January 28 Movie Releases: Films to Watch, Series to Follow, Until February 4
From January 28 to February 4, your movie and series week is packed with outstanding theatrical releases, a few event series, and the Oscars and César nominations that are already reshaping the rest of the season.
In Theaters: Films to See (and Avoid)
January 28, 2026 Releases, The Essentials
- Life After Siham (Namir Abdel Messeeh)
- Fuck in the City (Martin Jauvat)
- Promised Heaven (Erige Sehiri)
- The Grace (Paolo Sorrentino)
- The Whale Hunter (Philipp Yuryev)
- Send Help (Sam Raimi)
- Nuremberg
- Guru
Must-Sees
Life After Siham, Namir Abdel Messeeh
Intimate documentary where the filmmaker traces his family history between Egypt and France starting from his mother’s death, keeping the promise of a film “made with her” despite her absence. Selected for ACID at Cannes 2025, the film blends archives, humor, and grief to create a deeply personal gesture about transmission and what cinema saves from the dead.
Fuck in the City, Martin Jauvat
Tender and dreamy comedy set in Seine-et-Marne: Sprite, 25, stuck on a bathtub drain confiscated by his mother, is finally forced to get moving and enter adulthood. Martin Jauvat films a rarely seen suburb, plays with pop colors, and reinvents masculinity between camaraderie, soccer, and the right to fail, with a very unique bittersweet humor.
Promised Heaven, Erige Sehiri
Franco-Tunisian drama presented at Un Certain Regard at Cannes 2025, about three Ivorian women in Tunis, between odd jobs and an evangelical church, starring Aïssa Maïga. Sehiri films exile as an in-between state, between the country left behind and a fantasized Europe, with a gentle mise-en-scène that never erases the social and racial violence of reality.
The Grace, Paolo Sorrentino
Sorrentino reunites with Toni Servillo as an Italian president at the end of his term, confronted with two pardon requests that awaken old intimate and political ghosts. Baroque drama presented at Venice 2025, The Grace blends solitude of power, guilt, and the question of forgiveness, in a sophisticated mise-en-scène that turns the presidential palace into a mental labyrinth.
The Whale Hunter, Philipp Yuryev
At the edge of the Bering Strait, Leshka, a teen from an isolated village, hunts whales and fantasizes about an American cam girl discovered online, until he considers crossing to the “elsewhere.” Contemplative coming-of-age tale, the film is praised for its landscapes, melancholy, and reflection on the dream of the West seen from the margins.
Send Help, Sam Raimi
Horrific and humorous survival thriller: after a crash, Linda (Rachel McAdams) and her boss Bradley (Dylan O’Brien) are stranded alone on a desert island, in a power struggle that turns nightmarish. On a script by Damian Shannon and Mark Swift, Raimi promises a mix of suspense, black humor, and cruel twists in a minimalist setup.
Trailer
To Avoid
Nuremberg
Overly didactic historical reconstruction that piles up illustrative trial scenes without a true perspective or dramatic tension.
Guru
Pseudo-spiritual thriller on cult drifts, weighed down by schematic characters and flashy staging that recycles genre clichés without depth.
Read the full Guru review
Series: The Week’s Must-Watch
The Danish Neighbor, Black Comedy (Arte)
Online: Available on arte.tv from January 29.
On Air: Thursday, February 5 at 8:55 PM, episode 1/6.
Created and directed by Benedikt Erlingsson, The Danish Neighbor follows Ditte Jensen, a retired Danish secret service agent settled in a small Reykjavik building, who deals with neighborhood nuisances—indelicate cat, party-loving neighbor, obnoxious teen, drug baron—in a radical way. Trine Dyrholm portrays a rebellious, borderline heroine in a series described as “delightfully enjoyable,” blending social satire and black humor, with a sung and danced opening credits by the actress.
Bridgerton Chronicles, Back on Netflix (January 29)
On January 29, Netflix relaunches Bridgerton Chronicles with a new batch of episodes centered on Benedict, in a very “Cinderella” plot: masked ball, mysterious stranger, class difference. The series stays true to the Shondaland recipe (inclusive Regency romance, maximal stylization, serialized storytelling), making it the reliable comfort-watch for the weekend.
Heated Rivalry, Week’s Teaser (HBO Max / Canal+)
Note: Heated Rivalry arrives on February 6, just after the January 28 to February 4 period.
The week ends on a big teaser: Heated Rivalry hits HBO Max (via Canal+) on February 6, with weekly episodes. Adapted from Rachel Reid’s Game Changers novels, the series follows the rivalry-turned-secret-romance of two hockey stars, Shane Hollander and Ilya Rozanov, over several sports seasons. It’s already heralded as one of winter’s major queer series, blending sports tension, LGBTQ+ representation, and critique of virility in pro sports.
The Fabulous Destiny of Amélie Poulain, The Classic (Arte)
On January 28 at 8:55 PM, Arte airs The Fabulous Destiny of Amélie Poulain, with editorial highlights on its site. Revisiting Jeunet in 2026, alongside The Danish Neighbor, creates a lovely diptych: two women who decide to “change” their neighbors’ lives, one through gentleness, the other through very expeditious justice.
Oscars 2026: The Global Race Heats Up
The 2026 Oscar nominations, unveiled on January 22, clearly shape the rest of the season. The 98th ceremony will take place on March 15, 2026, in Los Angeles.
Sinners by Ryan Coogler sets a historic record with 16 nominations, surpassing the 14 nods of “All About Eve,” “Titanic,” and “La La Land.”
Best Picture: Bugonia, Frankenstein, F1, Hamnet, Marty Supreme, One Battle After Another, The Secret Agent, Sentimental Value, Sinners, Train Dreams.
The Main Contenders
Sinners dominates overwhelmingly, present in Best Picture, Director, Screenplay, Acting, and several technical categories. One Battle After Another (Paul Thomas Anderson), Frankenstein (Guillermo del Toro), Hamnet (Chloé Zhao), Marty Supreme, and Sentimental Value also rack up major nods.
Best Actor: Timothée Chalamet (Marty Supreme), Leonardo DiCaprio (One Battle After Another), Ethan Hawke (Blue Moon), Michael B. Jordan (Sinners), Wagner Moura (The Secret Agent).
Best Actress: Jessie Buckley (Hamnet), Rose Byrne (If I Had Legs I’d Kick You), Kate Hudson (Song Sung Blue), Renate Reinsve (Sentimental Value), Emma Stone (Bugonia).
César 2026: The Portrait of French Cinema
The 2026 César nominations, revealed on January 27, paint a very coherent picture of French cinema. The 51st ceremony will take place on February 26, 2026, with Camille Cottin as president and Benjamin Lavernhe as host; Jim Carrey will receive an honorary César.
New Wave by Richard Linklater is the frontrunner with 10 nominations, in Best Film, Director, and several artistic categories. Trailing are Dossier 137, The Attachment by Emmanuel Marre and Julie Lecoustre, and The Unknown at the Grande Arche, which anchor the rest of the lineup.
Acting and Crafts
Best Actor: Claes Bang (The Unknown at the Grande Arche), Bastien Bouillon (Partir un jour), Laurent Lafitte (The Richest Woman in the World), Pio Marmaï (The Attachment), Benjamin Voisin (The Stranger).
Best Actress: Leïla Bekhti (My Mother, God, and Sylvie Vartan), Valeria Bruni Tedeschi (The Attachment), and several figures from contemporary auteur cinema.
The technical categories (cinematography, sound, production design, music, costumes, visual effects) confirm the excellent artisanal health of French cinema, with The Attachment, Dossier 137, The Little Last One, Dog 51, and The Richest Woman in the World heavily featured.
Conclusion
Between the deeply intimate documentary (Life After Siham), the pop suburban comedy (Fuck in the City), the political or migratory dramas (The Grace, Promised Heaven), and this shower of Oscar and César nominations, your week from January 28 to February 4 acts as a concentrate of awards season: the industry crowns its heavyweights while theaters bring to life the films that truly nourish the gaze.
If you have a film or series to recommend this week, write to me in the comments.
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