The documentary slate for 2026 is already shaping up to be both full and promising, with major new films promising to reveal more about the lives of public figures, provocative topics and historical events. From the assassination attempt on Salman Rushdie to artificial intelligence, a Billie Jean King retrospective to Elon Musk, here are some of the most hotly anticipated documentaries of the year.
Potentially combining buzz and prestige at this year's Sundance film festival is Knife: The Attempted Murder of Salman Rushdie, film-maker Alex Gibney's nonfiction adaptation of the writer's bestselling memoir. The film details the 2022 onstage assassination attempt that cost Rushdie his vision in one eye. It reportedly combines never-before-seen footage of the Indian-born, British-raised writer's recovery, filmed by his wife 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.
Gibney is also behind a documentary on Elon Musk, which has been in production on and off for years. The film promises to provide a 'definitive and unvarnished examination' of the erratic entrepreneur, with participation from those formerly in his orbit, though 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.
Other notable documentaries include John Wilson's feature-length debut on the history of concrete, which premieres at Sundance later this month; Oz, produced by Leonardo DiCaprio and Danny Strong, revisiting the production of the 1939 classic; and a concert film of Billie Eilish's Hit Me Hard and Soft tour, shot by James Cameron using innovative 3D technology.
