Oscars 2016 first predictions: Spielberg! Tarantino! Del Toro! Stone! Boyle! Star Wars! Bond! Pixar! Mad Max!

There’s a good seven or so months until the Oscars really kick off but even now we might be able to make a few early predictions for some of the big hitters. This list will be rapidly changing over the coming months depending on the reception of some of these films. Gus Van Sant/Matthew MacConaughey drama The Sea of Trees seemed like a viable candidate until its Cannes flop. In some cases, we’re basing the predictions off their critical reception, festival buzz and hype and in other cases the popularity of a filmmaker involved. We’re ranking the selections in order of likelihood.

Best Picture:

40) The Good Dinosaur

Director: Peter Sohn (Partly Cloudy)
Starring: Anna Paquin (True Blood), Steve Zahn (Dallas Buyers Club), Frances McDormand (Burn After Reading)
Premise: An epic journey into the world of dinosaurs where an Apatosaurus named Arlo makes an unlikely human friend.
Odds: Pixar’s second effort of the year may get overshadowed by their first but the studio’s good form might transfer into this look at an alternate history.

39) Creed

Director: Ryan Coogler (Fruitvale Station)
Starring: Michael B Jordan (Chronicle), Tessa Thompson (Dear White People), Sylvester Stallone (First Blood)
Premise: The former World Heavyweight Champion Rocky Balboa serves as a trainer and mentor to Adonis Creed, the son of his late friend and former rival Apollo Creed.
Odds: The Rocky franchise had seriously drifted after the Best Picture winning original but, by shifting Stallone into and supporting role and bringing new hero Adonis Creed to the foreground, we might have a contender.

38) Secret in Their Eyes

Director: Billy Ray (Breach)
Starring: Julia Roberts (Erin Brockivich), Chiwetel Ejiofor (12 Years a Slave), Nicole Kidman (The Hours)
Premise: A tight-knit team of FBI investigators, along with their District Attorney supervisor, is suddenly torn apart when they discover that one of their own teenage daughters has been brutally murdered.
Odds: The Argentinian adaptation of the same book won an Oscar for Foreign Language in 2009 but this might turn ought to be another unpopular remake.

37) By the Sea

Director: Angelina Jolie (Unbroken)
Starring: Brad Pitt (The Curious Case of Benjamin Button), Angelina Jolie (Changeling), Melanie Laurent (Beginners)
Premise: Set in France during the mid-1970s, Vanessa, a former dancer, and her husband Roland, an American writer, travel the country together. They seem to be growing apart, but when they linger in one quiet, seaside town they begin to draw close to some of its more vibrant inhabitants, such as a local bar/café-keeper and a hotel owner.
Odds: Jolie hasn’t yet cemented her position as an accomplished director but last year’s Unbroken got three Oscar nods meaning that By the Sea might follow suit.

36) Trumbo

Director: Jay Roach (Meet the Parents)
Starring: Bryan Cranston (Breaking Bad), Helen Mirren (The Queen), John Goodman (Argo)
Premise: The successful career of Hollywood screenwriter, Dalton Trumbo, comes to an end when he is blacklisted in the 1940s for being a Communist.
Odds: The Oscars have a track record of stories about Hollywood and redemption and Bryan Cranston should shine in the role but communist sympathies might not sit too well with the Academy.

35) Spectre

Director: Sam Mendes (Road to Perdition)
Starring: Daniel Craig (The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo), Lea Seydoux (Blue is the Warmest Colour), Christoph Waltz (Django Unchained)
Premise: A cryptic message from Bond’s past sends him on a trail to uncover a sinister organization. While M battles political forces to keep the secret service alive, Bond peels back the layers of deceit to reveal the terrible truth behind Spectre.
Odds: Prior to 2012’s Skyfall, Bond hadn’t had a Oscar win in nearly 50 years. If Spectre is an improvement, than the series may be on the way to a first ever Best Picture nomination.

34) Legend

Director: Brian Helgeland (42)
Starring: Tom Hardy (The Dark Knight Rises), Taron Egerton (Kingsman), Paul Bettany (A Beautiful Mind)
Premise: The film tells the story of the identical twin gangsters Reggie and Ronnie Kray, two of the most notorious criminals in British history, and their organised crime empire in the East End of London during the 1960s.
Odds: The main Oscar buzz about the film surrounds Tom Hardy’s performance(s) but the crime biopic might be a dark horse in the contest.

33) The Martian

Director: Ridley Scott (Blade Runner)
Starring: Matt Damon (Good Will Hunting), Chiwetel Ejiofor (12 Years a Slave), Jessica Chastain (Zero Dark Thirty)
Premise: During a manned mission to Mars, Astronaut Mark Watney is presumed dead after a fierce storm and left behind by his crew. But Watney has survived and finds himself stranded and alone on the hostile planet. With only meager supplies, he must draw upon his ingenuity, wit and spirit to subsist and find a way to signal to Earth that he is alive.
Odds: After back to back success with Gladiator and Black Hawk Down followed by the snubbing of American Gangster, acclaimed director Ridley Scott’s sci-fi epic The Martian may have the goods to put him back on top.

32) Beasts of No Nation

Director: Cary Fukanga (True Detective)
Starring: Abraham Attah (Out of the Village), Ama K Abebrese (The Cursed Ones), Idris Elba (Pacific Rim)
Premise: A drama based on the experiences of Agu, a child soldier fighting in the civil war of an unnamed African country.
Odds: The Academy may take a big step by nominating a Netflix original production for the first time

31) Everest

Director: Baltasar Kormakur (Contraband)
Starring: Jake Gyllenhaald (Nightcrawler), Josh Brolin (No Country For Old Men), Jason Clarke (Zero Dark Thirty)
Premise: A climbing expedition on Mt. Everest is devastated by a severe snow storm.
Odds: A traditional disaster flick will hopefully be elevated by the fantastic ensemble.

30) Concussion

Director: Peter Landesman (Parkland)
Starring: Will Smith (Ali), Gugu Mbatha Raw (Belle), Alec Baldwin (The Hunt For Red October)
Premise: The story of Dr. Bennet Omalu, the brilliant forensic neuropathologist who made the first discovery of CTE, a football-related brain trauma, in professional football players.
Odds: It’s been years since Smith’s last major critical success but the more serious tone surrounding this true life thriller may lead it Oscar bound.

29) The Walk

Director: Robert Zemeckis (Cast Away)
Starring: Joseph Gordon Levitt (Looper), Ben Kingsley (Shutter Island), Charlotte Le Bon (Mood Indigo)
Premise: The story of French high-wire artist Philippe Petit’s attempt to cross the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center in 1974.
Odds: The fact that the same story was turned into an Oscar winning documentary (Man on Wire) several years ago proves that the premise is more Academy friendly than blockbuster cool but the fact that the story has been visited successfully before may also hinder it.

28) Freeheld

Director: Peter Sollett (Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist)
Starring: Julianne Moore (Still Alice), Michael Shannon (Boardwalk Empire), Ellen Page (Juno)
Premise: New Jersey police lieutenant, Laurel Hester, and her registered domestic partner, Stacie Andree, both battle to secure Hester’s pension benefits when she is diagnosed with terminal cancer.
Odds: Moore is on fine form after her win for Still Alice but there hasn’t yet been a remarkable amount of Oscar buzz surrounding it.

27) 45 Years

Director: Andrew Haigh (Weekend)
Starring: Charlotte Rampling (Melancholia), Tom Courtenay (Doctor Zhivago), Geraldine James (Gandhi)
Premise: In the week leading up to their 45th wedding anniversary, a couple receive an unexpected letter which contains potentially life changing news.
Odds: The low key British drama might prove to be a contender but given the recent snubbing of Mike Leigh’s Mr Turner, the Academy may have turned away from that genre the larger scale Brit flicks such as The Imitation Game

26) The Danish Girl

Director: Tom Hooper (The King’s Speech)
Starring: Eddie Redmayne (The Theory of Everything), Alicia Vikander (A Royal Affair), Ben Whishaw (Skyfall)
Premise: The remarkable love story inspired by the lives of artists Lili Elbe and Gerda Wegener. Lili and Gerda’s marriage and work evolve as they navigate Lili’s groundbreaking journey as a transgender pioneer.
Odds: The Danish Girl has all the makings of a Best Picture winner – lavish period setting, Oscar friendly cast and director – but it’ll have to overcome its so far mixed-negative reception.

25) Straight Outta Compton

Director: F Gary Gray (Friday)
Starring: Jason Mitchell (Contraband), Corey Hawkins (Non-Stop), Paul Giamatti (Sideways)
Premise: The group NWA emerges from the mean streets of Compton in Los Angeles, California, in the mid-1980s and revolutionizes Hip Hop culture with their music and tales about life in the hood.
Odds: Sharing its name with the rap sensation, this unlikely candidate surprised critics and was a smash hit with audiences but that won’t necessarily translate into Oscar success for the musical biopic.

24) Macbeth

Director: Justin Kurzel (Snowtown)
Starring: Michael Fassbender (12 Years a Slave), Marion Cotillard (Inception), Paddy Considine (Dead Man’s Shoes)
Premise: Macbeth, a duke of Scotland, receives a prophecy from a trio of witches that one day he will become King of Scotland. Consumed by ambition and spurred to action by his wife, Macbeth murders his king and takes the throne for himself.
Odds: Kurzel might not be experienced with this scale of filmmaking but injecting a flavour of war epic to Shakespeare’s classic should shake things up, not to mention the roles Fassbender and Cotillard were born to play.

23) The Program

Director: Stephen Frears (The Queen)
Starring: Chris O’Dowd (Calvary), Ben Foster (Lone Survivor), Dustin Hoffman (Rain Man)
Premise: An Irish sports journalist becomes convinced that Lance Armstrong’s performances during the Tour de France victories are fueled by banned substances. With this conviction, he starts hunting for evidence that will expose Armstrong.
Odds: The events depicted might be considered too recent to have a major effect on voters and O’Dowd (while talented) hasn’t yet reached Oscar appeal but Frears’ impressive back catalogue should accelerate hype.

22) Me and Earl and the Dying Girl

Director: Alfonso Gomez Rejon (The Town that Dreaded Sundown)
Starring: Thomas Mann (Project X), Olivia Cooke (Bates Motel), Nick Offerman (The Kings of Summer)
Premise: High schooler Greg, who spends most of his time making parodies of classic movies with his co-worker Earl, finds his outlook forever altered after befriending a classmate who has just been diagnosed with cancer.
Odds: The Fault in Our Stars for the Kings of Summer audience. This charming romance with undoubtedly win the hearts of fans and critics but it might be too low key for the Academy.

21) Snowden

Director: Oliver Stone (JFK)
Starring: Joseph Gordon Levitt (Inception), Nicolas Cage (Face/Off), Shailene Woodley (The Descendants)
Premise: CIA employee Edward Snowden leaks thousands of classified documents to the press.
Odds: Snowden’s story was told recently in the Oscar winning documentary Citizenfour meaning the source material has awards-friendly buzz but all of Oliver Stone’s recent work (Alexander, Money Never Sleeps, Savages) has been a let down. However, anti-American undertones didn’t do Zero Dark Thirty any harm.

20) Star Wars: The Force Awakens

Director: JJ Abrams (Stark Trek Into Darkness)
Starring: John Boyega (Attack the Block), Oscar Isaac (Inside Llewyn Davis), Lupita Nyong’o (12 Years a Slave)
Premise: New heroes must fight the rising threat of the New Order.
Odds: While the reboot of a franchise that hasn’t been good since 1983 may make the Oscars treat The Force Awakens as Bantha fodder, it seems to possess the game changing level of effects that brought Avatar to success and made the original Star Wars a Best Picture nominee.

19) Hail Caesar

Directors: Joel and Ethan Cohen (The Big Lebowski)
Starring: Josh Brolin (No Country For Old Men), George Clooney (Gravity), Tilda Swinton (Michael Clayton)
Premise: A Hollywood fixer in the 1950s works to keep the studio’s stars in line.
Odds: With four Oscar wins, the Coens are probably the most acclaimed screenwriters of our time but Inside Llewyn Davis’ snubbing might mean trouble for the pair’s more quirky efforts.

18) Silence

Director: Martin Scorsese (The Aviator)
Starring: Andrew Garfield (The Social Network), Tadanobu Asano (Thor). Liam Neeson (Schindler’s List)
Premise: In the seventeenth century, two Jesuit priests face violence and persecution when they travel to Japan to locate their mentor and to spread the gospel of Christianity.
Odds: Silence seems Oscar bound but production delays and rumours that it’ll debut in Cannes 2016 suggest that the film might not be in competition until the 2017 Oscars.

17) The End of the Tour

Director: James Ponsoldt (The Spectacular Now)
Starring: Jason Segel (Forgetting Sarah Marshall), Anna Chlumsky (In the Loop), Jesse Eisenberg (The Social Network)
Premise: A magazine reporter recounts his travels and conversations with author David Foster Wallace during a promotional book tour.
Odds: The new Almost Famous? Segel and Eisenberg’s pairing will undoubtedly pick up a cult following but might be a bit abrasive for the Oscar crowd.

16) In the Heart of the Sea

Director: Ron Howard (Apollo 13)
Starring: Chris Hemsworth (Rush), Cillian Murphy (28 Days Later), Brendan Gleeson (In Bruges)
Premise: Based on the 1820 event, a whaling ship is preyed upon by a sperm whale, stranding its crew at sea for 90 days, thousands of miles from home.
Odds: Ron Howard has experienced mass success with the disaster thriller genre but the merciless snub of his brilliant racing drama Rush hints at an anti-Howard agenda.

15) Mad Max: Fury Road

Director: George Miller (The Road Warrior)
Starring: Tom Hardy (The Dark Knight Rises), Charlize Theron (Monster), Nicholas Hoult (Warm Bodies)
Premise: In a stark desert landscape where humanity is broken, two rebels just might be able to restore order: Max, a man of action and of few words, and Furiosa, a woman of action who is looking to make it back to her childhood homeland.
Odds: This bold action sequel received rave reviews but the fact that its plot can be sketched out on a napkin might put off some of the more traditional Academy voters.

14) Joy

Director: David O. Russell (American Hustle)
Starring: Jennifer Lawrence (Silver Linings Playbook), Bradley Cooper (American Sniper), Robert De Niro (Casino)
Premise: The story of a family across four generations and the woman who rises to become founder and matriarch of a powerful family business dynasty.
Odds: Russell has a surprising three consecutive Best Picture nominees but the flop of his abandoned rom-com Accidental Love earlier this years prevents Joy from being his fourth.

13) Brooklyn

Director: John Crowley (Is Anybody There)
Starring: Saoirse Ronan (Atonement), Domhnall Gleeson (About Time), Julie Walters (Billy Elliot)
Premise: In 1950s Ireland and New York, young Ellis Lacey has to choose between two men and two countries.
Odds: This star studded effort could be a major contender so long as it avoids the pitfalls of a procedural romantic drama (IE Anna Karenina).

12) The Lobster

Director: Yorgos Lanthimos (Dogtooth)
Starring: Colin Farrell (In Bruges), John C Reilly (Chicago), Rachel Weisz (Enemy at the Gates)
Premise: In a dystopian near future, single people are obliged to find a matching mate in 45 days or are transformed into animals and released into the woods.
Odds: Merging comedy, romance and sci-fi with a bonkers concept from a Greek director making his English language debut. The Gilliam-esque level of weirdness will attract a lot of attention but may also backfire.

11) Youth

Director: Paolo Sorrentino (The Great Beauty)
Starring: Michael Caine (The Dark Knight), Harvey Keitel (Reservoir Dogs), Rachel Weisz (The Constant Gardener)
Premise: Fred and Mick, two old friends, are on vacation in an elegant hotel at the foot of the Alps. While Mick scrambles to finish the screenplay for what he imagines will be his last important film, Fred has no intention of resuming his musical career. But someone wants at all costs to hear him conduct again.
Odds: Sorrentino’s The Great Beauty picked up a triple with Oscar, BAFTA and Golden Globes in the Foreign Language category so Youth should continue form but Sorrentino’s only other English language feature, This Must Be the Place, was one of his weakest.

10) Suffragette

Director: Sarah Gavron (Brick Lane)
Starring: Carey Mulligan (Drive), Meryl Streep (The Iron Lady), Helena Bonham Carter (Sweeney Todd)
Premise: The foot soldiers of the early feminist movement, women who were forced underground to pursue a dangerous game of cat and mouse with an increasingly brutal state.
Odds: The all-female writing directing team may face the snubs that Ava DuVernay suffered with Selma last year but the feminist story may tie into the Academy’s own changing times.

9) Black Mass

Director: Scott Cooper (Crazy Heart)
Starring: Johnny Depp (Public Enemies), Joel Edgerton (Zero Dark Thirty), Benedict Cumberbatch (The Imitation Game)
Premise: The true story of Whitey Bulger, the brother of a state senator and the most infamous violent criminal in the history of South Boston, who became an FBI informant to take down a Mafia family invading his turf.
Odds: A dark and intense modern gangster thriller akin to The Departed and Donnie Brasco. Hopefully, Pirates star Johnny Depp will prove his worth for the first time in years. The massively positive early response is greatly promising.

8) Crimson Peak

Director: Guillermo Del Toro (Pan’s Labyrinth)
Starring: Mia Wasikowska (Stoker), Tom Hiddleston (War Horse), Jessica Chastain (Zero Dark Thirty)
Premise: In the aftermath of a family tragedy, an aspiring author is torn between love for her childhood friend and the temptation of a mysterious outsider. Trying to escape the ghosts of her past, she is swept away to a house that breathes, bleeds…and remembers.
Odds: A lavish Gothic mood will elevate Crimson Peak from repetitive formulaic horror (The Conjuring, Insidious, Sinister, Annabelle) or even hits like the Carpenter-esque It Follows and indie smash The Babadook. Del Toro might exceed Pan’s Labyrinth’s three Oscar wins while busting the myth that horrors are Oscar immune (see Jaws, The Exorcist, Rosemary’s Baby, Aliens, The Silence of the Lambs).

7) The Hateful Eight

Director: Quentin Tarantino (Pulp Fiction)
Starring: Samuel L Jackson (Jurassic Park), Kurt Russell (The Thing), Bruce Dern (Nebraska)
Premise: In post-Civil War Wyoming, bounty hunters try to find shelter during a blizzard but get involved in a plot of betrayal and deception. Will they survive?
Odds: Tarantino’s three Best Picture nominations may well be added to with this Western thriller. It’d be unlikely for this not to be an seventh consecutive hit for the filmmaker.

6) Carol

Director: Todd Haynes (I’m Not There)
Starring: Rooney Mara (The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo), Cate Blanchett (Blue Jasmine), Kyle Chandler (Super 8)
Premise: Set in 1950s New York, a department-store clerk who dreams of a better life falls for an older, married woman.
Odds: Carol has been the bookies’ favourite from the start but more recently more praise has gone towards its stars than the film itself.

5) Sicario

Director: Denis Villeneuve (Prisoners)
Starring: Emily Blunt (Edge of Tomorrow), Benicio Del Toro (Traffic), Josh Brolin (No Country for Old Men)
Premise: An idealistic FBI agent is enlisted by an elected government task force to aid in the escalating war against drugs at the border area between the U.S. and Mexico.
Odds: American Sniper, Argo, Captain Phillips, District 9, Gravity, The Hurt Locker, Inception and Zero Dark Thirty have redefined the Oscar’s favour for the action thriller genre.

4) Inside Out

Directors: Pete Docter (Up), Ronaldo Del Carmen
Starring: Amy Poehler (Parks and Recreation), Bill Hader (Trainwreck), Kyle MacLachlan (Twin Peaks)
Premise: After young Riley is uprooted from her Midwest life and moved to San Francisco, her emotions – Joy, Fear, Anger, Disgust and Sadness – conflict on how best to navigate a new city, house and school.
Odds: The animation has gained the best reception of any of Pixar’s work since 2010’s Toy Story 3 but it has been five years since the studio has had a major nomination besides Animated Feature.

3) Bridge of Spies

Director: Steven Spielberg (Schindler’s List)
Starring: Tom Hanks (Captain Phillips), Amy Ryan (Birdman), Mark Rylance (Wolf Hall)
Premise: An American lawyer is recruited by the CIA during the Cold War to help rescue a pilot detained in the Soviet Union.
Odds: Spielberg’s career has had nine Best Picture films (including Jaws, The Colour Purple, Saving Private Ryan, War Horse and Lincoln) and 118 Oscar nods are most likely to be added to but the acclaimed director isn’t immune to snubs (Catch Me if You Can, Jurassic Park). Also, Hanks hasn’t had an Oscar nod since 2001’s Cast Away and even his career best in Captain Phillips didn’t sway the Academy.

2) The Revenant

Director: Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu (Birdman)
Starring: Leonardo Di Caprio (Inception), Domhnall Gleeson (About Time), Tom Hardy (The Dark Knight Rises)
Premise: The frontiersman, Hugh Glass, who in the 1820s set out on a path of vengeance against those who left him for dead after a bear mauling.
Odds: Considering the grueling shoot and huge budget, the civil-war era epic could be the new Dances With Wolves (multi-Oscar winner with Kevin Costner) or the new Heaven’s Gate (world renowned flop with Jeff Bridges). Either way, the footage is incredible.

1) Steve Jobs

Director: Danny Boyle (Slumdog Millionaire)
Starring: Michael Fassbender (12 Years a Slave), Seth Rogen (Knocked Up), Kate Winslet (Titanic)
Premise: The true story of the life of visionary Apple CEO Steve Jobs.
Odds: While it suffered major development issues – loss of cast members (Christian Bale, George Clooney, Matt Damon, Bradley Cooper, Leonardo Di Caprio, Ben Affleck, Tom Cruise, Matthew MacConaughey, Charlize Theronl, Jessica Chastain, Scarlett Johansson, Natalie Portman) and director David Fincher – we reckon Steve Jobs is your next Best Picture winner.

Here’s a quickfire of the directors and stars we reckon will make the cut.

Best Director:

1. Steven Spielberg – Bridge of Spies
2. Denis Villeneuve – Sicario
3. Danny Boyle – Steve Jobs
4. Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu – The Revenant
5. George Miller – Mad Max: Fury Road
6. Oliver Stone – Snowden
7. Guillermo Del Toro – Crimson Peak
8. JJ Abrams – Star Wars: The Force Awakens
9. Scott Cooper – Black Mass
10. F Gary Gray – Straight Outta Compton
11. Paolo Sorrentino – Youth
12. Ron Howard – In the Heart of the Sea
13. Sarah Gavron – Suffragette
14. David O. Russell – Joy
15. Quentin Tarantino – The Hateful Eight

Best Actor:

1. Michael Fassbender – Steve Jobs – Steve Jobs
2. Michael Caine – Fred Ballinger – Youth
3. Leonardo Di Caprio – Hugh Glass – The Revenant
4. Johnny Depp – Whitey Bulger – Black Mass
5. Tom Hanks – James Donovan – Bridge of Spies
6. Jason Segel – David Foster Wallace – The End of the Tour
7. Bryan Cranston – Dalton Trumbo – Trumbo
8. Eddie Redmayne – Lili Elbe – The Danish Girl
9. Ian McKellen – Sherlock Holmes – Mr Holmes
10. Jake Gyllenhaal – Billy Hope – Southpaw
11. Tom Hardy – Ronald/Reginald Kray – Legend
12. Joseph Gordon Levitt – Edward Snowden – Snowden
13. Colin Farrell – David – The Lobster
14. Tom Hardy – “Mad” Max Rockatansky – Mad Max: Fury Road
15. Tom Hiddleston – Hank Williams – I Saw the Light

Best Actress:

1. Rooney Mara – Therese Belivet – Carol
2. Marion Cotillard – Lady Macbeth – Macbeth
3. Alicia Vikander – Gerda Wegener – The Danish Girl
4. Emily Blunt – Kate Macer – Sicario
5. Jennifer Lawrence – Joy Mangano – Joy
6. Cate Blanchett – Carol Aird – Carol
7. Charlotte Rampling – Kate Mercer – 45 Years
8. Saoirse Ronan – Ellis Lacey – Brooklyn
9. Juliette Binoche – Maria Enders – Clouds of Sils Maria
10. Carey Mulligan – Maud – Suffragette
11. Mia Wasikowska – Edith Cushing – Crimson Peak
12. Charlize Theron – Imperator Furiosa – Mad Max: Fury Road
13. Julianne Moore – Laurel Hester – Freeheld
14. Angelina Jolie – Vanessa – By the Sea
15. Amy Schumer – Amy – Trainwreck

Best Supporting Actor:

1. Seth Rogen – Steve Wozniak – Steve Jobs
2. Harvey Keitel – Mick Boyle – Youth
3. Benedict Cumberbatch – Bill Bulger – Black Mass
4. Benicio Del Toro – Alejandro – Sicario
5. Mark Rylance – Rudolf Abel – Bridge of Spes
6. Jesse Eisenberg – David Lipsky – The End of the Tour
7. Robert De Niro – Rudy Mangano – Joy
8. Christoph Waltz – Hans Oberhauser – Spectre
9. Samuel L Jackson – Marquis Warren – The Hateful Eight
10. Tom Hardy – John Fitzgerald – The Revenant
11. Chris O’Dowd – David Walsh – The Program
12. Josh Brolin – Matt – Sicario
13. Tom Hiddelston – Thomas Sharpe – Crimson Peak
14. Will Poulter – Jim Bridger – The Revenant
15. Harrison Ford – Han Solo – Star Wars: The Force Awakens

Best Supporting Actress:

1. Rachel Weisz – Lena Ballinger – Youth
2. Kate Winslet – Joanna Hoffman – Steve Jobs
3. Shailene Woodley – Lindsay Mills – Snowden
4. Amy Ryan – Mary Donovan – Bridge of Spies
5. Ellen Page – Stacie Andree – Freeheld
6. Jessica Chastain – Lucille Sharpe – Crimson Peak
7. Jane Fonda – Brenda Morel – Youth
8. Kristen Stewart – Valentine – Clouds of Sils Maria
9. Julie Walters – Mrs Kehoe – Brooklyn
10. Melissa Leo – Laura Poitras – Snowden
11. Rachel McAdams – Maureen Hope – Southpaw
12. Helen Mirren – Hedda Hooper – Trumbo
13. Anna Chlumsky – Sarah – The End of the Tour
14. Helena Bonham Carter – Edith New – Suffragette
15. Jennifer Jason Leigh – Daisy Domergue – The Hateful Eight

Best Original Screenplay:

1. Youth – Paolo Sorrentino
2. The Hateful Eight – Quentin Tarantino
3. Inside Out – Pete Docter, Ronald Del Carmen, Meg LeFauve, Josh Cooley
4. Bridge of Spies – Joel Cohen, Ethan Cohen, Matt Charman
5. Ex Machina – Alex Garland
6. Joy – David O. Russell, Annie Mumulo
7. Sicario – Taylor Sheridan
8. Hail Caesar – Joel Cohen, Ethan Cohen
9. Demolition – Bryan Sipe
10. The Good Dinosaur – Enrico Casarosa, Bob Peterson
11. Suffragette – Abi Morgan
12. Trainwreck – Amy Schumer
13. Southpaw – Kurt Sutter
14. Crimson Peak – Guillermo Del Toro, Matthew Robbins
15. Irrational Man – Woody Allen

Best Adapted Screenplay:

1. Steve Jobs – Aaron Sorkin
2. Carol – Phyllis Nagy
3. The End of the Tour – Donald Marguiles
4. Me and Earl and the Dying Girl – Jesse Andrews
5. The Revenant – Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu, Mark L Smith
6. Mad Max: Fury Road – George Miller, Brendan McCarthy, Nick Lathouris
7. Silence – Jay Cocks
8. Snowden – Oliver Stone, Kieran Fitzgerald
9. Brooklyn – Nick Hornby
10. The Danish Girl – Lucina Coven
11. Spectre – John Logan, Neil Purvis, Robert Wade
12. Macbeth – Jacob Koskoff, Todd Louiso
13. Black Mass – Scott Cooper, Mark Mallouk
14. The Martian – Drew Goddard
15. Star Wars: The Force Awakens – JJ Abrams, Lawrence Kasdan

First still from Scorsese’s Silence, Martin Freeman joins Civil War and Indiana Jones 5 confirmed

Martin Scorsese is a director renowned for his acclaimed crime epics The Departed, Taxi Driver, Goodfellas, Cape Fear, Casino, Gangs of New York, Shutter Island and The Wolf of Wall Street as well as works like Raging Bull, Hugo and The Aviator. His latest work is a missionary drama titled Silence and we’ve just got our hands on the first image from it. Silence stars Andrew Garfield (The Social Network, The Amazing Spider-Man), Adam Driver (The Force Awakens, Girls), Ciaran Hinds (Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, Road to Perdition) and Liam Neeson (Batman Begins, Schindler’s List).

Following an iconic debut in Steven Spielberg’s (Saving Private Ryan, Catch Me If You Can, Lincoln, Jurassic Park) 1981 adventure Raiders of the Lost Ark, Indiana Jones completed a near perfect trilogy with the well liked prequel Temple of Doom and classic sequel The Last Crusade (featuring an ingenious turn from Sean Connery as Indy’s dad). Spielberg revived the series in 2008’s Kingdom of the Crystal Skull but it spoilt the series’ clean streak despite classy additions like Cate Blanchett and John Hurt.

There’s been plenty of chatter about a fifth film and producer Kathleen Kennedy (Poltergeist, Back to the Future, The Sixth Sense, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button) has spoken out about the possibility. “”An Indiana Jones film will one day be made inside this company,” said Kennedy. “When it will happen, I’m not quite sure. We haven’t started working on a script yet, but we are talking about it.” Harrison Ford (Blade Runner) and Chris Pratt (Guardians of the Galaxy).

Martin Freeman (Fargo, The World’s End) and Benedict Cumberbatch (Star Trek Into Darkness, The Imitation Game) are have turned out to be an inseparable on screen force following playing Watson and Holmes on the hit show Sherlock as well as Baggins and Smaug in fantasy epic trilogy The Hobbit. After Cumberbatch joined the MCU as Doctor Strange, Freeman is following suit by joining the ensemble of Captain America: Civil War. His role is still undisclosed but we’d love to see him play Norman Osborn (former Green Goblin-turned key politician in the Marvel universe).

Civil War stars Chris Evans (Snowpiercer), Scarlett Johansson (Lost in Translation), Jeremy Renner (The Town), Elizabeth Olsen (Godzilla), Anthony Mackie (The Adjustment Bureau), Daniel Bruhl (Rush), Chadwick Boseman (42), Sebastian Stan (Black Swan) and Robert Downey Jr (Sherlock Holmes).

Silence – 2016

Captain America: Civil War – April 29th 2016

Indiana Jones 5 – 2018?

Fault in Our Stars wins at MTVs, Rebecca Hall joins BFG and Stallone in first still from Creed

BIrdman, The Grand Budapest Hotel, Birdman, Guardians of the Galaxy and Boyhood were among the most celebrated films of the previous awards season but the MTV Awards have a history of selecting mainstream flicks. Previous films to have been crowned include Terminator 2, A Few Good Men, Scream, There’s Something About Mary, The Matrix, The Lord of the Rings, Napoleon Dynamite, Wedding Crashers, Transformers, Twilight, The Avengers and The Hunger Games: Caching Fire. Last night’s results are in on the 2015 awards (novelty awards included).

Best Movie:

The Fault in Our Stars
American Sniper
Boyhood
Gone Girl
Guardians of the Galaxy
The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1
Selma
Whiplash

Best Male Performance:

Bradley Cooper – American Sniper
Ansel Elgort – The Fault in Our Stars
Chris Pratt – Guardians of the Galaxy
Channing Tatum – Foxcatcher
Miles Teller – Whiplash

Best Female Performance:

Shailene Woodley – The Fault in Our Stars
Scarlett Johansson – Lucy
Jennifer Lawrence – The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1
Emma Stone – Birdman
Reese Witherspoon – Wild

Best Breakthrough Performance:

Dylan O’Brien – The Maze Runner
Ellar Coltrane – Boyhood
Ansel Elgort – The Fault in Our Stars
David Oyelowo – Selma
Rosamund Pike – Gone Girl

Best Scared Performance:

Jennifer Lopez – The Boy Next Door
Zack Gildford – The Purge: Anarchy
Dylan O’Brien – The Maze Runner
Rosamund Pike – Gone Girl
Annabelle Wallis – Annabelle

Best On Screen Duo:

Zac Efron & Dave Franco – Bad Neighbours
Bradley Cooper & Vin Diesel – Guardians of the Galaxy
James Franco & Seth Rogen – The Interview
Channing Tatum & Jonah Hill – 22 Jump Street
Shailene Woodley & Ansel Elgort – The Fault in Our Stars

Best Shirtless Performance:

Zac Efron – Bad Neighbours
Ansel Elgort – The Fault in Our Stars
Chris Pratt – Guardians of the Galaxy
Channing Tatum – Foxcatcher
Kate Upton – The Other Woman

Best Fight:

Dylan O’Brien vs Will Poulter – The Maze Runner
Chris Evans vs Sebastian Stan – Captain America: The Winter Soldier
Jonah Hill vs Jillian Bell – 22 Jump Street
Edward Norton vs Michael Keaton – Birdman
Seth Rogen vs Zac Efron – Bad Neighbours

Best Kiss:

Ansel Elgort & Shailene Woodley – The Fault in Our Stars
Rose Byrne & Halston Sage – Bad Neighbours
James Franco & Seth Rogen – The Interview
Andrew Garfield & Emma Stone – The Amazing Spider-Man 2
Scarlett Johansson & Chris Evans – Captain America: The Winter Soldier

Best WTF Moment:

Seth Rogen & Rose Byrne – Bad Neighbours
Rosario Dawson & Anders Holm – Top Five
Jonah Hill – 22 Jump Street
Jason Sudeikis & Charlie Day – Horrible Bosses 2
Miles Teller – Whpilash

Best Villain:

Meryl Streep – Into the Woods
Jillian Bell – 22 Jump Street
Peter Dinklage – X-Men: Days of Future Past
(Spoilers) – Gone Girl
JK Simmons – Whiplash

Best Musical Moment:

Jennifer Lawrence – The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1
Bill Hader & Kristen Wiig – The Skeleton Twins
Chris Pratt – Guardians of the Galaxy
Seth Rogen & Zac Efron – Bad Neighbours
Miles Teller – Whiplash

Best Comedic Performance:

Channing Tatum – 22 Jump Street
Rose Byrne – Bad Neighbours
Kevin Hart – The Wedding Ringer
Chris Pratt – Guardians of the Galaxy
Chris Rock – Top Five

Best On Screen Transformation:

Elizabeth Banks – The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1
Steve Carell – Foxcacher
Ellar Coltrane – Boyhood
Eddie Redmayne – The Theory of Everything
Zoe Saldana – Guardians of the Galaxy

Best Hero:

Dylan O’Brien – The Maze Runner
Shailene Woodley – Insurgent
Jennifer Lawrence – The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1
Martin Freeman – The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies
Chris Pratt – Guardians of the Galaxy

Trailblazer Award:

Shailene Woodley (The Descendants, Divergent, The Fault in Our Stars, The Spectacular Now)

Comedic Genius Award:

Kevin Hart (Get Hard, Ride Along, Think Like a Man, The Wedding Ringer)

Generation Award:

Robert Downey Jr (The Avengers, Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, Sherlock Holmes, Zodiac)

Here’s the winners’ leaderboard:

Bad Neighbours, The Fault in Our Stars, The Maze Runner – 3
The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1 – 2
22 Jump Street, American Sniper, The Boy Next Door, Into the Woods – 1

With various big names already attached to his fantasy adventure The BFG, famed director Steven Spielberg (Jaws, Raiders of the Lost Ark, Jurassic Park, Schindler’s List, Saving Private Ryan, Minority Report, Catch Me If You Can, Lincoln) has enlisted even more cast members for the project. Rebecca Hall, the Golden Globe and BAFTA nominated star of Iron Man 3, The Town, The Prestige and Vicky Cristina Barcelona, was the first major addition in an announcement that included Jemaine Clement (What We Do in the Shadows, Flight at the Conchords) and Penelope Wilton (Shaun of the Dead, The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel). The cast already includes Mark Rylance (Wolf Hall, Bridge of Spies), Bill Hader (Superbad, The Skeleton Twins) and Martin Freeman (Fargo, Sherlock, The Hobbit trilogy).

It’s so far unclear if the new film Creed will be an Oscar favourite or a limp reboot of the lagging Rocky franchise (one that began with a Best Picture win in 1976 steadily declined through four sequels in the 1980s and returned with the minor hit of 2006’s Rocky Balboa). The new addition of the franchise has Michael B Jordan (Chronicle, The Fantastic Four) reteaming with his Fruitvale Station (an acclaimed urban drama) director Ryan Coogler to play Creed’s grandson who recruits Rocky Balboa (Sylvester Stallone – First Blood) as his new mentor to become a new boxing legend. The film’s first still has been revealed. Graham McTavish (The Hobbit, Outlander) and Tessa Thompson (Selma, Dear White People).

Creed – November 25th

The BFG – July 22nd 2016

Sony and Marvel team: Spider-Man will join the Marvel Cinematic Universe

Wesley Spines’ gory fantasy action Blade was the very first major release based on Marvel’s legendary comic book franchise. From there, development of the adaptations increased dramatically with two new series (Bryan Singer’s X-Men and Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man) but they couldn’t exist together as they were owned by separate studios, Fox and Sony respectively.

When the Marvel Cinematic Universe kicked off in 2008 with Iron Man (later developing Thor, Captain America, The Avengers and Guardians of the Galaxy). Sony attempted to bounce back into the fray with a new reboot, The Amazing Spider-Man, with director Marc Webb and Andrew Garfield (The Social Network) replacing Tobey Maguire as Peter Parker. Its impressive box-office stats didn’t match a mixed critical reception but Sony went ahead with plans for The Amazing Spider-Man 2, 3 and 4 as well as the spin offs Sinister Six and Venom. Writers, directors and release dates were set but the first sequel’s disappointment set the franchise slowly hurtling.

The infamous email hacks from North Korea, the one over The Interview that prompted Sony head Amy Pascal to stand down, also unleashed a rumour that Sony were handing Spidey over to Kevin Feige and Marvel. The stories have come to a conclusion with this new announcement.

“I am thrilled to team with my friends at Sony Pictures along with Amy Pascal to produce the next Spider-Man movie,” says Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige. “Amy has been deeply involved in the realisation on film of one of the world’s most beloved characters. Marvel’s involvement will hopefully deliver the creative continuity and authenticity that fans demand from the MCU. I am equally excited for the opportunity to have Spider-Man appear in the MCU, something which both we at Marvel, and fans alike, have been looking forward to for years.”

While we suspect Spidey will make his debut in Civil War, it’s unclear if Feige will be inheriting The Amazing Spider-Man franchise or heading toward another reboot. A different casting may well be in the pipeline. Kodi Smitt McPhee (The Road, Dawn of the Planet of the Apes), Craig Roberts (Submarine) and Anton Yelchin (Star Trek, Fright Night) seem like more age appropriate candidates than the now over-30 Garfield.

We do know that it’ll be aiming for a July 2017 release. This won’t effect anything going before it (Age of Ultron, Ant-Man, Captain America 3, Doctor Strange, Guardians of the Galaxy 2) it is causing slight delays for Thor 3, Black Panther, Captain Marvel and Inhumans.

Here’s the full upcoming Marvel schedule.

The Avengers: Age of Ultron – Director: Joss Whedon – Starring: Robert Downey Jr, Chris Evans, James Spader, Scarlett Johansson, Mark Ruffalo, Jeremy Renner, Chris Hemsworth, Samuel L Jackson, Elizabeth Olsen, Aaron Taylor Johnson, Paul Bettany, Andy Serkis – Release: May 1st

Ant-Man – Peyton Reed – Paul Rudd, Evangeline Lilly, Michael Douglas, Corey Stoll, Michael Pena – July 17th

Captain America: Civil War – Anthony and Joe Russo – Chris Evans, Robert Downey Jr, Chadwick Boseman, Scarlett Johansson, Daniel Bruhl, Sebastian Stan, Anthony Mackie, Frank Grillo, Charlie Cox, Krysten Ritter, Mike Colter – May 6th 2016

Doctor Strange – Scott Derickson – Benedict Cumberbatch, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Daniel Bruhl – November 4th 2016

Guardians of the Galaxy 2 – James Gunn – Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Bradley Cooper, Dave Bautista, Vin Diesel, Karen Gillan, Michael Rooker, John C Reilly, Glenn Close, Benicio Del Toro, Josh Brolin – May 5th 2017

Spider-Man – July 28th 2017

Thor: Ragnarok – Chris Hemsworth, Tom Hiddleston, Natalie Portman, Stellan Skarsgard, Jaimie Alexander, Kat Dennings, Idris Elba, Anthony Hopkins – November 3rd 2017

The Avengers: Infinity War – Part I – Josh Brolin, Robert Downey Jr, Mark Ruffalo, Chris Hemsworth, Benedict Cumberbatch, Chadwick Boseman – May 4th 2018

Black Panther – Chadwick Boseman, Andy Serkis – July 6th 2018

Captain Marvel – November 2nd 2018

The Avengers: Infinity War – Part II – Josh Brolin, Robert Downey Jr, Mark Ruffalo, Chris Hemsworth, Benedict Cumberbatch, Chadwick Boseman – May 3rd 2019

Inhumans – Vin Diesel, Chloe Bennett, Ruth Negga, Aaron Taylor Johnson, Elizabeth Olsen, Luke Mitchell, Jamie Harris, Kyle MacLachlan – July 12th 2019

The Six Best Posters of 2014 – Guardians, Birdman, Godzilla and more!

Our review of the year that was 2014 kicks off by celebrating the best of this year’s posters, banners and one sheets. Coming soon are out favourite trailers, characters and films but today we’re purely focussing on those eye catchers that lured us into the cinema. It is no secret that The Amazing Spider-Man 2 was mediocre but this brilliant cityscape is definitely worth a mention.

6)

The highlight on the poster for this Oscar favourite is the attention to detail: the billboards bare the supporting character’s faces; the signs sport the names of the writers; Birdman himself stands atop a distant rooftop if you look carefully. Also the oddly serene image of the abrasive Riggan (Michael Keaton) floating is brilliantly iconic.

5)

The film’s stunning and symbolic opening image is realised here. Andy Serkis’ Caesar is a fierce dominant warrior.

4)

In Godzilla, the HALO jump sequence is the film’s defining hour – an absolutely heart stopping moment.

3)

There’s a pair of fantastic posters for Marvel’s sci-fi smash hit Guardians of the Galaxy. The first is more of a Marvel standard action packed poster while the second was a beautifully coloured shot.

2)

1)

This IMAX art from Christopher Nolan’s epic Interstellar concludes our list. The fireworks emitted from the rocket is a fantastic touch.

The Best Films of 2014 – the Half-Way Point

Looking at any annual film schedule, its evident that the first half of the year can never quite live up to the second and 2014 is no exception. This year really did get off to a rotten start with 47 Ronin, The Legend of Hercules and I Frankenstein dragging their heals at the box-office but this did pave a way for others; The Wolf of Wall Street and Ride Along both enjoyed three consecutive weeks at the top of the UK and US box-office respectively. Following that came some genuine surprises. Wes Anderson’s ensemble comedy The Grand Budapest Hotel reached 1st and 3rd in the UK and US against all odds and The Lego Movie, one of the most poorly marketed films in recent years, was an unexpected treat and certainly and future cult classic.

The biblical format seemed to increase in popularity around Easter with the low-key Christian dramas Heaven is For Real, Son of God and God’s Not Dead taking nearly thirty times their micro-budgets but these religious flicks aren’t proving successful outside of America, besides Aronofsky’s star-driven epic Noah. The “Katniss-effect” of The Hunger Games has evidently given studios the faith to put stronger female characters into the fray of action and adventure with Angelina Jolie’s Maleficent and Shailene Woodley’s Divergent winning out over Johnny Depp’s Transcendence or Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Sabotage financially. Edge of Tomorrow even managed it to the extent of Tom Cruise needing saving from Emily Blunt’s ultimate warrior.

In the last six months, certain individuals are lighting up the box-office left, right and centre. Former comedian Kevin Hart has lead a trio of success, Ride Along, About Last Night and Think Like a Man Too, while the Jump Street quartet (director Phil Lord and Chris Miller/stars Channing Tatum and Jonah Hill) have a cinematic Midas-touch. It’s evident that Lego’s Chris Pratt can do no wrong and, with Jurassic World and Guardians of the Galaxy coming soon, he’s well on his way to man-of-the-year status. The biggest winners of the year have to be Marvel. Even though their heroes are divided across Sony, Fox and Disney, Stan Lee’s creations of Spider-Man, Captain America (kind-of) and the X-Men are currently the three biggest films of the year so far and they’ll only continue to grow bigger.

Below you can find the international box-office top ten followed by our own personal picks of the year so far as well as the ten to look for in the rest of 2014:

International Box-office Top 10:

1. Captain America: The Winter Soldier – Director: Anthony and Joe Russo – Starring: Chris Evans, Scarlett Johansson, Anthony Mackie, Sebastian Stan, Robert Redford, Cobie Smulders, Frank Grillo, Emily Van Camp, Samuel L Jackson, Hayley Attwell, Toby Jones – Box-office: $710.8 million
2. The Amazing Spider-Man 2 – Marc Webb – Andrew Garfield, Emma Stone, Dane DeHaan, Jamie Foxx, Colm Feore, Felicity Jones, Paul Giamatti, Sally Field, Chris Cooper – $703.3 million
3. X-Men: Days of Future Past – Bryan Singer – Hugh Jackman, Patrick Stewart, James McAvoy, Jennifer Lawrence, Michael Fassbender, Nicholas Hoult, Peter Dinklage, Ellen Page, Evan Peters, Shawn Ashmore, Halle Berry, Ian McKellen, Josh Helman, Omar Sy, Fan Bingbing, Adan Canto, Booboo Stewart, Lucas Till – $700 million
4. Maleficent – Robert Stromberg – Angelina Jolie, Elle Fanning, Sharlto Copley, Sam Riley, Imelda Staunton, Juno Temple, Lesley Manville – $531.8 million
5. Godzilla – Gareth Edwards – Aaron Taylor Johnson, Elizabeth Olsen, Ken Watanabe, Bryan Cranston, Sally Hawkins, Juliette Binoche – $478.7 million
6. Rio 2 – Carlos Saldanha – Jesse Eisenberg, Anne Hathaway, Leslie Mann, Bruno Mars, Jemaine Clement, Jamie Foxx, will.i.am – $469.4 million
7. The Lego Movie – Phil Lord, Chris Miller – Chris Pratt, Elizabeth Banks, Will Ferrell, Will Arnett, Liam Neeson, Morgan Freeman, Alison Brie, Nick Offerman, Charlie Day, Channing Tatum, Jonah Hill, Cobie Smulders – $467.2 million
8. Noah – Darren Aronofsky – Russell Crowe, Jennifer Connelly, Ray Winstone, Emma Watson, Logan Lerman, Douglas Booth, Anthony Hopkins – $356.2 million
9. 300: Rise of an Empire – Noam Murro – Eva Green, Sullivan Stapleton, Lena Headey, Jack O’Connell, Rodrigo Santoro, Callan Mulvey, David Wenham – $331.1 million
10. Edge of Tomorrow – Doug Liman – Tom Cruise, Emily Blunt, Bill Paxton, Brendan Gleeson, Jonas Armstrong – $298.8 million

Tuorhoth’s Top 10:

1. X-Men: Days of Future Past – Bryan Singer – Hugh Jackman, Patrick Stewart, James McAvoy, Jennifer Lawrence, Michael Fassbender, Nicholas Hoult, Peter Dinklage, Ellen Page, Evan Peters, Shawn Ashmore, Halle Berry, Ian McKellen, Josh Helman, Omar Sy, Fan Bingbing, Adan Canto, Booboo Stewart, Lucas Till
2. Godzilla – Gareth Edwards – Aaron Taylor Johnson, Elizabeth Olsen, Ken Watanabe, Bryan Cranston, Sally Hawkins, Juliette Binoche
3. The Lego Movie – Phil Lord, Chris Miller – Chris Pratt, Elizabeth Banks, Will Ferrell, Will Arnett, Liam Neeson, Morgan Freeman, Alison Brie, Nick Offerman, Charlie Day, Channing Tatum, Jonah Hill, Cobie Smulders
4. Captain America: The Winter Soldier – Anthony and Joe Russo – Chris Evans, Scarlett Johansson, Anthony Mackie, Sebastian Stan, Robert Redford, Cobie Smulders, Frank Grillo, Emily Van Camp, Samuel L Jackson, Hayley Attwell, Toby Jones
5. Edge of Tomorrow – Doug Liman – Tom Cruise, Emily Blunt, Bill Paxton, Brendan Gleeson, Jonas Armstrong
6. The Two Faces of January – Hossein Amini – Viggo Mortensen, Oscar Isaac, Kirsten Dunst
7. Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom – Justin Chadwick – Idris Elba, Naomi Harris
8. Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit – Kenneth Branagh – Chris Pine, Keira Knightley, Kenneth Branagh, Kevin Costner, Nonso Anozie, Gemma Chan
9. RoboCop – Jose Padilha – Gary Oldman, Joel Kinnaman, Abbie Cornish, Michael Keaton, Jay Baruchel, Jennifer Ehle, Jackie Earle Haley, Aimee Garcia, Michael K Williams, Samuel L Jackson
10. The Amazing Spider-Man 2 – Marc Webb – Andrew Garfield, Emma Stone, Dane DeHaan, Jamie Foxx, Colm Feore, Felicity Jones, Paul Giamatti, Sally Field, Chris Cooper

Top 10 Anticipated:

1. Interstellar – Christopher Nolan – Matthew MacConaughey, Anne Hathaway, Jessica Chastain, Michael Caine, Topher Grace, Casey Affleck, David Oyelowo, John Lithgow, Matt Damon
2. The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies – Peter Jackson – Martin Freeman, Ian McKellen, Richard Armitage, Evangeline Lilly, Luke Evans, Cate Blanchett, Orlando Bloom, Aidan Turner, James Nesbitt, Ken Stott, Sylvester McCoy, Lee Pace, Manu Bennett, Benedict Cumberbatch, Hugo Weaving, Christopher Lee
3. Gone Girl – David Fincher – Ben Affleck, Neil Patrick Harris, Rosamund Pike
4. Kingsman: The Secret Service – Matthew Vaughn – Taron Egerton, Colin Firth, Michael Caine, Samuel L Jackson, Mark Hamill, Mark Strong
5. Guardians of the Galaxy – James Gunn – Chris Pratt, Bradley Cooper, Dave Bautista, Zoe Saldana, Vin Diesel, Lee Pace, Karen Gillan, Djimon Hounsou, Benicio Del Toro, Josh Brolin, John C Reilly
6. Dawn of the Planet of the Apes – Matt Reeves – Jason Clarke, Andy Serkis, James Franco, Judy Greer, Gary Oldman, Toby Kebbell, Kodi Smit McPhee
7. The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1 – Francis Lawrence – Jennifer Lawrence, Donald Sutherland, Woody Harrelson, Julianne Moore, Josh Hutcherson, Liam Hemsworth, Jena Malone, Sam Clafin, Elizabeth Banks, Stanley Tucci, Toby Jones, Natalie Dormer, Philip Seymour, Hoffman
8. Fury – David Ayer – Brad Pitt, Logan Lerman, Jason Isaacs, Michael Pena, Shia LeBeouf
9. Exodus: Gods and Kings – Ridley Scott – Christian Bale, Aaron Paul, Sigourney Weaver, Joel Edgerton, Ben Kingsley
10. The Judge – David Dobkin – Robert Downey Jr, Robert Duvall, Billy Bob Thornton, Vera Farmiga

Weekend box-office – 10th to 16th of May 2014 – will Other Woman get revenge on Spider-Man 2?

The Amazing Spider-Man 2 is kicking off the summer movie season with its US release but early predictions saw it falling behind blockbusters Captain America: The Winter Soldier, X-Men: Days of Future Past and Godzilla. Sony need their sequel to take off otherwise their planned franchise could be quickly forgotten.

US:

1. The Amazing Spider-Man 2 – Director: Marc Webb – $92 million
2. The Other Woman – Nick Cassavetes – $14.2 million
3. Heaven is for Real – Randall Wallace – $8.6 million
4. Captain America: The Winter Soldier – Anthony and Joe Russo – $7.7 million
5. Rio 2 – Carlos Saldanha – $7.6 million

UK:

1. The Amazing Spider-Man 2 – Marc Webb – £2 million
2. The Other Woman – Nick Cassavetes – £1.4 million
3. Pompeii – Paul WS Anderson – £1.2 million
4. Tarzan – Reinhard Klooss – £0.8 million
5. Rio 2 – Carlos Saldanha – £0.5 million

Spider-Man 2 has done decent numbers but it’s still greatly disappointing. The new X-Men, ordinarily the timid cousin of Avengers and Spider-Man, has a predicted $125 million coming its way. Meanwhile The Other Woman has hardly capitalised on this position, sitting still in second place. While it has been impressive, the revenge comedy is likely to lose the title of this year’s big summer comedy to Bad Neighbours, A Million Ways to Die in the West or 22 Jump Street. Despite these surprises, this week I’ve scored a decent 4/10, taking my running total to 129/270.

US:

1. Bad Neighbours – Nicholas Stoller
2. The Amazing Spider-Man 2 – Marc Webb
3. Legends of Oz: Dorothy’s Return – Will Finn, Dan St Pierre
4. The Other Woman – Nick Cassavetes
5. Heaven if For Real – Randall Wallace

UK:

1. Bad Neighbours – Nicholas Stoller
2. The Amazing Spider-Man 2 – Marc Webb
3. The Other Woman – Nick Cassavetes
4. Sabotage – David Ayer
5. Pompeii – Paul WS Anderson

Andrew Garfield, Dane DeHaan and Emma Stone in The Amazing Spider-Man 2, this week’s UK and US number one.

News for Bourne 5, Spider-Man 3, Night at the Museum and Star Wars 7

Star Wars: Episode VII – The Ancient Fear. How does that sound to you? You may have guess that The Ancient Fear is the latest title to be rumoured for JJ Abrams’ sci-fi adventure, recently confirmed to be starring Harrison Ford, Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher, Max Von Sydow, John Boyega, Adam Driver, Kenny Baker, Anthony Daniels, Peter Mayhew, Daisy Ridley, Oscar Isaac, Domhnall Gleeson and Andy Serkis. You also may have picked up that The Ancient Fear would be a complete reversal from 1977’s A New Hope. Even if this title isn’t the final one, it still hints that the villainous forces, most likely Driver and Von Sydow, will be reviving an antagonist from the past, perhaps Darth Plageuis as he’s been pulling strings since the beginning.

We’re can be pretty confident saying that The Sinister Six’s members will most likely be Green Goblin, Mysterio, Doctor Octopus, Rhino, Vulture and Kraven the Hunter but director Marc Webb has hinted at who’ll face Spidey in The Amazing Spider-Man 3. “I like the idea of Kraven,” he continues. “The Vulture. Ock. I always thought the idea of Mysterio was interesting. Maybe Scorpion. But really, Kraven I think is kind of interesting.”

Marvel fans will likely recount Kraven as a Russian big game hunter who selects Spider-Man as his new prey but it’s possible that his origin will be altered as there’s already a Russian villain in the form of Rhino. Webb’s third and final Spider-Man film will most likely star Andrew Garfield, Shailene Woodley, Paul Giamatti, Felicity Jones, Dane DeHaan and Sally Field.

We regard The Bourne Trilogy, made up of Doug Liman’s Identity and Paul Greengrass’ Supremacy and Ultimatum, to be modern action masterpieces, all of which made Tony  Gilroy’s mediocre thriller The Bourne Legacy, focussed on Jeremy Renner’s Aaron Cross, even more disappointing. Despite its drop in financial takings, Universal seemed determined to make a Legacy follow up with Justin Lin but all the fans want is a back to roots Bourne film with Matt Damon (The Departed, The Adjustment Bureau, True Grit, Invictus, Saving Mr Banks, Good Will Hunting) and Paul Greengrass (United 93, Green Zone, Bloody Sunday, Captain Phillips).

The Oscar winning Damon has now confirmed he’s still excited by the idea of Bourne 5. “I’ve always been open to it if Paul Greengrass is the director. We’ve just never been able to come up with a story. It felt like such a good way to end it last time,” he continued. “Having said that, I love that character. I’d love to see what happened to him.” So, if anyone has a vision for where the series should go know, get your script together and contact Universal. The studio obviously don’t want to call Legacy a failure and move on so maybe a Cross/Bourne crossover is in order.

The Night at the Museum films have never had full critical approval but the two instalments do have a huge place in the heart of fans and are a handful at the box office with each film averaging at about $500 million. It’s no wonder that Shawn Levy (Real Steal, Date Night, The Internship) wants to revive the franchise. A third instalment has been in mind for a while but, despite the odd casting, it seemed to be moving far too slow to make it in time for this its December release.

Today’s confirmation of the title has certainly proven Fox’s dedication of bringing us the sequel in time for Christmas. Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb will star Ben Stiller (The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, Tropic Thunder, Zoolander), Ben Kingsley (Gandhi, Hugo, Schindler’s List), Owen Wilson (Wedding Crashers, Cars, Midnight in Paris), Dan Stevens (Downton Abbey), Rebel Wilson (Pain and Gain, Pitch Perfect), Robin Williams (Good Will Hunting, Dead Poets Society), Rachael Harris (The Hangover, Diary of a Wimpy Kid), Rami Malek (Short Term 12, Need for Speed), Ricky Gervais (The Office, Muppets Most Wanted), Dick Van Dyke (Mary Poppins) and the final performance of the late great Mickey Rooney.

Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb – December 19th

The Bourne Betrayal – 21st August 2015

An actual Jason Bourne film – 2017?

The Amazing Spider-Man 3 – May 17th 2016

Star Wars: Episode VII – The Ancient Fear? – December 18th 2015

Weekend box-office – 3rd to 9th of May 2014 – can Marvel’s Spider-Man and Winter Soldier hold off The Other Woman?

This week, two of Marvel’s blockbusters are the targets of feminised revenge comedy The Other Woman. Last week, we boldly predicted that thriller Captain America: The Winter Soldier, which has been kicking around a good few weeks, would slip down a place in the US but the more recent Amazing Spider-Man 2 would hold off the competition in the UK. Meanwhile sci-fi commercial flop Transcendence is attempting to regain some success after its initial flop.

US:

1. The Other Woman – Director: Nick Cassavetes – $24.8 million
2. Captain America: The Winter Soldier – Anthony and Joe Russo – $16.2 million
3. Heaven if For Real – Randall Wallace – $14.4 million
4. Rio 2 – Carlos Saldanha – $13.9 million
5. Brick Mansions – Camille Delamarre – $9.5 million

UK

1. The Amazing Spider-Man 2 – Marc Webb – £3.4 million
2. The Other Woman – Nick Cassavetes – £2.7 million
3. Transcendence – Wally Pfister – £1.2 million
4. Rio 2 – Carlos Saldanha – £0.9 million
5. Captain America: The Winter Soldier – Anthony and Joe Russo – £0.6 million

The Other Woman has debuted modestly and it’ll likely surpass $100 million worldwide but these statistics are hardly breakout comedy of the summer stuff, that title will likely go to Bad Neighbours, Tammy or A Million Ways to Die in the West. Captain America meanwhile has just reached the $650 million mark, just beating Thor: The Dark World’s total. The Amazing Spider-Man 2’s takings have dropped however, despite retaining the number one spot. Having scored 7/10, I’ve taken my running total to 125/260.

US:

1. The Amazing Spider-Man 2 – Marc Webb
2. The Other Woman – Nick Cassavetes
3. Captain America: The Winter Soldier – Anthony and Joe Russo
4. Walk of Shame – Steven Brill
5. Heaven is for Real – Randall Wallace

UK:

1. Bad Neighbours – Nicholas Stoller
2. The Amazing Spider-Man 2 – Marc Webb
3. Pompeii – Paul WS Anderson
4. Transcendence – Wally Pfister
5. Rio 2 – Carlos Saldanha

Dane DeHaan and Andrew Garfield in The Amazing Spider-Man 2, this week’s UK number one.

Leslie Mann, Cameron Diaz and Kate Upton in The Other Woman, this week’s US number one.

Weekend box-office – 26th of April to 2nd of May 2014 – Can Spider-Man 2 swing past Rio 2?

2012’s The Amazing Spider-Man did impressive numbers worldwide but it still undergrossed its Sam Raimi helmed predecessors. Last week, we predicted that the new sequel would top the UK box office but we may have slightly underestimated its success. Meanwhile, Johnny Depp is hoping for better things after the commercial flop of The Lone Ranger with his sci-fi drama Transcendence, which is also the directorial debut of Chris Nolan veteran Wally Pfister.

US:

1. Captain America: The Winter Soldier – Directors: Anthony and Joe Russo – $25.6 million
2. Heaven is for Real – Randall Wallace – $22.5 million
3. Rio 2 – Carlos Saldanha – $22.2 million
4. Transcendence – Wally Pfister – $10.9 million
5. A Haunted House 2 – Michael Tiddes – $8.8 million

UK:

1. The Amazing Spider-Man 2 – Marc Webb – £9 million
2. Rio 2 – Carlos Saldanha – £1.1 million
3. Noah – Darren Aronofsky – £0.9 million
4. Captain America: The Winter Soldier – Anthony and Joe Russo – £0.8 million
5. The Love Punch – Joel Hopkins – £0.6 million

Transcendence is probably this year’s first flop that was actually expected to succeed, there was never much hope for Legend of Hercules or I Frankenstein. It’s a genuine shock to find Johnny Depp no longer a bankable Hollywood star and that Pfister, the greatly talented cinematographer of Inception and The Dark Knight fame, is miles from Nolan’s billion dollar successes. Meanwhile, The Winter Soldier is close to surpassing Thor: The Dark World’s takings, reaching $610 million.

The Amazing Spider-Man 2 has made a deep impression in its opening weekend, higher than the UK debuts of both The Winter Soldier and The Dark World but the judge of its success will likely be in America. Comedy drama The Love Punch and horror spoof sequel A Haunted House 2 round off both of this week’s charts. From my predictions, I’ve scored 3/10 taking my running total to 118/250.

US:

1. The Other Woman – Nick Cassavetes
2. Captain America: The Winter Soldier – Anthony and Joe Russo
3. Heaven is For Real – Randall Wallace
4. Brick Mansions – Camille Delamarre
5. Rio 2 – Carlos Saldanha

UK:

1. The Amazing Spider-Man 2 – Marc Webb
2. The Other Woman – Nick Cassavetes
3. Transcendence – Wally Pfister
4. Rio 2 – Carlos Saldanha
5. Tracks – John Curran

Andrew Garfield and Jamie Foxx in The Amazing Spider-Man 2, this week’s Uk number one.

Anthony Mackie in Captain America: The Winter Soldier, this week’s US number one.