Captain Marvel
Friday, March 8
Disney
Directors: Anna Boden, Ryan Fleck
Cast: Brie Larson, Samuel L. Jackson
Marvel Comics’ first female lead aims to emulate rival DC Comics’ Wonder Woman, a smash at $412.5M. Captain is already Fandago’s third-highest pre-seller ever among Marvel films, behind only Avengers: Infinity War and Black Panther—which become the company’s two biggest titles. This title is poised to be one of Q1’s biggest box office earners.
Avengers: Endgame
Friday, April 26
Disney
Directors: Joe Russo, Anthony Russo
Cast: Robert Downey Jr., Scarlett Johansson, Chris Hemsworth, Jeremy Renner
Avengers: Infinity War was last year’s second-highest-grossing film domestically with $678.8M, behind only Black Panther. After Infinity ended on a cliffhanger, December’s teaser trailer for sequel Endgame set a new record for most online views for a trailer within its first 24 hours. As of this writing, it’s already one of YouTube’s 10 most viewed American movie trailers of all time.
Aladdin
Friday, May 24
Disney
Director: Guy Ritchie
Cast: Will Smith, Mena Massoud
The original animated Aladdin was 1992’s top film with $217.3M—a total that would impress even today but stuns at $463.0M adjusted for ticket-price inflation. This live-action remake aims to follow Disney’s other successful live-action remakes this decade including Beauty and the Beast with $504.0M, The Jungle Book with $364.0M, and Alice in Wonderland with $334.1M.
Toy Story 4
Friday, June 21
Disney
Director: Josh Cooley
Cast: Tom Hanks, Tim Allen
The Toy Story franchise is arguably Pixar’s most iconic, making this installment particularly compelling. Toy Story 3 was the highest-grossing film of 2010 domestically, earning $415.0M. Pixar has been on a box office tear with (most of) its recent sequels, including Incredibles 2 with $608.5M and Finding Dory with $486.2M.
Spider-Man: Far from Home
Friday, July 5
Sony / Columbia
Director: Jon Watts
Cast: Tom Holland, Jake Gyllenhaal, Zendaya
Spider-Man: Homecoming was the sixth-biggest movie of 2017, earning $334.2M. Audiences responded positively to the character’s introduction to the Marvel universe and the younger take on the character. The sequel adds new characters including Mysterio, a favorite of comic fans who hasn’t appeared on-screen to date.
The Lion King
Friday, July 19
Disney
Director: Jon Favreau
Cast: Donald Glover, Beyoncé Knowles, James Earl Jones
1994’s original Lion King was the year’s second-biggest movie, earning $312.8M or a massive $682.0M adjusted for ticket-price inflation. The film’s reputation has only increased since, cementing itself as a contemporary classic for Generation Z and millennials. The trailer for the CGI-animated version earned the third-most online views ever for a trailer in its first 24 hours.
It: Chapter 2
Friday, September 6
Warner Bros.
Director: Andres Muschietti
Cast: Jessica Chastain, James McAvoy, Bill Skarsgård
2017’s It shattered several records, including biggest R-rated horror movie and biggest September opening by almost doubling the previous record set by Rush Hour. Overall, It was the seventh-biggest movie of 2017, earning $327.4M. The sequel takes place in the present day, several decades after the original 1980s setting, with the original characters now grown and still haunted by a demonic clown.
Frozen 2
Friday, November 22
Disney
Directors: Jennifer Lee, Chris Buck
Cast: Idina Menzel, Kristen Bell, Josh Gad
Frozen was the third-highest grosser of 2013, earning $400.7M. Its enchanted box office run owes its success to longevity: it spent a stunning 16 weekends in the top 10, the most of any film from the past decade. The sequel emerges from this list as one of the most anticipated animated movies of the year.
Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle Sequel
Friday, December 13
Sony / Columbia
Director: Jake Kasdan
Cast: Dwayne Johnson, Kevin Hart, Jack Black, Karen Gillan
Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle was one of the most surprising box office breakouts of the entire decade, the fourth-biggest movie of 2017, earning $404.5M. The entire cast and director are back for the part-comedy, part-fantasy, part-action sequel. This follow-up might be saying “welcome” to the top tier of the box office.
Star Wars: Episode IX
Friday, December 20
Disney
Director: J.J. Abrams
Cast: Daisy Ridley, Adam Driver, John Boyega
2015’s The Force Awakens was the highest-grossing film of its year, as was 2017’s The Last Jedi. The series aims to three-peat what claims to be its final installment. Writer and director J.J. Abrams returns as he did on the universally beloved Awakens, after Rian Johnson wrote and directed Jedi to a much more mixed reception.
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