It was a year that reinforced Scottish cinema as a global force to be reckoned with, while a Hollywood superstar would earn praise and criticism, after receiving a $20 million payday for a film that was—honestly?—a little hit and miss with critics, but has since become a cult classic.
1996 saw franchises being given a new lease of life, with successful shows transitioning from the small screen to the silver screen. Disney started their tactic of making live-action versions of some of their classics. And a little film noir, set in cold, snowy climates and dealing with moral ambiguities, would become the Oscar darling that season. We were also set to have the future of home cinema released a year later after their initial release in Japan - something they call a “doovd.”
Sorry, I meant DVD.
Feeling old yet? It’ll be 30 years in 2026 since we last went to the cinema to see some of these incredible and/or cult classics. Here are 30 films throughout that year that became mainstays on television and video rental stores (remember them? They existed back then still!), and in some cases would influence many films to come decades later.
Did you go to the cinema or hire any of these films out upon their release?
7. The Craft (May 3)
This dark supernatural thriller quickly became a defining cult classic for alternative teen culture, mixing high school angst with genuine occult practice. Its commercial success, particularly among young women, signalled Hollywood's increasing appetite for darker, more empowered female-led genre stories. | Columbia Pictures
8. Twister (May 10)
This film cemented the rise of digital special effects and high-concept disaster movies. Grossing over $495 million worldwide, it was the second-highest-grossing film of the year and was the first film to be released on the new digital versatile disc (DVD) format, making it a technical landmark. | Universal /Warner Bros.
9. Mission: Impossible (May 22)
Brian De Palma’s stylish film relaunched Tom Cruise’s iconic franchise. To capitalise on the star power, it was the first film to be released in over 3,000 theatres in the US, opening in a then-record 3,012 locations and setting a new industry standard for wide releases. | Murray Close/Getty Images
10. The Rock (June 7)
The essential Michael Bay action film. Produced by the explosive duo Don Simpson and Jerry Bruckheimer, it was a box office smash, earning over $335 million globally. Famously, the British Secret Intelligence Service was later misled by an agent who based false reports about Iraqi chemical weapons on the plot of The Rock. | Hollywood Picutres
11. The Cable Guy (June 14)
This dark, subversive psychological thriller was a massive departure for Jim Carrey, who was paid an unprecedented $20 million for his role—the first actor in history to command that salary for a single film. Though divisive upon release, it is now celebrated for its prophetic satire on media obsession and loneliness. | Columbia Pictures
12. The Hunchback of Notre Dame (June 21)
Disney’s most dramatically ambitious animated film of the Renaissance era, the production tackled mature themes of religious hypocrisy and lust. The production team famously borrowed sets from other Disney films for background scenes and cityscapes, including elements from the unproduced film Toots and the Dragon, demonstrating an early reuse strategy. | Disney