We give you the low down on the movies that are most likely to be blockbusters this year.
The next 12 months look great for Sci-Fi and Fantasy geeks. It’s a big year for superhero smackdowns as Marvel’s Captain America and Iron Man get into it, while DC’s Batman and Superman go head-to-head too. The X-Men take on Apocalypse, and the Suicide Squad takes down the Joker, while Deadpool, Doctor Strange and Gambit all have their own adventures. That comic book bubble ain’t bursting in the next 12 months, it seems. Meanwhile, Star Trek and Star Wars are blasting out of hyperspace with “Star Trek Beyond,” co-written by Simon Pegg, and the first Star Wars spin-off, “Rogue One.”
And it’s time to return to more beloved titles of the past too. There’s a new, rebooted “Ghostbusters,” not to mention belated sequels to “Independence Day” and “Finding Nemo.” Jason Bourne is back in action, as are the teen heroes of “Divergent.” JK Rowling takes us back to Harry Potter’s wizarding world in “Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them,” while classic novels “The BFG” and “Alice Through the Looking Glass” get the big-screen treatment. So does the Jane Austen classic “Pride and Prejudice” — with the addition of a few zombies, of course.Gaming fans can console themselves with movies based on “Assassin’s Creed,” “World of Warcraft” and, er, “Angry Birds.”
1. Superman VS. Batman: Dawn of Justice – In another superhero scrap, DC’s man of steel, Henry Cavill, faces off against dark knight Ben Affleck in Zack Snyder’s in “Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice.” Also along for the ride are Amy Adams as Lois Lane, Jesse Eisenberg as Lex Luthor, Jeremy Irons as Alfred the butler and Gal Gadot as Wonder Woman.
2. Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them – Expecto a new adventure in the magical world of “Harry Potter,” based on the story by JK Rowling. Eddie Redmayne is Newt Scamander, a wizard hunting magical creatures in 1920s New York.
3. Star Trek Beyond – Simon Pegg is on co-writing duties, and “Fast and Furious” director Justin Lin directs the action at warp speed for the third in the rebooted Trek series. Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto and Zoe Saldana are joined on their continuing mission to explore strange new worlds by Idris Elba and “Kingsman” star Sofia Boutella.
4. Pride + Prejudice + Zombies – Former “Doctor Who” star Matt Smith mashes up Jane Austen and the undead.
5. Deadpool – Hotly anticipated comic book action with Ryan Reynolds as the fast-talking “merc with a mouth,” Wade Wilson. Oscar-winning animator Tim Miller, the man behind the stylish opening sequences of “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo” and “Thor: The Dark World,” makes his directorial debut. Very adult carnage ensues.
6. X-Men: Apocalypse – The ninth X-Men movie sees Marvel’s heroes face off against Apocalypse, the first and most powerful mutant, played by “Star Wars” star Oscar Isaac (pictured above with blue on his face). James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender and Jennifer Lawrence lead the cast of multiple mutants.
7. Doctor Strange – People are strange as Benedict Cumberbatch takes on the role of Marvel’s mystical medic, joined by Chiwetel Ejiofor, Rachel McAdams, Mads Mikkelsen and Tilda Swinton.
8. Bourne 5 – Matt Damon is Bourne again, with Paul Greengrass back in the director’s chair for more amnesiac action adventure. Tommy Lee Jones joins “Ex Machina” star Alicia Vikander.
9. The Jungle Book – Disney continues its run of live action-ifying its library of animated classics. Jon Favreau directs with Bill Murray, Ben Kingsley, Idris Elba, Lupita Nyong’o, Scarlett Johansson and Christopher Walken lending their voices.
10. Alice Through The Looking Glass – This one’s a sequel to Tim Burton’s movie “Alice in Wonderland” based on the Lewis Carroll classic, starring Mia Wasikowska, with Helena Bonham Carter, Anne Hathaway and Johnny Depp as the Mad Hatter. Stephen Fry, Alan Rickman, Michael Sheen and Barbara Windsor lend their voices.
11. Finding Dory – Just when you thought it was safe to go back in the water, Ellen DeGeneres is back as absent-minded Dory with Albert Brooks in the animated sequel to “Finding Nemo.”
12. The Angry Birds Movie – Remember Angry Birds? “Game of Thrones” star Peter Dinklage is joined by “Saturday Night Live” stars Jason Sudeikis, Maya Rudolph and Bill Hader as they lend their voices to the big-screen animated versions of the furious fowl from 2009’s most vexed mobile game.
13. The Finest Hours – Chris Pine and Casey Affleck face disaster on the high seas in this 3D recounting of the true-life Pendleton rescue of 1952, when US Coast Guard crewmen heroically battled to save the crews of two stricken oil tankers.
14. Snowden – Firebrand director Oliver Stone directs Joseph Gordon-Levitt in the true-life story of Edward Snowden, the former CIA employee who leaked classified information about government surveillance to the media. Zachary Quinto and Nicolas Cage co-star.
15. Captain America: Civil War – If there’s any film that could beat the long awaited Captain America: Civil War, then you’re welcome to point it out to us. Between the clash of Tony Stark and Steve Rogers’ opposing ideologies, and the fact that this is shaping up to be theAvengers flick we wished we got last year, The Russo Brothers have a money printer on their hands. Not only is the box office pre-loaded for this flick, but it’s also got the potential to be the highest grossing Captain America film ever. And that sits with us just fine.
16. Fan – Fan is one of the most anticipated movies of 2016 starring King of romance Shahrukh Khan and produced under the banner of Yash Raj Films.
17. Raees – Raees is one of the most anticipated movies of 2016 under the banners of Excel Entertainment, Red Chillies Entertainment. Mahira Khan plays the lead female role. This will mark the debut of the Pakistani actress in Bollywood. The movie tells the story of a cruel and clever bootlegger whose business is thwarted by a tough policeman.
18. Airlift – Airlift is an upcoming Indian action thriller movie. The film is based on biggest evacuation of Indians based in Kuwait during the Iraq-Kuwait War.
19. Jagga Jasoos – Jagga Jasoos is an upcoming Indian comedy drama movie. The movie tells the story of a teenage detective in search of his missing father.
20. Sultan – Sultan is one of the much awaited movies of 2016 starring Salman Khan as a wrestler.
Other Bollywood movies that we await with bated breath are Aamir Khan’s Dangal (Christmas 2016), Ashutosh Gowarikar’s epic romance Mohenjo Daro and Karan Johar’s Shuddhi.
What will you be watching in 2016? Tell us in the comments below!
