2026 Box Office Showdown: Timothée Chalamet vs Tom Holland — Who Claims the Crown?

Two of the biggest under-30 stars in movies are somehow on a collision course in 2026 without actually competing head-to-head: Timothee Chalamet is steering one massive sci‑fi sequel, and Tom Holland is splitting his year between a prestige epic and the friendly neighborhood juggernaut that made him famous. The fun twist? They clearly like each other. Which makes this a lot more 'who has the busier year?' than 'choose a side.'

First, the vibes

They have a mutual hype thing going. Holland once joked to LADbible that Chalamet has him beat in the looks department, and Chalamet countered by calling Holland 'the ultimate rizz master' – which Holland happily laughed off when he saw the clip. So yes, friendly, a little flirty, and completely unbothered.

2026 at a glance

• Dune: Part Three (Dec 18, 2026) – Chalamet returns to Arrakis
• The Odyssey (July 17, 2026) – Holland teams with Christopher Nolan
• Spider-Man: Brand New Day (July 31, 2026) – Holland puts the suit back on

Chalamet: one giant sandworm of a movie

Chalamet is keeping 2026 clean for one thing: Dune: Part Three. The story is set twelve years after the events of Dune: Part Two, with him back as Paul Atreides. The returning/rumored ensemble is stacked: Zendaya, Florence Pugh, Javier Bardem, Robert Pattinson, Anya Taylor-Joy, and even Jason Momoa are in the mix. Denis Villeneuve is adapting Frank Herbert's second novel, Dune: Messiah, after turning the first book into a two-film hit.

Villeneuve has been open about wanting a trilogy since 2023, and in December he told South Korean press (via Empire) that the Messiah script was almost finished and a third film just made sense. It checks out considering how strong the first two performed: Dune made $433,796,625 worldwide on a reported $165 million budget (per Box Office Mojo), and Dune: Part Two jumped to $715 million, one of 2024's biggest. The only caveat: Dune: Messiah has never been as universally beloved as the first book, so Villeneuve will have to juice the drama to keep this third movie feeling bigger, not just bleaker.

Holland: two big swings, two very different lanes

The Nolan epic

Holland co-stars in The Odyssey, Christopher Nolan's take on Homer's epic, back at Universal after Oppenheimer. Production filmed in Morocco and Sicily. Matt Damon is Odysseus, Holland plays Telemachus, and the ensemble is the kind of names-on-names casting that turns studio heads: Zendaya, Anne Hathaway, Lupita Nyong'o, Robert Pattinson, Benny Safdie, Charlize Theron, Jon Bernthal, Himesh Patel, Elliot Page, Bill Irwin, Samantha Morton, Jesse Garcia, and Will Yun Lee.

The movie is locked down tight on plot, but one wild little detail already popped: IMAX announced on July 17, 2025 that 70mm tickets were on sale a full year early, and according to THR they sold out within an hour for about $1.5 million in sales, with resale prices shooting up to the $300–$400 range. After Oppenheimer's critical, commercial, and awards run, the expectations machine is humming.

The Spidey homecoming (again)

Holland is also back in the suit for Spider-Man: Brand New Day, which wrapped principal photography after starting earlier this year. The cast list is a busy one: Zendaya, Jacob Batalon, Sadie Sink, Liza Colon-Zayas, Jon Bernthal, Mark Ruffalo, Michael Mando, Tramell Tillman, and Marvin Jones III are all aboard.

Box office history says this franchise knows how to print money: Homecoming did $880.9 million, Far From Home hit $1.133 billion, and No Way Home leapt to $1.9 billion thanks to the multiverse reunion. If recent superhero fatigue sticks around – this year saw softer-than-hoped numbers for titles like The Fantastic Four and Superman – that could tamp expectations a bit. But a $1 billion run is still very much on the table for Spidey.

Who wins 2026?

Purely by output, Holland has the edge. Two tentpoles in six weeks is tough to beat, even if one underperforms. That said, Chalamet has a clear shot at delivering the year's most attention-grabbing performance if Dune: Part Three sticks the landing. He is already getting loud praise for his current film Marty Supreme – some critics are calling it career-defining – and he has not been shy about how he feels he is operating right now.

'This is probably my best performance, and it has been like seven, eight years that I feel like I have been handing in really, really committed, top-of-the-line performances. And it is important to say out loud because the discipline and the work ethic I am bringing to these things, I do not want people to take for granted. I do not want to take for granted. This is really some top-level sh*t.'

Bold? Absolutely. But if he backs it up with Dune, do not be shocked if his name is front-and-center in the 2026 Best Actor conversation.

The side plot: real-life updates

If you track off-screen stories too, fans are hoping 2026 brings personal news as well. Holland and Zendaya are reportedly engaged as of earlier this year, so their status updates will light up feeds. Chalamet might also end up making headlines again with Kylie Jenner. All of which is just dessert to the main course next summer and holiday season.

Dates to circle

The Odyssey lands July 17, 2026. Spider-Man: Brand New Day follows on July 31, 2026. Dune: Part Three closes the year on December 18, 2026. Clear some space on your calendar now – apparently IMAX already did.