What Esquire Editors Are Watching This Weekend

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Esquire has published a weekend entertainment guide for October 23, 2026, highlighting films in theaters and new or returning streaming titles. Picks include Wildwood, Clayface and Wicker in cinemas, and The Cycle, Nobody Wants This season 3 and Cyberpunk: Edgerunners 2 online.

Esquire has published its weekend watchlist for October 23, 2026, naming new theatrical releases and streaming premieres for readers planning what to watch. The guide highlights Wildwood, Clayface and Wicker in cinemas, alongside titles including Shudder’s horror film The Cycle and returning Netflix series Nobody Wants This.

The guide covers a crowded late-October entertainment slate, with selections divided between theaters and streaming or television. In cinemas, it lists Wildwood, a stop-motion fantasy adapted from Colin Meloy’s 2011 novel; Clayface, described as a psychological horror film set in the DC Universe; and Wicker, a fantasy romance featuring Olivia Colman, Peter Dinklage and Alexander Skarsgård.

Esquire’s streaming picks include The Cycle on Shudder, a creature feature centered on a forensic anthropologist whose missing father turns up at a crime scene, and Swipe Right on the Devil, a three-part Hulu docuseries about the 2017 disappearance of Sydney Loofe. The guide also lists Cyberpunk: Edgerunners 2 and the third season of Nobody Wants This on Netflix.

Other items include Adam Conover’s stand-up special, Big Divorce Energy, which the report says was scheduled for release on YouTube at 5 p.m. Eastern on October 23, and the return of True Romance to Netflix. Esquire presents these as editorial recommendations; the descriptions and favorable judgments in the guide are the publication’s assessments, not independent findings.

A Crowded Halloween Viewing Slate

The list gives viewers a quick map of entertainment arriving just before Halloween, when theatrical releases and seasonal horror programming compete for attention. It also places a stop-motion fantasy, a superhero-universe horror film and a romance alongside documentary and comedy options, rather than focusing only on horror.

For readers, the guide’s practical value is its mix of formats and services: some titles require a cinema visit, while others are listed for Shudder, Hulu, Netflix or YouTube. Availability may vary by location and platform, so the article is best treated as a selection guide rather than a complete release calendar.

The Week Before Halloween

Esquire frames the recommendations as part of a busy October entertainment calendar, with Halloween one week away. Its introduction refers to You Can See Everything, another recent release, before turning to titles still arriving during the final stretch of the month. The guide’s focus is therefore a specific weekend, not a general ranking of the year’s films or series.

Several selections are described through their creative origins or genre. Wildwood adapts a novel by Colin Meloy and comes from LAIKA, the studio behind Coraline, ParaNorman and Kubo and the Two Strings, according to Esquire. Clayface is presented as a psychological horror entry in the DC Universe, while Cyberpunk: Edgerunners 2 is described as a disconnected sequel following a new group in Night City. These details help explain the range of the recommendations without establishing how audiences or critics will respond.

“A dark and deep modern fantasy about a young girl trying to rescue her baby brother from a secret world of talking animals and warring tribes.”

— Esquire’s report on Wildwood

Release Details and Reception

The source is an editorial watchlist, not a full distribution schedule. It does not give theater locations, showtimes, regional streaming availability or viewing restrictions for each selection. Readers may need to check local listings and platform pages to confirm access.

Esquire’s evaluative descriptions—including its praise for Wildwood and The Cycle—are opinions from the publication’s editors. The report does not provide independent audience figures, review aggregates or box-office results, so the titles’ reception and commercial performance cannot be established from this material. It also does not say whether every listed release will be available in all markets on the stated dates.

Where to Check Availability

Readers can use Esquire’s October 23 guide to shortlist titles, then check local cinema listings and the relevant streaming services for current availability. The article identifies a specific release time for Adam Conover’s YouTube special, but gives no comparable time for the other selections. As the Halloween weekend approaches, platform catalogs and local screening schedules are the details most likely to guide viewers’ plans.

Key Questions

What is Esquire recommending in theaters?

The guide lists Wildwood, Clayface and Wicker as theatrical options for the weekend of October 23, 2026.

Which horror titles are in the watchlist?

Esquire highlights The Cycle on Shudder and Clayface in theaters. It also lists Hulu’s true-crime docuseries Swipe Right on the Devil, which concerns a missing-person case.

What new or returning series are listed?

The selections include Nobody Wants This season 3 and Cyberpunk: Edgerunners 2, both listed on Netflix.

When does Adam Conover’s special arrive?

Esquire says Adam Conover: Big Divorce Energy was scheduled to release on his YouTube channel at 5 p.m. Eastern on October 23, 2026.

Does the guide confirm availability in every location?

No. The report does not provide regional availability or local theater schedules. Viewers should check the relevant service or cinema listings before making plans.

Source: rss