In honor of America's 250th birthday, here are 50 must-see American movies that celebrate who we are, who we've been and who we can be.

From 'Borat' to 'The Godfather,' 'Ferris Bueller' to 'Sorry to Bother You,' these are the films that capture the nation's essence in a way the Founders didn't exactly lay out 250 years ago.

Note: Only films that were fully released in 2026 so far were up for inclusion, so no festival favorites or titles that haven’t hit theaters yet — “Evil Dead Burn,” Zach Cregger’s “Resident Evil” and Robert Eggers’ “Werwulf,” to name a few — could make the cut.

Bask in the essence of summer with these essential seasonal picks.

The Good-Bad series, my exploration of movies that are irresistible in spite of themselves, is perhaps the pinnacle of this tendency. I treat movies such as “Grease 2,” “Batman & Robin,” “Practical Magic” or “Volcano” as perfect vehicles for contemplating the nature of entertainment.

The summer box office is getting two of the year’s biggest films this month thanks to Christopher Nolan’s “The Odyssey” and “Spider-Man: Brand New Day.” But the streamers are also rolling out some 2026 blockbusters of their own.

This July, stream "Wicked: For Good," Oscar winner "Hamnet," and all "The Hunger Games" movies on Netflix.

4 movies that unintentionally made humanity worse through their cultural impact (Spider-Man, Casper, Bill & Ted)

A number of movies and web series will be available to watch over the weekend. Major releases include Rajkumar Hirani's Pritam and Pedro and Enola Holmes 3, starring Millie Bobby Brown.