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By ROY MORRIS
For The Express
With 2016 closing out the biggest box office year yet (with more than $11.3 billion made domestically alone) and even bigger than the record-breaking 2015, and with the international markets getting ever wider and more profitable (mainly due to the big Hollywood productions being more and more suited toward them -- especially the Asian markets), then it will come as no surprise that 2017 looks to extend that success even further.
With no less than nine potentially billion-dollar-plus-making movies due for release, and possibly even more, the excitement within the movie industry is palpable.
The down-side, of course, is that little thing called "art" that, once again, may well be the big loser for the year. Many are complaining about the sheer weight of money and marketing (rolled together) that is taking cinema over and pushing out the independents, the latest in what is perceived as actions that have been happening for the past few years.
So here then is my look at some of the more anticipated releases to come and some thoughts on what might be happening at the worldwide cinema this coming year.
It seems that all the heavy-weight studios have at least one release this year
that will be surely vying for that elusive billion-dollar return.
We start with Disney/Buena Vista who, quite simply, lead the barrage with the Dec. 15 release of "Star Wars: Episode VIII" (as yet no finalized title) and will be hoping to follow in the footsteps of the more than $2 billion earning "Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens" (2015) and follow on from their total dominance of the worldwide box office in 2016. ("Captain America: Civil War," "Finding Dory," "Zootopia," "Rogue One: A Star Wars Story" and "Jungle Book" were literally the top five box office movies worldwide last year, in that order).
Disney will be looking to do the same this year with (as well as "Star Wars: Episode VIII") "Beauty & the Beast," a live action re-working of its 1991 classic animation to be released in March, also with some big-budget sequels through the summer and autumn -- "Guardians of the Galaxy: Vol. 2," "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales," "Cars 3" and "Thor: Ragnarok" -- and a new animation with huge expectations, "Coco" by Disney/Pixar, to be released in November. All of them are potential billion-dollar earners, but nothing is for sure, of course.
Speaking of big animation releases, "Despicable Me 3," out in June, will certainly be hoping to add to the previous three, already $2.7-billion-earning releases in the franchise. ("Minions," 2015, included). "Smurfs 3: The Lost Village" and "The Nut Job: 2" will also be looking to continue with their previous successes, whilst some new, hopeful franchise starters, "The Emoji Movie" and "The Ninjago Movie," will be looking for their own successes also.
In February watch for "The Lego Batman Movie" with its all-star voice line-up, which will be hoping to follow on from the $500 million earning "The Lego Movie" (2014).
One last animation I want to mention is Fox/Blue-Sky's "The Story of Ferdinand" which, even though it is not due for release until Dec. 22, has gained a lot of industry interest already.
As well as the two Disney/Buena Vista superhero releases mentioned above ("Guardians of the Galaxy: Vol 2" and "Thor: Ragnarok"), there are four others that will be hoping for a big piece of the market this year. "Logan" starring Hugh Jackman, once again, as The Wolverine, will be out in April, whilst a new version of "Wonder Woman," much anticipated by fans, is to be released in June and July will see the latest re-booted sequel "Spider-Man: Homecoming," again to much anticipation by fans.
All will be continuing to expand the superhero universes of D.C. Comics and Marvel Entertainment, but it is D.C.'s Justice League that will be carrying the big torch this year and will certainly be hoping to break into the billion-dollar market in November with its own take on the superhero collected universe franchise, as with "The Avengers."
Some stand-alone big production fantasy movies to watch for are "A Monster Calls," which is out now and stars Liam Neeson. Taken from the multi-award-winning children's book of the same name, it has gathered much critical acclaim already.
Then, watch for "The Great Wall," out in February and starring Matt Damon, a fantasy/action thriller that has already made $190 million overseas and is expected to do equally as well here. Several hugely anticipated releases that have also garnered much attention from their trailers alone are, first, "Kong: Skull Island," out in March, a continuation of the re-imagined King Kong series, this time portraying Kong as far bigger than any previous movie incarnations. The reason is to tie into the "Godzilla" (2014) universe, as there is a Kong vs. Godzilla sequel in the pipeline. "Ghost in the Shell," the classic Japanese cartoon that has shaped the vision of many film-makers over the years, most notably The Wachowskis who based their hugely successful "Matrix" trilogy of movies on it, is finally being released in live action form in March and has fans already jumping for joy at the trailer.
A re-working of the classic King Arthur story sees "King Arthur: Legend of the Sword" to be released in May, a much-anticipated Australian/American co-production this time with Charlie Hunam playing King Arthur.
Another reboot will see Tom Cruise returning to the big screen in June in "The Mummy," which will be hoping for some big box office returns worldwide. Later, in September, Cruise can also be seen in "American Made," a criminal/thriller, a true story about a drug-smuggling airline pilot.
A handful of interesting re-imaginings of some classic old TV shows of the late 1970s and early 1980s will be hoping to make waves this summer.
First, and most anticipated, will be "The Power Rangers" in March, with its $150 million budget, hoping for a successful new franchise launch. Also in March, a brand new comedy re-working of the iconic '80s cop series "CHiPs" will be looking to catch a new audience, and hopefully some old fans, and be a new hit. "Baywatch," another big budget and star-studded rebooting of the classic TV show, will be hitting in May, this time with Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson called in to fill those now-legendary shoes of David Hasselhoff.
Then, toward the end of the year and a movie I am very excited about, is a complete re-working of one of my favorite shows from the '70s, "The Six Billion Dollar Man," an upgrade (pun intended) as the original which was, of course, "The Six Million Dollar Man." We will see a more down-to-earth superhero, so to speak, this time starring Mark Wahlberg. I think it's the perfect time to revive Colonel Steve Austin, and if done well, the movie should certainly find a strong new franchise.
Speaking of complete reboots, not necessarily from TV, there are three new ones coming to theaters this year that have surprised many.
First, a remake of the now-classic Robin Williams movie "Jumanji," to be released in December with once again, Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, this time filling Mr. Williams' very hallowed shoes.
Second, "Flatliners: 2017" is due for release in September, which is actually a sequel to its 1990 predecessor; the title just shows the year to distinguish itself. It will see Kiefer Sutherland reprising his role from the original. However, this one is being touted as a stand-alone piece, despite its sequel status.
Third, and potentially very interesting, is a remake of Agatha Christie's "Murder on the Orient Express," due for release in November, which sees Kenneth Branagh stepping in as producer/director and starring as Hercule Poirot himself -- we shall see if this sparks a renewed interest in Agatha Christie.
I wanted to talk about a couple of non-sequel and not-rebooted productions that stand out as original this year, but for very different reasons.
The first, and soon to be released, is "Split" which sees the very welcomed return of M. Night Shyamalan -- just how his fans want him, back to the psychological thriller with a surprise ending that he had virtually made his own at one time. Indeed, some have said that this sees him returning to the days of his best works, such as "The Sixth Sense" (1999) and "Signs" (2002), and I certainly can not wait to see them proven right.
Second, and for a different kind of movie-making reason this time, Christopher Nolan's "Dunkirk," to be released in July, is the true World War II story of the Allied retreat from the beaches of Dunkirk, France in 1940. The mighty film-making skills of Mr. Nolan -- the Batman trilogy (2005-2012), "Inception" (2010) and "Interstellar" (2014) -- are being brought to bear on this wartime epic with, apparently, some amazing visual realism and astute storytelling, as many within the industry have stated already, which makes it definitely one to watch for.
Third, and most intriguing of all, is "The Dark Tower," Stephen King's much loved and respected book series that sees its big-screen debut in July. British actor and rising star Idris Elba is to play the lead character of Roland Deschain and, to the total delight of Stephen King himself, it seems to have been the right choice… Definitely one to watch for, also.
With so many big releases this year, I was unable to talk at length about all of them, even the other billion-dollar potential earners, so I will just mention the last few that I think will do well. But like I always say, nothing is for sure in movie theaters today.
The biggest ones worth a mention are "Fifty Shades Darker" in February, which will be looking to successfully continue on where the first one left off, and "The Fate of the Furious" (Furious 8) looking to repeat the $1.5-billion-earning "Fast and Furious 7" on its release in April.
Then look for the big studio releases "Alien: Covenant" in May, "World War Z: 2" in June, "Transformers: The Last Knight," also in June, and "War of the Planet of the Apes" in July. All have received much interest and all will be looking for big box office returns for sure. "Kingsman: The Gold Circle" to be released in October will be looking to continue on from the surprise hit of its 2015 predecessor, whilst "Pitch Perfect 3," out in December, will be also looking to continue its own franchise success.
Finally, I just wanted to talk about one sequel that has most certainly got my attention this year. I really can not say whether it will be a hit or not but I am excited to see it for sure. "Blade Runner: 2049" will see a sequel return to that incredible sci-fi movie "Blade Runner" (1982), a movie that literally changed the way sci-fi movies would forever be made after it. As a film-maker/watcher/scholar, I have to say it was simply the best movie I had ever seen up until then, and it has forever shaped my vision of how a future universe should look within the sci-fi movie genre. The same can be said of so many movie-makers and sci-fi fans the world over, and I truly hope this new one succeeds where it deserves and can put the perfect bookend to such an influential story, originally taken from the classic book "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?" by famed sci-fi/fantasy author Philip K. Dick… I can't wait.
This is, without doubt, the most crowded, noisy, exciting and goosebump-making year ahead in movies that I think I have ever known… so much diversity, so much artistry and yes, so much money… that it is almost too dizzying to contemplate which films will succeed and which ones will fail. But both things will happen without question, and there will be both shock and elation in equal measure as, once again, movies will continue to amaze us, scare us, make us laugh and make us cry.
But we will be entertained -- are we not entertained?
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Roy Morris is a freelance writer. He can be reached by email at amorris1989@hotmail.com.