibney, we’re still waiting for the prolific documentarian’s take on Elon Musk, which has been in production on and off for years. (Presumably the first half of last year, when the tech billionaire-turned-unelected White House CEO torched the federal government via his meme-coined “Department of Government Efficiency”, was an on period.) Gibney, who has directed critical evaluations of the Church of Scientology, Elizabeth Holmes and Enron, among others, is no stranger to shifty, complex characters; his Musk film promises to provide a “definitive and unvarnished examination” of the erratic entrepreneur, with participation of those formerly in his orbit (though, somewhat contentiously, not Musk himself). The last public update on the project was in August 2025, when Bleecker Street acquired the rights for a theatrical release in the US at a still-unannounced date.
The History of Concrete
Any fan of HBO’s How To With John Wilson – which is, for my money, the single best TV show made about New York this decade – will know that the following sentence is a perfect logline: “After attending a workshop on how to write and sell a Hallmark movie, film-maker John Wilson tries to use the same formula to sell a documentary about concrete.” The droll documentarian’s idiosyncratic style, sly observational humor and frankly genius eye for the gritty magic in urban life have made meditations on scaffolding, waste collection and wine stores into must-see television; his feature-length documentary debut on the history of concrete is thus one of the must-see premieres at Sundance later this month.
Oz
The Wicked press tour may finally be winding down, but there’s still no escaping Oz in 2026. After the runaway success of the two-part film adaptation of the Broadway musical, a new documentary will go behind the scenes of the movie that inspired it all. Oz, produced by Leonardo DiCaprio and Danny Strong, among others, will revisit the production of the 1939 classic, which, according to the film’s logline, “tested the limits of its creators”, including director Victor Fleming and star Judy Garland. Though Oz will, of course, feature plenty of archival footage from the groundbreaking production process, this will be no plain history doc; re-enactment filming (of whom? For what?) reportedly took place last year, just after a new digitized version of the original played at the Sphere in Las Vegas.
Billie Eilish: Hit Me Hard and Soft: The Tour (Live in 3D)
Coming in hot for the “most unlikely duo” award is James Cameron, master of the cinematic epic, and gen Z icon Billie Eilish. Why did the famed director take a break from the slow-rolling world of Avatar to film the singer’s Hit Me Hard and Soft concert tour? The answer, it seems, was the chance to use fancy cameras – “no one’s shot a concert film on this scale before … We’re using tech that’s never been used before”, says Cameron in the recently released trailer for the 3D theatrical event billed as “an innovative new concert experience” starting 20 March. Jury is still out on how “innovative” the 3D feels … but based on the trailer, I will happily watch many minutes of Cameron and Eilish, two massive stars of very different solar systems, attempt to work together.
The AI Doc
Daniel Roher, director of the Oscar-winning film Navalny, on the late Russian opposition leader, puts himself at the center of his next film, which enters the vast cinematic minefield known as artificial intelligence. Conveniently called The AI Doc (subtitle: Or How I Became an Apocaloptimist), the film, which premieres at Sundance with a theatrical release to follow in March, assumes Roher’s perspective as he explores “the existential dangers and stunning promise of this technology that humanity has created” while on the cusp of becoming a father. Co-directed by Charlie Tyrell and produced by Everything Everywhere All At Once co-director Daniel Kwan, The AI Doc will attempt to thread a fine needle, spending time with experts on both sides of the doom/promise spectrum.
Once Upon a Time in Harlem
One evening in 1972, the genre-defying film-maker William Greaves convened a dinner party at Duke Ellington’s New York townhouse. The guests were the remaining luminaries of the Harlem Renaissance: influential Black artists, musicians, librarians, poets, actors, teachers and critics whose work shaped the jazz age; the occasion was posterity, as Greaves recorded more than three hours of conviviality and conversation among old friends, many of whom had not seen each other in 50 years. The cinema verité footage, newly restored and arranged by Greaves’s son David, who was a camera operator that day, promises a fly-on-the-wall portal into one of the 20th century’s most significant and vital cultural movements.
Give Me the Ball!
Few female athletes have been as trailblazing or as influential as Billie Jean King. Give Me the Ball!, which will premiere at Sundance, finally gives the tennis legend and queer icon her flowers, through archival materials and exclusive interviews. Directed by Liz Garbus and Elizabeth Wolff, the retrospective will delve into King’s battles on the court, including her infamous Battle of the Sexes with Bobby Riggs, and off it, as she fought for women’s equity in sports, as well as women’s and LGBTQ+ rights at large.
Questlove’s Earth, Wind & Fire
In the past few years, the Roots member Amir “Questlove” Thompson has established himself as a vital, virtuoso director of music documentaries and a custodian of Black cultural history. His mesmeric debut film The Summer of Soul, which vibrantly retold the story of the 1969 Harlem cultural festival (AKA the Black Woodstock), won the Oscar in 2022; last year’s Sly Lives! AKA The Burden of Black Genius, brilliantly examined both the life of the trailblazing musician Sly Stone and the specific difficulties faced by Black artists. He returns this year with a still-untitled film on Earth, Wind & Fire, the genre-bending Chicago group founded in 1969 by Maurice White. Questlove reportedly gained access to the band’s video and recording archive, and has made the celebratory doc, which will premiere on HBO later this year, with the support of the band and White’s estate.
American Doctor
The past year has seen a plethora of excellent nonfiction films on Gaza and the larger fight for Palestinian freedom – among them, Oscar winner No Other Land, The Encampments, Coexistence, My Ass! and Put Your Soul on Your Hand and Walk. American Doctor, which documents three American physicians – Palestinian, Jewish and Zoroastrian – called to Gaza by a moral obligation to help those suffering, promises to be a similarly gut-wrenching watch. Following the doctors’ triage units in the wake of devastating attacks, the film offers a necessary reminder of the US’s role in the decimation of Gaza – and, according to the official description, a “path forward to engage on such a difficult issue with humanity and collective action”.
