Ciara O’Hara looks ahead to some of this year’s highlights on the silver screen
With end of year cinema admissions predicted to exceed 15 million last year, 2016 is expected to do even better. Family films feature high on this year’s list. Nostalgia abounds and highlights include Finding Dory, the sequel to Finding Nemo. With over 25 million ‘likes’, Dory is the most popular character on Facebook from any Disney or Pixar movie.
ET writer Melissa Mathison adapted Roald Dahl’s BFG for Steven Spielberg. Remember those abundantly haired Troll dolls from the nineties? They’re back and this time they’re singing, in Trolls, a musical voiced by Justin Timberlake and Anna Kendrick. Peru’s most famous bear returns in Paddington 2. Superhero buffs are well catered for this year.
Batman appears in two movies. Batman Vs Superman: Dawn of Justice is said to have a $410 million budget which makes it the most expensive Hollywood movie ever. Although the caped crusader features, The Joker is the real star of Suicide Squad.
Jared Leto’s Joker might even outshine Heath Ledger’s iconic portrayal. Even when he was not on set, Leto did not break out of character and reportedly sent ‘Joker-like’ gifts to other cast members. Margot Robbie was the lucky recipient of a dead rat. Captain America: Civil War also pits two heroes against each other, with Robert Downey Jr as Iron Man.
Chris Evans is the eponymous captain. Due out at the end of April, the Disney film is billed as Avengers 2.5 because so many Avengers stars are involved. Scarlett Johansson also stars.
Star Wars and Star Trek fans will get their fix. Star Wars: Rogue One is the first in the new Star Wars Anthology series, a collection of stand-alone stories set in the Star Wars universe. Star Trek celebrates its 50th birthday this year and Star Trek Beyond with Idris Elba (Luther and The Wire) is sure to wow faithful fans and may well recruit some new Trekkies.
The action is by no means confined to space and superheroes. Free Fall is a Tarantino-esque blend of action and comedy with some amazing performances. Set in the 1970s, it stars Cillian Murphy and Jack Reynor, as IRA members who get involved in an arms deal in Boston which goes belly-up. Reynor had the lead in Lenny Abrahamson’s What Richard Did.
Abrahamson’s adaptation of Emma Donoghue’s Room tells the gripping story of a kidnapped woman (Brie Larson, above) raising her son in captivity. Convinced they will never escape, she allows her boy believe that the room is the one thing in their lives which is real. When a chance comes to escape, she must convince her son to help her. William H Macy co-stars.
Sacha Baron Cohen plays a football hooligan opposite Penelope Cruz in Grimsby. Jack Black, Angelina Jolie and Bryan Cranston (Walter White in Breaking Bad) are among the voices the cartoon family feature Kung Fu Panda 3.
SPECTACULAR 16 ( Release dates may be subject to change)
Zoolander 2 (February 12)
Batman v Superman (March 25)
The Jungle Book 3D (April 15)
Captain America: Civil War (April 29)
Angry Birds (May 13)
Alice Through the Looking Glass (May 27)
The BFG (July 1)
Star Trek Beyond (July 8)
The Secret Scripture (Date TBC)
Finding Dory (July 29)
Suicide Squad (August 5)
Bridget Jones’s Baby (September 16)
Dr Strange (October 28)
Fantastic Beasts (November 18)
Star Wars Rogue One (December 16)
This year’s top 10 grossing movies
are expected to come from this list
JK Rowling makes her screenwriting debut with Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, set 70 years before the events of her ever-popular Harry Potter series.
She may only be a muggle but Bridget Jones is a force greater than anything a Jedi or a wizard can conjure, and makes a long-awaited return to our screens. Bridget Jones’ Baby is due out in September and offers advertisers a choice opportunity to reach female moviegoers. Colin Firth returns as Mark Darcy and also has the lead in a remarkable story.
Firth plays yachtsman Donald Provost, who made a disastrous effort to sail solo around the world in the 1960s. Made by James Marsh, the movie does not have a title as yet. Marsh directed Eddie Redmayne as physicist Stephen Hawking in The Theory of Everything.
May the foyers be with you!
Ciara O’Hara is a film specialist at Wide Eye Media
