Edit: I completely forgotten one of my most anticipated franchise, X-Men. Now the lists are fixed.
On the even when I get to watch Deadpool, I'm very excited for the superhero slate coming this year and thought which one will be king of the crop.
Naturally, this is a guessing game at this stage. I thought it would be fun to predict and speculate how each of the superhero movies coming out this year will do.
I will make two lists, one will be a prediction on box office results (US sales only) and one will be a ranking for my personal favourites.
The superhero movies of 2016, following date of releases, are:
Deadpool (20th Century Fox) 12 February
Batman v Superman: Dawn Of Justice (Warner Bros.) 25 March
Captain America: Civil War (Marvel) 6 May
X-Men: Apocalypse (20th Century Fox) 27 May
Suicide Squad (Warner Bros.) 5 August
Doctor Strange (Marvel) 4 November
Box Office Predictions:
6. Doctor Strange
Being the least popular name among all the superheroes, Doctor Strange will do well but not to the numbers that the rest of the movies are expecting.
With Benedict Cumberbatch as the lead, who is barely a household name today, and a lesser known rest of the cast (even though some of them are well established actors like Rachel McAdams, Tilda Swinton and Chiwetel Ejiofor); I believe Marvel will be happy to make Ant-Man numbers.
5. Suicide Squad
DC and Warner Bros. Pictures response to Marvel and Disney's Guardian Of The Galaxy, but the two major advantages for the Squad are having Will Smith to lead the cast, and the return of DC's favourite villain, Joker.
Also to a lesser extent, it will be the first introduction of Harley Quinn in a live-action movie played by Margot Robbie. And there is Jared Leto, fresh off his Academy Award win. Not to mention a slew of secondary characters that, though not well known at all, but will be intriguing for the movie.
Suicide Squad is expected to make a much bigger number than Doctor Strange.
4. X-Men: Apocalypse
Coming off the most successful installment, Days Of Future Past, Apocalypse aims to up the ante. But so far the first trailer didn't do much to maintain that enthusiasm.
Still, the success of the previous movie will carry the numbers through. And this year is just an uphill battle because there are so many superheroes coming out. Sitting in the middle should be good enough for Fox.
3. Deadpool
Being the only R-rated movie of the bunch (so far), but because of an incredible and unprecedented stroke of genius marketing strategy, Deadpool can be the dark horse that upsets every other superhero movies out there. The R-rating will definitely dampen the sales numbers but the movie so far have been tracking really well and will surely bring in a lot of repeat viewings.
Ryan Reynolds will be the next Robert Downey Jr. and Hugh Jackman. He is Deadpool.
2. Captain America: Civil War
The third installment in the Captain America series will see the Marvel heroes going head to head with each other. Like Batman and Superman, though more so here, fans are asked to pick a side and show their allegiance on social media.
The previous movie, The Winter Soldier, has been such a surprise hit that there will be a lot of returning fans for this. Also, the word so far, plus all the marketing, have looked spectacular and exciting. The directors, the Russo Brothers, aim to make this an even bigger movie. If done right, the box office results will follow.
1. Batman v Superman: Dawn Of Justice
No other superhero characters are bigger than Batman or Superman. And to have them together for the first time on the silver screen, and for them to duke it out for the first half, that's a double treat no fans want to miss.
This will bring also a cinematic event that not many movies are able to do today. As for box office numbers, it will all boil down to how good the actual movie is. I have a feeling that, with Ben Affleck supporting Zack Snyder, this could be really sweet. So expect BvS to dominate.
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Now with that out of the way, I'm going to rank these movies the way I expect them to deliver in terms of an entertainment and quality, judging by the marketing material so far and the people behind the projects.
Entertaining Qualities Predictions:
6. Suicide Squad
Director David Ayer has been solid in terms of action-oriented movies, but he never really delivered one where I thought was spectacular. Fury being his best work and was his last one so that bodes quite well for him.
Still, at such a grand scale, one has to wonder and be nervous about the end result. I don't think he will fail, but I also don't think this movie will be anywhere as memorable as the rest.
5. Doctor Strange
Marvel has set a track record already. Nothing they do hasn't been gold. So I'm expecting Doctor Strange, as a movie in its entirety, to be solid and have a clear direction. Also this will be the first time Marvel introduces a horror element to their property by bringing in horror director Scott Derrickson.
But it is also with those same reasons, the horror element and a horror director joining the Marvel fold, there are a lot of things that could go wrong. While being a solid movie, it is also an introductory movie to the character. So, it may not be as fun and entertaining as the next three movies.
4. Batman v Superman: Dawn Of Justice
While the pull factors in this movie are unmistakable, Zack Snyder hasn't always delivered. Man Of Steel fans have split into two camps, Sucker Punch was a complete bore, 300 has many flaws. With Snyder in the director's chair, there's always a risk that the movie will fall short at the end. And if the movie turns out to be like the second trailer - nail-biting action in the first three-quarters and then a complete let-down in the last quarter, then BvS will sit in the middle of the pack; which is what I'm expecting.
3. Deadpool
Ryan Reynolds is born to play this character. The preparation for this movie has taken him over five years. And having fought and won the R-rating, you can tell that the producers are treating this character right this time.
If the marketing is any indication, this movie is going to be fan-friggin-tastic.
2. X-Men: Apocalypse
I believe in director Bryan Singer. He had gotten a firm hold of this franchise and how the characters should be portrayed onscreen.
And we can expect to see more of those epic action sequences like Quicksilver's. And what I can see so far of Olivia Munn's Psylocke is spot on. I'm really looking forward to how big this movie is going to be.
1. Captain America: Civil War
That line from the trailer, "So was I," still hits me right there in the middle of my chest. The action that we saw right after that line, made me jump out of my chair. This red, white and blue shield is going to slay everything in its path as the most entertaining superhero movie of the year.
With the Marvel brand and direction behind it, and the Russo Brothers' pitch for this movie that landed them the next two biggest movies in the Marvel slate (Avengers: Infinity War Part I and Part II), and with the success of The Winter Soldier behind it; this movie has everything going for it to be the best of the year.
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So agree? Disagree? I would love to see your list.
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