The Newport Beach Film Festival returns for its 27th year October 15 to 22, 2026, with more than 100 features and 250 shorts from 21 countries. The Centerpiece slate reads like an awards season preview: James Gray’s Paper Tiger, Danny Boyle’s Ink, and Martin McDonagh’s Wild Horse Nine.
Tickets are on sale now. The opening and closing night films have not been announced yet, and NBFF Honors and more titles are due in the coming weeks. Here is what the festival and its ticketing site show as of September 28, 2026.
The quick version
| When | Thursday, October 15, through Thursday, October 22, 2026 |
| Where | Theaters around Newport Beach, including Regal Edwards Big Newport and the Lido Theater |
| Highlights | Paper Tiger, Ink, Wild Horse Nine, Jimmy, plus nightly showcase parties |
| Tickets | $20 per standard screening plus a $2.05 fee |
| Passes | Party Pass $300, Premier Insider $950 |
| Ages | Screenings open to all (parental discretion advised); galas and after-parties 21+ |
| Official site | newportbeachfilmfest.com |
What’s screening
Centerpiece films
The festival says many guild members attend the Centerpiece screenings, so expect full houses. The dated ones so far:
| Film | When |
|---|---|
| Jimmy (Aaron Burns), West Coast premiere | Saturday, October 17, 5:30 p.m. |
| Wild Horse Nine (Martin McDonagh), with Sam Rockwell, John Malkovich, Steve Buscemi, Parker Posey, and Tom Waits | Saturday, October 17, 8 p.m., Big Newport |
| Paper Tiger (James Gray), with Adam Driver, Scarlett Johansson, and Miles Teller | Sunday, October 18, 1:15 p.m. |
| Ink (Danny Boyle), with Jack O’Connell, Guy Pearce, and Claire Foy, Southern California premiere | Sunday, October 18, 1:30 p.m. |
The rest of the Centerpiece section: …And Out Comes the Wolf (Danny Peykoff, world premiere), A Talent for Murder (Anton Corbijn), In Waves (Phuong Mai Nguyen, Southern California premiere), Josephine (Beth de Araújo), The Liberation (Guy Nattiv), Minotaur (Andrey Zvyagintsev), Once Upon a Time in Harlem (David Greaves and William Greaves), and The Only Living Pickpocket in New York (Noah Segan).
International Spotlight
Titles come from 15 countries, including Poland’s Oscar submission Fatherland from Paweł Pawlikowski, Hirokazu Kore-eda’s Look Back, and Ali Asgari’s A Bit of Light (North American premiere). Jeju Olle and The Body Is Water are world premieres. Tolkien fans, note There’s a Hole in My Bucket, a documentary co-directed by J.R.R. Tolkien’s great-grandson Royd Tolkien.
Documentaries
- Pop culture: Ron Howard’s Avedon, The Sixty-Year Mission: How Star Trek Changed Television and the World, and world premieres As Far Back as I Can Remember… The Story of Goodfellas and Sock It to Me: The Legend of George Schlatter.
- Music: Frampton, Kenny Loggins: Conviction of the Heart, and the smooth jazz world premiere Smooth World.
- Science and history: Nanette Burstein’s Carl Sagan: We Are Made of Star Stuff, Who Killed Alex Odeh?, and Cecil B. DeMille, the Inventor of Blockbuster.
- Ocean: Don’t Be Prey, about open water swimming.
The party nights
NBFF pairs screenings with nightly parties, with more than 60 culinary partners across the week. The showcase after-parties on the schedule:
- Latin Showcase After Party: Monday, October 19, 10 p.m.
- European Showcase After Party: Tuesday, October 20, 10 p.m.
- Pacific Rim Showcase After Party: Wednesday, October 21, 10 p.m.
The Opening Night Gala features more than 30 culinary partners, live entertainment, and complimentary drinks, per the Party Pass listing. Galas and after-parties are 21+ with no exceptions because they have hosted bars.
Passes and tickets
Everything is sold through NBFF’s Eventive page.
- Single tickets: $20 plus a $2.05 fee for a standard screening, as listed on Eventive on September 28.
- Party Pass, $300: the Opening Night Gala plus the Latin, European, and Pacific Rim showcase after-parties. It does not include the International Spotlight films.
- Premier Insider, $950: the opening night screening and gala, reservations for up to four films a day for seven days, after-parties, Fashion Island Mainstage events, Sunset Series receptions, and the option to reserve Centerpiece and Spotlight screenings. Quantities are limited.
Pass holders still need to reserve a ticket for each screening, one reservation per event, and a pass does not get you into sold-out events. All pass sales are final.
How to plan
| If you… | Try |
|---|---|
| Want the awards season films | Book Wild Horse Nine, Paper Tiger, and Ink early. The festival says guild members attend Centerpiece screenings |
| Want a night out | The Party Pass covers the gala and three showcase after-parties |
| Want to binge | Premier Insider, up to four films a day |
| Want one great doc | A $20 single ticket |
Venues and getting there
- Regal Edwards Big Newport, 300 Newport Center Dr., Newport Beach, CA 92660. Home of the Wild Horse Nine screening. Under an approved redevelopment, the theater is scheduled to close no later than June 30, 2027, before next year’s festival dates.
- Lido Theater, 3459 Via Lido, Newport Beach, CA 92663.
- Fashion Island hosts the festival’s Mainstage events, and the festival has used THE LOT at Fashion Island in past years.
The festival’s travel guide points visitors to John Wayne Airport, Newport Beach’s primary airport. The festival has not posted 2026 parking details for each venue.
Accessibility
NBFF has not published accessibility details for 2026. Contact the festival through its contact page with questions before you buy.
A little history
Founded in 1999, NBFF is a nonprofit that calls itself the largest international cinema event in coastal Southern California, drawing more than 50,000 attendees a year. It opened its 2005 festival with the North American premiere of Crash. Gregg Schwenk is CEO and executive director.
Still to come
The opening and closing night films, the NBFF Honors lineup, the opening night venue, and venue parking details are still to come. The 824 Journal will update this guide as the festival announces them.
Sources
- Newport Beach Film Festival, official site
- NBFF 2026 on Eventive (schedule, film pages, passes)
- NBFF: FAQ
- NBFF: Festival history
- Film Threat: Newport Beach Film Festival 2026 lineup (September 23, 2026)
- Hoodline: NBFF’s 2026 slate arrives before Big Newport’s planned closure
Featured photo: Sewageboy via Wikimedia Commons, CC0
