2015 - The Biggest Movie Year Ever
Every year it feels like box office records are imploding under the weight of each new 3D/IMAX/mega-sequel.
But 2015 is guaranteed to blow them all out the water - and rake in a such an incredible haul that we're unsure it could ever be beaten.
Which, really, is great news for cinemagoers (if not their wallets). So join us as we run through 29 reasons why 2015 is going to be the biggest movie year ever.
Bond 24
Following Skyfall 's well-deserved global success (the eighth highest-grossing film of all time, and the fourth highest-grossing film of 2012), we were already excited about the possibility of a rejuvenated Bond adventure.
But now that director Sam Mendes is back on board, and there are rumours that it'll be based on Sebastian Faulk's Bond novel Devil May Care , you've got an eager audience double whammy.
Estimated Box Office Haul: $1bn
Avatar 2
Now, we're not necessarily betting people, but we're going to go ahead and say you could probably stake a sizeable claim on Avatar 2 becoming one of the biggest grossing movies of all time.
Reason 1: Its predecessor single-handedly kick-started the current 3D revolution - expect its sequel to embrace and evolve the technology in new and exciting ways (*crosses fingers for smell-o-vision*).
Reason 2: In case you've been hiding under a floating Pandoran rock mountain of late, Avatar did quite well at the box office. $2.8bn and counting, Biggest Grossing Movie of all time 'quite well'.
Reason 3: James Cameron has a story plan all mapped out - and it's one that's going to explore Pandora's no doubt stunning aquatic underbelly.
New tech + new environment + addicted fanbase = box office megagold.
Estimated Box Office Haul: $3bn
The Avengers 2: Age Of Ultron
While everyone presumed marrying Joss Whedon's wit, directorial flare and affection for the genre would breed results, no-one quite expected 'third biggest movie of all time' type results.
Considering Marvel's ever-increasing movie grosses, the reunion of the whole cast (with some as-yet-unnamed but no doubt A-List additions), and the build-up of other 'Phase 2' movies leading into The Avengers 2 , and Age of Ultron is a box office smash in the waiting.
From a storytelling point of view, Whedon would've side-stepped the whole 'origin story/gang coming together' pitfall too, leaving him open to play off the character dynamics and embrace the sparkling repartee and bombastic action scenes he's famed for.
We. Can't. Wait.
Estimated Box Office Haul: $2bn
Finding Dory
When we broke the news on Twitter that Pixar would be making Finding Dory , we broke our own Retweet record.
Which probably goes some way to contextualising the love that's out there for the adventures of everyone's favourite waylaid clown fish, his curmudgeonly father, an amnesiac Blue Tang, and the fishy friends they encounter along the way.
Pixar could be criticised for rehashing old movies to guarantee bums on seats, but Nemo's return is certainly one that fans seem to be clamouring for.
Estimated Box Office Haul: $1bn
Pirates Of The Caribbean 5
Who would have thought that a simple Disneyworld ride would end up birthing one of the biggest family franchises of all time?
With Jerry Bruckheimer and Johnny Depp both back on board, and the last entry On Stranger Tides still managing to take over $1 billion despite being the worst reviewed installment yet, there's certainly still life in the old sea dog yet.
Estimated Box Office Haul: $1bn
Ant-Man
Marvel's Phase 2's barely got started, so it's testament to Edgar Wright's long-gestated Marvel debut that fanboy/girl excitement is still rife for Ant-Man , which kickstarts the beginning of Phase 3.
Only a select few have seen Wright's test footage, but it's gone down a storm, with one labelling the kick-ass fight scene in which Ant Man changes size whilst taking down two grunts as 'Size-Fu'.
Throw in Wright's penchant for witty, warm and pop-culture laden character work, serious skill at choreographic fight scenes (see also: The Cornetto Trilogy and Scott Pilgrim ), and a fanboy-like reverence for the material, and it looks like Marvel will be onto another winner.
Estimated Box Office Haul: $700m
Oh, and check out our exclusive Edgar Wright interview below, in which he teases some Ant-Man plans....
Man Of Steel 2 / Batman Vs Superman
Sure, Avatar 's the reigning king of the box office, but there's every chance that Man Of Steel 's sequel could break every kind of record going, thanks to a crossover that we're still a little too flabbergasted to acknowledge is actually happening.
All the goodwill of Nolan's Bat-reinvention multiplied by the great reception and dollar-grossing of Zack Snyder's Superman reinvention is sure to equal a seismic hit.
The potential for mind-gasming fight scenes is unlimited - Superman vs Batman in a smackdown for the ages. What's not to like?
Estimated Box Office Haul: $1.5bn
Prometheus 2
It may have divided critics as easily as fans, but it's hard to deny not only Prometheus ' success, but a collective appetite for a sequel - if only to answer so many of the questions left dangling at the end of the first movie.
And, (**SPOILER ALERT**) with the majority of the original cast decimated, there's ample opportunity to throw a gaggle of fresh-faced A-listers into the sci-fi horror mix.
Ridley Scott's back on board to direct, so hopefully he'll have learnt from the missteps of the original - either way, the tease of solving some of Prometheus ' riddles, alongside the burgeoning love for the Alien franchise, guarantees a winner.
Estimated Box Office Haul: $500m
The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 2
The final entry in the adaptation of one of the biggest-selling teen novel series of all time was always going to be a draw.
But with lead Jennifer Lawrence now officially an Oscar winner and on an evermore-meteoric rise to A-listerdom, it's hard to think of how Mockingjay Part 2 could feel any bigger.
Everything will come to a bombastic, explosive, dramatic conclusion - and we can't wait to see it visualised on-screen.
Estimated Box Office Haul: $1bn
Warcraft
A fair few of the entries on this list are sequels, and while Warcraft isn't exactly an original story, the world's holding its collective breath that indie director Duncan Jones ( Moon, Source Code ) can pull off the movie world's holy grail - creating a decent movie based on a videogame.
That Jones is tasked with adapting the world's most popular MMORG (massive multiplayer online roleplaying game for the non-videogame nerd) only amplifies the expectation.
We're hoping for a big-screen, big-budget Game Of Thrones/ Lord Of The Rings mash-up of the highest order.
Estimated Box Office Haul: $750m
Assassin's Creed
Michael Fassbender's one of the hottest actors on the planet right now, so his decision to star in and produce an adaptation of one of the videogame industry's biggest properties certainly raised a few eyebrows.
It helps that it's a franchise that lends itself to big-budget cinematic hijinks, as Fassbender plays a relatively innocuous modern day lead who's transplanted into the memories and mind of his distant descendants - ones who, luckily for audiences, like to spend their time murdering and stealthing their way around famous historical situations as bad-ass, hooded assassins.
This could be very, very big.
Estimated Box Office Haul: $400m
Inside Out
Sure, Pixar have been focusing on sequels of late, but that only makes its 2015 high-concept original even more tantalising.
Directed by Pete Docter (director of Monsters Inc ., and Up , and writer of WALL·E, Toy Story and Toy Story 2 ), the CGI animation focuses on the inner workings of the mind of a young girl, and all the crazy, fantastical happenings to occur in her subconscious.
This could be the smart, inventive and truly original tale to help Pixar re-secure its animation crown.
Estimated Box Office Haul: $750m
Terminator 5
While Terminator Salvation wasn't quite the storytelling shot in the arm many had craved from everyone's favourite genocidal cyborg franchise, it hasn't stopped Paramount from announcing the first in a projected new trilogy.
Add to that the fact that Arnie's been vocal about his desire to get involved, and The Rock is currently rumoured to star, and you have all the ingredients for an action movie revival.
Estimated Box Office Haul: $800m
Alvin & The Chipmunks 4 / The Smurfs 3
Now, we know these may not be the most beloved of movie worlds (unless, we concede, you have the mentality of - or actually are - a four-year-old girl), but it's hard to deny their box office clout.
Annoying, squeaky, and shamelessly stupid they may be, but they're also guaranteed to dominate the family scene.
Estimated Box Office Haul: $500m each
The Fantastic Four (2015)
The Fantastic Four may be known to comic fans as Marvel's First Family, but one thing they definitely are not - and have never been - is cool on-screen.
That could all change with Chronicle director Josh Trank on-board to helm, Seth Grahame-Smith (he of Pride And Prejudice And Zombies authoring fame) set to write, and Fox's new comic property Godfather Mark Millar (previous: Kick-Ass ) overseeing the creative and narrative overhaul, and there's every possibility this could be the rebirth the super-powered foursome needs.
Let's just hope the casting's a little savvier than the baffling 2005 revamp.
Estimated Box Office Haul: $600m
Star Wars: Episode VII
It says something about the Star Wars franchise that despite every other almost-guaranteed multi-million dollar-grossing movie on this list, Star Wars is still what's set to define 2015.
The prequel trilogy may have been critically mauled, but it's hard to deny the sway of the all-conquering power of the franchise as a whole, and the renewed interest in a new trilogy now that George Lucas has handed over creative control to Disney.
Now J.J. Abrams is on board - a man with a proven track record in modernising nostalgia for the masses - excitement levels can only ever escalate.
Could Star Wars really become cool again? There's not long to wait to find out...
Estimated Box Office Haul: $1.5bn
It's A Wonderful Life 2
Pencilled in for release just one year shy of the 70th anniversay of Jimmy Stewart's It's A Wonderful Life , this yuletide follow-up is perhaps one of the most unexpected sequels ever announced.
Acknowledging the amount of time that's passed since It's A Wonderful Life lost out at the Oscars (boo), the sequel will focus on George Bailey's grandson, who is visited by an angel in the same way that Bailey was.
Whoever signs up to the director's chair will have their work cut out for them. With the original Wonderful Life a must-watch every Christmas, it'll be difficult to match it for its charm and glowing sentiment.
Estimated Box Office Haul: $800m
Jurassic Park IV
It's been a tumultuous pre-production journey, but it looks like cinemagoers are finally heading back to Isla Nublar.
Safety Not Guaranteed director Colin Trevorrow is attached to direct, with Steven Spielberg being rather hands-on along the way.
While there's always the fear of resurrecting such a beloved franchise, our excitement levels are overriding any concerns.
That is, unless they decide to revert to the human-dinosaur hybrid plot that's been floating around for a while...
E stimated Box Office Haul: $800m
Crimson Peak
Pacific Rim, alas, wasn't quite as big a deal as Guillermo del Toro had hoped.
But while a sequel looks unlikely, we're happy to report he's heading back to the kind of story that made him a sizeable Hollywood success.
A Victorian-era ghost story, it'll revolve around a small but stunningly hot cast including - big breath - Charlie Hunnam, Benedict Cumberbatch, Jessica Chastain, Mia Wasikowska and more.
Scares, surreal horror and a stunning imagination at the fore? We're on board.
Estimated Box Office Haul: $100m
We caught up with del Toro and Hunnam recently to chat about what you can expect from Crimson Peak ...
Kung Fu Panda 3
DreamWorks' CV is ever-improving, and Kung Fu Panda 2 was a perfect example of them honing a semi-success into a bonafide mega-movie franchise.
Unsurprisingly, they look set to continue their winning streak with their second threequel, reuniting Jack Black with his A-lister voice cast including Angelina Jolie, Seth Rogen, Lucy Liu, David Cross, Dustin Hoffman - and now with added Rebel Wilson, Bryan Cranston and Mads Mikkelsen.
Estimated Box Office Haul: $700m
The Adventures Of Tintin: Prisoners Of The Sun
Steven Spielberg returns Tintin to the big screen for more motion-captured animated adventure, only this time it'll be Peter Jackson leading the directorial charge.
Jamie Bell and Andy Serkis are set to reprise their roles, and if the title's anything to go by, will be based on Herge's fourteenth volume of The Adventures Of Tintin , in which Haddock and Tintin traipse through the Andes on a mission to find a kidnapped Professor, only to encounter a host of Inca-related adventure along the way.
Estimated Box Office Haul: $400m
Mad Max: Fury Road
It's been a long time coming, but Mad Max is finally back. Almost. With Tom Hardy stepping into the role made famous by Mel Gibson, this much-beleagured fourth Max movie looks set to give the likes of Fast & Furious a run for their money.
George Miller's back in the driving seat for a sequel that's set before the events of Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior , with Max caught up in a new road war.
Considering the film's staggering cast of hard-hitters - Hardy, Charlize Theron and even Gibson in a cameo role - this should burn serious rubber at the multiplexes.
Estimated Box Office Haul: $600m
American Sniper
Pit one of Hollywood's hottest up-and-coming actors with one of its most timeless auteurs and you've got a project that's set more than a few tongues wagging.
Steven Spielberg will direct Bradley Cooper in an adaptation of an autobiography in which a Navy SEAL (Chris Kyle, pictured above) recounts an incredible military career which saw more than 150 confirmed kills on his record.
Drama, action and two powerhouses of their fields at the top of their game? We're definitely on board.
Estimated Box Office Haul: $80m
I Walk With The Dead
Controversial director Nicolas Winding Refn pairs up with his other Drive muse Carey Mulligan for a horror movie-come-sex thriller that's either going to be set in Tokyo or Los Angeles.
Given Only God Forgives ' seductively sexy stylisation, you can bet that I Walk With The Dead will be nothing if not an erotically charged head-turner.
We're excited to see what he'll do next.
Estimated Box Office Haul: $50m
Mission: Impossible 5
If nothing else, Ghost Protocol proved there's life left in one of Hollywood's older action franchises. While the proposed handover to new boy Jeremy Renner wasn't quite as complete as many had imagined, Tom Cruise's encroaching years mean that a fifth M:I outing could be his last.
But when they manage to contain as many enjoyable and jaw-dropping moments as his Burj Khalifa stunt, we're not complaining about having another on the way.
Estimated Box Office Haul: $700m
Killer Crow
Little is known about Killer Crow other than (a) it's Quentin Tarantino's next movie and (b) he's alluded to it rounding off a sorta trilogy that ties together Inglourious Basterds and Django Unchained in that it offers up themes on the Blaxploitation genre.
Speaking to The Root , he posited that he wants to create a movie that tied into Inglourious ...
"My original idea for Inglourious Basterds way back when was that this [ would be ] a huge story that included the [ smaller ] story that you saw in the film, but also followed a bunch of black troops, and they had been f–ked over by the American military and kind of go apes–t. They basically — the way Lt. Aldo Raines (Brad Pitt) and the Basterds are having an “Apache resistance” — [ the ] black troops go on an Apache warpath and kill a bunch of white soldiers and white officers on a military base and are just making a warpath to Switzerland."
So a quiet one, as ever.
Estimated Box Office Haul: $300m
The Outsider
Tom Hardy's attached to this hard-hitting drama actioner about an American former G.I. who joins the Yakuza in post-WW2 Japan.
With Takashi Miike (him of 13 Assassins/Ichi The Killer fame) at the helm, it isn't likely to break box office records, but it's certainly a pairing with limitless creative possibilities.
Estimated Box Office Haul: $75m
Bourne 5
Matt Damon may be long gone, but Bourne lives on in Jeremy Renner, who's jumping back into the action fray for a second time with a follow-up to The Bourne Legacy .
Despite Legacy' s disappointing box office returns, Universal has an ace up its sleeve for Bourne 5 in the form of Fast & Furious director Justin Lin. The action maestro will be expected to inject similar thrills and spills into this fifth Bourne outing - even if he wasn't able to convince Matt Damon to return.
Estimated Box Office Haul: $300m
'Future Day'
It may not be an actual movie, but 'Future Day' is a-coming, and for many Back To The Future fans it'll be the biggest party day of the year.
As the day that Marty and co find themselves in after zipping into the future in Back To The Future Part II , October 21 2015 holds fanboy/girl significance.
Not least because, if all goes to plan, we'll be zooming around town on hoverboards by then.
