TIFF 2026 Movie Reviews Compilation: Toronto Film Festival

The 2026 Toronto Film Festival kicked off Thursday, September 10, and features a slew of world premieres including the official opening-night film Being Heumann, Oscar winner Siân Heder‘s follow-up to her Best Picture winner CODA. The event’s 51st edition features 10 days of premieres, gala presentations and more as the third leg of the fall festival tour (along with Venice and Telluride) that helps set the agenda for awards season.

Among the fest’s world premieres are the latest from such filmmakers as Green Book double Oscar winner Peter Farrelly (I Play Rocky), Shakespeare in Love Oscar nominee John Madden (Onwards and Sideways), Chris Rock (Misty Green) and Anton Corbijn (A Talent for Murder).

TIFF also will feature the world debuts of Prima Facie, from British director Susanna White starring three-time Oscar nominee Cynthia Erivo, and The Assassin(s) from Korean filmmaker Hur Jin-ho, whose A Normal Family played Toronto in 2023.

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Among others screenings are Friends star Courteney Cox directing debut Evil Genius, Tim Blake Nelson’s prison thriller The Life and Deaths of Wilson Shedd, One Battle After Another breakout Chase Infiniti’s The Julia Set and director Rebel Wilson’s The Deb follow-up Girl Group.

Scroll below to read about Deadline’s reviews out of TIFF 2026, and click on the link to read the full versions. Keep checking back as we add more.

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Section: Gala Presentations
Director: Siân Heder
Cast: Ruth Madeley, Mark Ruffalo, Dylan O’Brien, Madeline Delp, Rob Delaney, Ray Fisher, Michael Patrick Thornton, Antwan Tolliver, Daniel Durant, Jon Beavers, Roberta Colindrez, Russell Harvard
Deadline’s takeaway: While the title is a reference to disability rights activist Judy Heumann’s tireless efforts in legislating accessibility, this biopic is better viewed as an ensemble piece that captures the entire movement she championed. Its two-hour runtime is somewhat excessive but perhaps prudent to capture the sit-in’s grueling length. — GG

Section: Special Presentations
Director: Paul Andrew Williams
Cast: Erin Doherty, James McAvoy, Liv Hill, Smylie Bradwell
Deadline’s takeaway: The latest from British indie stalwart Paul Andrew Williams is an emotional chamber piece with a slow-burn supernatural twist that punches well above its weight, especially when star Erin Doherty’s heartbreaking performance reaches chilling new heights of what can only be described as “raw.” — DW

Section: Gala Presentations
Director: Rebel Wilson
Cast: Rebel Wilson, Randall Park, Sheridan Smith, Melanie Chisholm, Nicole Scherzinger, Jamie-Lee O’Donnell, Shaznay Lewis, Ashley Roberts, Judi Love, Guz Khan, Chabely Ponce, Daniela Couso, Lilah Pate, Mia Kaplan, Bailey Stender, Loren Gray, Miracle Washington, Ana Yi Puig, Keith Duffy, Chris Colfer, Bechill, Jolene, Sally Hawkins, Jennifer Coolidge
Deadline’s takeaway: Rebel Wilson has returned to her roots with a fun, character-driven musical comedy, and she hits all the right notes as both star and director. Girl Group is an addictively enjoyable film blends heart and humor and is sure to appeal to anyone who couldn’t stop singing “Cups (When I’m Gone)” for the majority of 2011. — GG

Section: Special Presentations
Director: Ben Shirinian
Cast: Naomi Watts, Luke Evans, Tye Sheridan, Lena Olin, Michael Imperioli, Ron Leo
Deadline’s takeaway: In an enormously tricky and risky performance, Naomi Watts is stunning as a seemingly typical 1950s Queens housewife who harbors a horrific secret, and Ben Shirinian’s impressive debut feature stands out as it tries to show how one person can embody the worst, most monstrous aspects of humanity and then lock it away. — PH

Section: Midnight Madness
Director: Joshua Giuliano
Cast: Jane Levy, Jessica Rothe, Max Mattern, Dane Di­Liegro
Deadline’s takeaway: There’s an eerie simplicity that separates Joshua Giuliano’s debut feature film from others in the slasher genre, only leaning into tropes when it makes sense, and not falling into the trap of overly stylizing for the sake of appealing to under-stimulated horror fans. — GG

Section: Discovery
Director: Theo Rhys
Cast: Jodie Comer, Harry Melling
Deadline’s takeaway: “Sweeney Todd with taxidermy” is the high-concept pitch behind this doozy of a musical black comedy that, ambitiously, attempts to make a serious point about modern-day loneliness and, thanks to its terrific core cast, pretty much succeeds. Hal Ashby’s Harold and Maude is about as close a comparison as you might find in this very niche genre. — DW