2015 has been a good year for the billion dollar movie as Jurassic World, Fast & Furious 7, Avengers: Age of Ultron, and Minions have all achieved that feat and joined an exclusive club.
Batman vs Superman: Dawn of Justice
The billion dollar club is expanding year on year and there are now twenty three films that have taken this amount and over at the global box office... but which movies will achieve in this in 2016?
2016 is going to be another exciting twelve months for movie fans and we take a look at the films that could well find themselves breaking that barrier and fighting it out to be the highest grossing movie of the year.
- Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice - released 25th March 2016.
We are going to be treated to a whole host of comic book movies next year and Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice is already one of the most talked about and anticipated.
Dawn of Justice is the first Superman film since the success of Man of Steel back in 2013 and will see Zack Snyder return to the director's chair. The movie will see Batman and Superman come face to face and it will be the first time we have seen Bruce Wayne on the big screen since The Dark Knight Rises.
Of course, we are going to see Ben Affleck take over the role of Bruce Wayne for the first time but Batman is already a billion dollar franchise; The Dark Knight and The Dark Knight Rises both achieved this feat in 2008 and 2012.
Man of Steel was also a big hit when it was released two years ago and grossed $668 million by the end of its theatrical run... I expect this will be even bigger and generate even more money.
There may have been some criticism surrounding the casting of Affleck as Batman, but I don't think that that will harm its takings at the box office - in fact, it will probably make the film even more successful.
The excitement around Dawn of Justice is building and it does look set to be the first film to cross the billion dollar barrier in 2016.
- Captain America: Civil War - released 29th April 2016
If there is one movie that I cannot wait to see next year, then it is Captain America: Civil War - I really do wish they would put out the first trailer or some images for us to get even more excited about.
Civil War is the third solo film for Captain America and comes after the huge success of Captain America: The Winter Soldier back in 2014. I know that we were treated to Avengers: Age of Ultron earlier this year, but I really do think that Civil War is going to be the biggest Marvel film yet.
Civil War will kick of Phase 3 of Marvel movies and sees Chris Evans return to the title role while Joe and Anthony Russo are back in the director's chair. Scarlett Johansson, Anthony Mackie and Sebastian Stan are back as Black Widow, Falcon and Winter Soldier and Robert Downey Jr, Jeremy Renner, Paul Bettany, Paul Rudd, and Elizabeth Olsen are stepping into the franchise for the first time as Iron Man, Hawkeye, The Vision, Ant-Man, and Scarlet Witch. We are also going to be introduced to Chadwick Boseman and Tom Holland as Black Panther and Spider-Man.
The Winter Solider was one of the big hits of 2014 as it went on to gross over $714 million. It is currently the fifth highest grossing Marvel film, behind Avengers Assemble, Avengers: Age of Ultron, Iron Man 3, and Guardians of the Galaxy. Civil War can really only be bigger than its predecessor and could be only the second standalone film to gross over a billion dollars.
Civil War is set to follows the iconic comic book story arc and will see our favourite heroes on opposite sides and going head to head. The movie looks like it will also set up story threads for Avengers: Infinity War and possible Thor: Ragnarok.
- X-Men Apocalypse - released 19th May 2016
Apart from X-Men: The Last Stand, I am a huge fan of the X-Men film franchise and they really have delivered some great movies over the years.
Last year Bryan Singer returned to the franchise and steered Days of Future Past to critical acclaim as well as a huge hit at the box office. Singer is set to return with X-Men: Apocalypse and I think this movie is going to be even bigger than its predecessor.
Nothing is known about the film's plot at the moment but we do know that James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender, Jennifer Lawrence, and Nicholas Hoult are back as Professor Xavier, Magneto, Mystique, and Beast.
There are some big new additions to the cast list as Oscar Isaac, Sophie Turner, Tye Sheridan, Alexandra Shipp, Kodi Smit-McPhee, and Olivia Munn are on board as Apocalypse, Jean Grey, Cyclops, Storm, Nightcrawler, and Psylocke. We still don't know if Hugh Jackman will be making an appearance as Wolverine.
Days of Future Past went on to be the most financially successful X-Men movie when it grossed over $748 million worldwide. I think Apocalypse is going to be bigger and better and I cannot wait to see what Singer delivers. Could it be the first X-Men film to gross over $1 billion?
- Finding Dory - released 29th July 2016
I have to admit, I am not wild about the idea of a Finding Dory movie and feel that this character should have been left in just Finding Nemo. However, Pixar think otherwise and Finding Dory is set to be the big animation movie of next summer.
Andrew Stanton directed Finding Nemo and is set to return as director and writer, alongside Angus MacLane; this will be the feature film debut for MacLane.
The movie will be set six months after the original and follow Dory as she reunites with her family. Ellen DeGeneres is back to voice the character of Dory, while Idris Elba, Dominic West, Diane Keaton, and Ed O'Neill are also on the cast list.
Pixar movies are always a huge box office hit and Finding Nemo grossed over $936 million back in 2003 - yes, it really was over a decade ago when that film hit the big screen.
Toy Story 3 remains the only Pixar movies to gross over $1 billion at the global box office but Finding Dory really could be the second. I doubt there will be any other animation to rival the success of Finding Dory next year.
Other movies that should perform well and could potentially threaten the billion dollar mark, include Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, which is based on the book by JK Rowling and is a spin-off from the popular Harry Potter series. Filming is underway with Oscar winner Eddie Redmayne in the central role of Newt Scamander
Star Wars: Rogue One is set to hit the big screen next December and is a spin-off from the core Star Wars movies. Star Wars: The Force Awakens is set to be a box office when it is released in a couple of months' time and Rogue One could also taste some of that success.
Suicide Squad is one of the other comic book movies that will be released next year and will be another DC Comic project. While I do think that the movie has the potential for both critical and commercial success, it may not quite have the legs to make it to the billion dollar mark.
Tagged in Batman X-Men Finding Dory