“I could never love anyone as I love my sisters” is both something Winona Ryder proclaims in Gillian Armstrong’s 1994 adaptation of Little Women and what I have said dozens upon dozens of times about my own sisters. No one can get under my skin quite like them, and no one makes me laugh as hard as them. They’re my favorite people in the entire world. I’m sister-pilled forever and always, which means I’m always on the hunt for sisters on film.
Our representation on the silver screen is impressively diverse. Films like Rachel Getting Married and What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? showcase the resentment that can fester between sisters and lead to explosive confrontations. Horror films such as A Tale of Two Sisters and Raw contort sisterly bonds into the starting points of terror, whereas comedies like Sisters and The Skeleton Twins lean into the humor that can arise from reconnecting with an estranged sister. Children’s films often rely heavily on portrayals of the aloof older sister who gradually reveals she cares, like in ParaNorman, or of the hovering, annoying younger sister the older sibling grows to appreciate, like in Bridge to Terabithia—or a little bit of both, like in Ramona and Beezus. Perhaps the greatest use of sisters in film arises in the depictions that illustrate the ways sisters can emotionally, figuratively and even literally save their siblings’ lives.
2026 has been an excellent year for highlighting that particular brand of sister in film. Gone are the days of sisters acting as damsels in distress: it’s the era of savior sisters. From dramas such as Is God Is and Sense and Sensibility to genre hybrids such as The End of Oak Street and They Will Kill You, to highly anticipated sequels including Practical Magic 2, Ready or Not 2: Here I Come and The Super Mario Galaxy Movie, there’s been an almost endless stream of sisters taking matters into their own hands and saving their siblings on the big screen this year. Now with Wildwood out in the world, we’re counting off twenty must-see films that illustrate all the ways our sisters can save us.