What to Watch This Weekend: The Horror Movie Is the Safe Bet

This is the weekend the summer slate stopped being predictable. Disney put its biggest live-action swing of the year in theaters and critics could not agree on whether it is the best remake the studio has ever made or the emptiest. A French horror director nobody had heard of three years ago quietly made the most exciting wide release of the frame. And if you never leave the couch, one of 2026's biggest movies just landed on a streamer you almost certainly already pay for.

Here is the honest breakdown of what is worth your Friday night, your Saturday afternoon, and your Sunday hangover.

In theaters: Evil Dead Burn is the one to see

Evil Dead Burn opened in US theaters on Friday, July 10, and it is the rare franchise entry that feels like a genuine handoff rather than a cash grab. Sam Raimi personally picked Sebastien Vanicek to direct after seeing Infested, his 2023 spider movie, and you can feel why. Vanicek shoots horror like he is angry at the camera.

The setup is lean: a young woman, played by Souheila Yacoub, goes to stay with her in-laws after her husband dies. Things go the way they always go when a book turns up. At 109 minutes it does not overstay, and the reviews landing this week keep circling the same two points: the screenplay has gaps, and Yacoub is so good it does not matter. Trackers have it opening somewhere in the $25 million to $40 million range depending on who you ask, which for an R-rated horror movie in a summer that has been very kind to the genre is a real number.

Moana: a great lead actress in search of a reason to exist

Disney's live-action Moana also opened Friday, directed by Thomas Kail (yes, the Hamilton one), with newcomer Catherine Laga'aia as Moana and Dwayne Johnson back as Maui. It runs 115 minutes and it has produced the most genuinely split reviews of the year so far. Variety called it the first Disney live-action remake that actually works. Empire called it a low point in the studio's remake run. Those are not two shades of the same take. Those are opposite verdicts on the same movie.

The one thing nearly every critic agrees on is Laga'aia. In her film debut she is the thing keeping the movie alive, and the praise for her is close to unanimous even in the pans. The disagreement is about everything around her: whether photorealistic ocean and a motion-captured demigod add anything to a 2016 animated film that was already, you know, very good.

The market seems to be leaning toward skeptical. Early tracking had this opening at $80 million to $105 million. By the time the weekend arrived, projections had been cut to something closer to $45 million to $60 million. It will still probably win the weekend. It was not supposed to be close.

The grown-up option: The Invite

If you want something for adults that is not covered in blood, A24 expanded The Invite wide on July 10 after a limited run starting June 26. Olivia Wilde directs and stars opposite Seth Rogen as a married couple on thin ice who invite their upstairs neighbors, played by Penelope Cruz and Edward Norton, to dinner. It premiered at Sundance in January and has been building word of mouth ever since.

It is 107 minutes of a dinner party going somewhere it should not, and Rogen is the surprise: the loose Apatow energy he built a career on has curdled into something tighter and sadder here, and it suits him. Not everyone loves the ending. Everyone has an opinion about it, which is more than most July releases can say.

Staying in: three things worth the couch

Project Hail Mary (Prime Video)

This is the headline. Ryan Gosling's adaptation of the Andy Weir novel hit Prime Video on July 3, 105 days after its theatrical run, and it is one of the year's genuine hits: north of $683 million worldwide, the third-biggest global gross of 2026 so far. TMDB users have it sitting at 8.7 out of 10 across nearly 6,000 votes, which is blockbuster-adjacent territory that very few movies reach. If you skipped it in March because a movie about a science teacher waking up alone on a spaceship sounded like homework, this is your correction weekend.

Silo, season 3 (Apple TV)

The penultimate season premiered July 3 and episode 2 dropped Friday, so you are two hours from being caught up. Ten episodes, weekly on Fridays, running all the way to the September 4 finale. This season splits the story between Juliette in the present and an origin-story timeline centuries earlier, which is the swing the show has been building toward for two seasons. Get in now and the weekly wait becomes a feature instead of a chore.

Enola Holmes 3 (Netflix)

Millie Bobby Brown's third outing landed July 1 and it is the easiest watch on this list. Enola is in Malta, about to marry Tewkesbury, when Sherlock vanishes and the wedding becomes a case. It is exactly what you think it is, executed well, and it is the only thing here you can put on with a ten year old in the room. Netflix also rolled out its Little House on the Prairie series on July 9 if your household leans further in that direction.

Pick by mood

• You want to be scared in public: Evil Dead Burn, in the loudest theater you can find.
• You have kids and no choice: Moana. Manage expectations, enjoy Catherine Laga'aia.
• You want to argue on the drive home: The Invite.
• You want the best movie available to you right now, free: Project Hail Mary on Prime Video.
• You want a show to live in for two months: Silo, season 3.

The through line of this weekend is that the expensive, safe, algorithmically-derisked option is the one everybody is unsure about, and the cheap horror sequel from a director with one credit to his name is the one people are excited to talk about. That happens more often than the studios would like.

If Moana sends you back to the 2016 original (it will), that argument is worth having properly. Rank every Disney film head to head on our Disney movies ranked list, or settle the Pixar question with Pixar movies ranked while Toy Story 5 is still in theaters (we broke down its box office run against the Minions last week). New to the format? Start with our movie tier list guide and build your first one in about five minutes.

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