Film in 2018: The best and biggest releases this year

From Star Wars to Mary Poppins, these are the top movies to look out for this year
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Harry Fletcher8 January 2018

Following a truly landmark year in 2017, Hollywood has a whole lot in store for film fans in 2018.

From mega-budget reboots to highly-anticipated sequels and indie gems, these are the films to watch out for this year.

Darkest Hour

Release date: January 12

Gary Oldman piles on the prosthetics and smokes his way through a stack of cigars to play legendary wartime Prime Minister Winston Churchill in this biopic from Atonement and Pride & Prejudice director Joe Wright.

Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri

Release date: January 12

The Oscar-tipped black comedy Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri from In Bruges director Martin McDonagh sees Frances McDormand give a career-defining performance as Mildred Hayes, who campaigns against her town’s chief of police (Woody Harrelson) in an attempt to bring her daughter’s killers to justice.

Downsizing

Release date: January 19

Matt Damon stars in this satirical comedy, playing a man who decides to shrink himself to five inches tall (or should that be short?) in order to live a more fulfilled life. Think Honey I Shrunk The Kids, but for grown-ups.

Phantom Thread

Release Date: February 2

A Day in the life: Paul Thomas Anderson’s Phantom Thread starring Daniel Day Lewis
Laurie Sparham/Focus Features

Sexual obsession in 1950s England. Paul Thomas Anderson’s emotional epic, which he shot himself, is about an haute couture legend (Daniel Day-Lewis) and his shy German lover (Vicky Krieps). Even if it wasn’t Lewis’s last film (he says he’s retiring), it would be a must-see.

Black Panther

Release Date: February 13

Superheroes assemble: Black Panther headlines his own film in 2018
Marvel Studios

Black Panther is the latest Marvel superhero to get their own standalone film, with Chadwick Boseman returning to the role following his debut in Captain America: Civil War. Creed’s Michael B Jordan plays his second Marvel character, Erik Killmonger, while 12 Years A Slave’s Lupita Nyong’o and Forest Whitaker are both welcome additions to the franchise. Black Panther promises to be one of the standout superhero moments of the year.

The Shape of Water

Release Date: February 14

A cross between a superhero movie and Jean Cocteau’s Beauty and the Beast, Guillermo del Toro’s blockbuster casts Sally Hawkins as a timid mute who cleans floors for a living in a top-secret government bunker. When she meets a pre-verbal aquaman, all her passions are aroused. Ours, too. Del Toro, in his element, has created a liquid dream.

Lady Bird

Release date: February 16

Lady Bird has been blowing critics away in the US, and British film fans are in for a treat when it finally opens in the UK in February. Saoirse Ronan plays the titular Christine 'Lady Bird' McPherson in the film, which promises to be a real indie gem.

I, Tonya

Release date: February 16

The shocking true story of champion figure skater Tonya Harding is the inspiration for Margot Robbie’s I, Tonya. Don’t ruin the plot for yourself by Googling Harding’s story, but rest assured that Robbie delivers a powerhouse performance in this Oscar-tipped drama.

Tomb Raider

Release date: March 16

Could this be the first genuinely good video game movie? Angelina Jolie’s Lara Croft: Tomb Raider from 2001 might have been good fun, but Alicia Vikander’s reboot has the potential to take the Tomb Raider franchise up a notch. Watch this space.

Ready Player One

Release date: March 30

This big-screen adaptation of Ernest Cline’s sci-fi novel is set in dystopian 2044, and stars Miles Teller as a gamer who's gradually drawn deeper and deeper in a virtual reality game.

The book won over audiences in 2011, and fans of the novel shouldn’t worry too much about the adaptation: you’re in safe hands with director Steven Spielberg at the helm.

Marvel Studios’ Avengers: Infinity War

Release date: April 27, 2018

The world’s biggest superhero franchise is back with a bang in 2018, with all the major players reuniting for Marvel Studios’ Avengers: Infinity War. It’s the first time that the likes of Tony Stark and Bruce Banner have teamed up with the Guardians of the Galaxy guys too. Hold onto your butts, this is going to be epic.

Solo: A Star Wars Story

Release date: May 25

Going Solo: Alden Ehrenreich plays the lead role in Solo: A Star Wars Story
Jason Kempin/Getty Images

Following the excellent Rogue One in 2016, the second Star Wars spin-off film is due to be released in May, with Hail, Ceasar! star Alden Ehrenreich in the lead role. However, we’ve yet to see a trailer and there are strong rumours that the film could be delayed until December. Either way, the film will take a closer look at the early years of the galaxy’s favourite scruffy nerf herder and who knows, maybe we’ll finally settle the ‘who shot first?’ debate once and for all too.

Deadpool 2

Release date: June 1

2018 is looking incredibly strong for superhero films, and the most badass hero of them all is back in June as Deadpool 2 opens. Ryan Reynolds’ Merc With A Mouth returns for the high-anticipated follow-up to the massively successful R-rated hit this year, and this time a gym-honed Josh Brolin’s Cable is along for the ride.

Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom

Release date: June 7

The other Chris Pratt franchise also returns this year, with the actor returning to the role of velociraptor-whisperer Owen Grady in Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom.

Following the destruction of the Jurassic World theme park in the last film, Pratt and Bryce Dallas Howard must team-up to save the remaining creatures, after a volcano erupts and threatens to wipe the dinosaurs out… again.

Ocean's 8

Release date: June 8

The likes of Sandra Bullock, Cate Blanchett, Ann Hathaway and Rihanna appear in Ocean's 8, an all-female reboot of Brad Pitt and George Clooney’s 2001 crime-caper Ocean’s 11, which was itself a remake of the 1960 original starring Frank Sinatra and the Rat Pack.

The trolls have started already, tearing into the trailer on YouTube, but the film's cast is one of the strongest of the year. One thing’s for sure – none of the accents in the film can be as bad as Don Cheadle’s in the 2001 movie.

On Chesil Beach

Release date: June 15

Lionsgate

Saoirse Ronan stars in her second Ian McEwan adaptation On Chesil Beach, 11 years after delivering her breakthrough performance in Atonement. The film focuses on a young couple embarking on their honeymoon, which turns out to be a stifling and claustrophobic experience.

The Incredibles 2

Release date: June 15

One of the most-loved Pixar films of all time is back in 2018, with the Incredibles 2 scheduled for release in June. Mr Incredible, Elastigirl, Violet and Dash all return, and they all have a task on their hands to contain baby Jack-Jack’s newly-discovered powers.

Mission Impossible 6

Release date: June 27

Cruise control: the actor is back for Mission Impossible 6 this year
Paramount

After making an unconvincing stab at resurrecting DC’s Dark universe with The Mummy last year, Tom Cruise is back with the sixth Mission Impossible film. Superman star Henry Cavill joins him for the action blockbuster, which promises to be another action spy movie of the most bombastic kind.

Mary, Queen of Scots

Release Date: September 14

Movie royalty: Saoirse Ronan stars in Mary, Queen of Scotts
Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images

Theatre director Josie Rourke directs Saoirse Ronan as the titular queen, opposite Margot Robbie as Elizabeth I. With a script from House of Cards creator Beau Willimon, expect pathos and machiavellian plotting.

Venom

Release date: October 5

A worthy foe: Tom Hardy stars as Spider-Man's adversary Venom
Tristan Fewings/Getty

Tom Hardy makes his second high-profile foray into superhero movies with Venom, playing Spider-Man’s adversary Eddie Block, who encounters the alien life-force symbiote. Whatever happens with the film, Hardy’s portrayal of the villain has to be an improvement on Topher Grace’s portrayal of the character in Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man 3...

Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald

Release date: November 16

A touch of magic: Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald
Warner Bros

Eddie Redmayne returns as Newt Scamander for The Crimes of Grindelwald, the second instalment of the Harry Potter spin-off franchise Fantastic Beasts.

For all the buzz surrounding the first movie, the franchise has been blighted somewhat by the controversy surrounding JK Rowling’s defence of her decision to cast Johnny Depp in the titular role. Whether the success of The Crimes of Grindelwald will be affected by backlash on social media remains to be seen.

Aquaman

Release date: December 21

Under the sea: Jason Momoa stars as Aquaman

DC’s Justice League was, at best, a bit of a mess when it came out in 2017. Jason Momoa, however, was one of the best things about the film and the former Game of Thrones star helms his own movie in December. DC fans will be hoping the film captures some of the same magic that made Wonder Woman one of the best films of 2017.

Mary Poppins Returns

Release date: December 25

Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious: Emily Blunt stars as Mary Poppins
WireImage

This December, film fans will return to the soot-stained streets of London for Disney’s upcoming remake of the 1964 classic Mary Poppins. In an inspired bit of casting, Emily Blunt takes over from Julie Andrews in the title role, alongside the likes of Colin Firth, Meryl Streep, Ben Whishaw, Julie Walters, Hamilton’s Lin-Msanuel Miranda and the returning Dick Van Dyke.

Recapturing the Mary Poppins magic is a difficult task but the early promo shots are very encouraging, and the remake promises to be the biggest film released this Christmas.

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