:: Something Old, Nothing New
Only one film in the top 20 highest grossing features of 2016 at the UK box office was an original concept: the well-trained computer-animated romp The Secret Life Of Pets. Audiences simply couldn't resist fast food film-making, which served up a comforting array of sequels, prequels, remakes, spin-offs and adaptations of existing material such as novels and comic books. Top of the menu were Fantastic Beasts And Where To Find Them, Bridget Jones's Baby, a rollicking live action Jungle Book, Finding Dory and Rogue One: A Star Wars Story.
It should come as no surprise then that 2017 promises a relentless onslaught of the deeply familiar across all genres. Testosterone-fuelled showdowns torn from the pages of Marvel and DC Comics punctuate the year, including Hugh Jackman's final bow as Wolverine in the gritty chase thriller Logan (March 3), a groovy battle beyond the stars with Chris Pratt and Zoe Saldana in Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 2 (April 28), and a stand-alone origin story for Gal Gadot as Wonder Woman (June 2).
High school student Peter Parker (Tom Holland) spins a new web of intrigue in Spider-Man: Homecoming (July 7), sibling rivalry unfolds on an epic scale, pitting Chris Hemsworth against Tom Hiddleston in Thor: Ragnarok (October 27), and Batman (Ben Affleck) and Superman (Henry Cavill) continue to flaunt their gym-toned physiques in the superhero smackdown Justice League (November 17), directed by Zack Snyder.
Fans of computer animation have plenty to whet their appetites – in 2D or 3D – including a new adventure for Belgian cartoonist Peyo's loveable blue creations Smurfs: The Lost Village (March 31), the return of arch-villain Gru (voiced by Steve Carell) and those mishap-prone Minions in Despicable Me 3 (June 30), and one final lap of glory for Lightning McQueen (Owen Wilson) in Pixar's Cars 3 (July 14).
Later in the year, everything is far from awesome for the Caped Crusader in The Lego Batman Movie (August 18), and Jim Carter, Miriam Margolyes and Tim Pigott-Smith provide voices for high-flying characters in The Little Vampire (October 13), based on the children's book series by Angela Sommer-Bodenburg.
There are also two live action renderings of very different animations: Disney's tale as old as time Beauty And The Beast (March 17), which pairs Emma Watson's songbird Belle and Dan Stevens' hideously transformed Prince, and Scarlett Johansson as a counter-terrorist cyborg in the bullet-riddled dystopia of Ghost In The Shell (March 31).
:: There Will Be Blood
Gore hounds, who like their horror movies bloodthirsty, will be howling with glee at 2017's monstrous offerings. In terms of remakes, Tom Cruise meets his match in Sofia Boutella's decaying Egyptian princess in The Mummy (June 9), Pennywise the shape-shifting clown dances through nightmares in Stephen King's It (September 8), and hockey mask-clad maniac Jason Voorhees is resurrected in Friday The 13th (October 13).
Additionally, vampires and werewolves continue their feud in Underworld: Blood Wars (January 13), Milla Jovovich completes her six-picture tour of duty as the survivor of zombie apocalypse in Resident Evil: The Final Chapter (February 3), the urban legend of a killer videotape resurfaces in Rings (February 3), and Ridley Scott conducts a symphony of screams in deep space in Alien: Covenant (May 19).
There are chills aplenty too in Annabelle 2 (May 26), World War Z 2 (June 9) starring Brad Pitt and a legion of the undead, a belated sequel to Flatliners (September 29), the conclusion to Jigsaw's reign of terror in Saw: Legacy (October 20), and the supernatural chills of Insidious: Chapter 4 (November 3).
:: Turning Over An Old Leaf
Book shelves provide the inspiration for T2 Trainspotting (January 27), which reunites director Danny Boyle, screenwriter John Hodge and the original cast, the saucy slap and tickle of Fifty Shades Darker (February 10), the harrowing real-life events of the bombing of the 2013 Boston marathon in Patriots Day (February 24), and a boardroom battle royale in the computer-animated comedy, The Boss Baby (April 7).
Oscar nominee Jacob Tremblay (Room) plays a boy with a facial deformity who proves that beauty comes from within, in Wonder (April 7), the true story of an animal lover's bravery during the Second World War casts Jessica Chastain as The Zookeeper's Wife (May 5), Tris (Shailene Woodley) and her supporters face the final showdown in The Divergent Series: Ascendant (June 9), while Idris Elba and Matthew McConaughey lock spurs in Stephen King's western horror, The Dark Tower (July 28).
Also, Dane DeHaan and Cara Delevingne blast into space in Valerian And The City Of A Thousand Planets (August 4) directed by Luc Besson, Michael Fassbender plays Detective Harry Hole in Jo Nesbo's frost-bitten thriller The Snowman (October 13), Kate Winslet and Idris Elba are plane crash survivors who fall in love in The Mountain Between Us (October 20), Jennifer Lawrence essays a Russian double agent in Red Sparrow (November 10), and Hercule Poirot (Kenneth Branagh) interrogates an all-star cast of suspects including Johnny Depp, Judi Dench and Michelle Pfeiffer in Agatha Christie's Murder On The Orient Express (November 24).
:: And The Winner Is
A few likely contenders for Academy Awards glory on February 26 have already flexed their muscles including the cryptic sci-fi thriller Arrival, starring Amy Adams, David Mackenzie's nail-biting crime drama Hell Or High Water, featuring a scene-stealing Jeff Bridges, Clint Eastwood's impeccably crafted Sully with Tom Hanks as the eponymous pilot who guided his stricken commercial flight onto the Hudson River, and the hysterical Florence Foster Jenkins, boasting a perfect comic duet between Meryl Streep and Hugh Grant.
Most of the frontrunners for the major prizes are yet to show their hand on this side of the Atlantic. The three favourites for Best Picture are Damien Chazelle's gorgeously romantic musical La La Land (January 13), which should reap the most Oscar nominations and earn deserving nods for fleet-footed leads Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling; Kenneth Lonergan's gut-wrenching portrait of grief, Manchester By The Sea (January 13), blessed with stellar performances from Casey Affleck, Michelle Williams and 19-year-old rising star Lucas Hedges; and Barry Jenkins' exquisite coming of age drama Moonlight (February 24), which chronicles three chapters in the life of a black man wrestling with his sexuality. Expect supporting acting nominations for Mahershala Ali and an almost unrecognisable Naomie Harris as a crack-addicted mother.
There will be multiple nominations too for the heartbreaking true life drama Lion (January 20) starring Dev Patel and Nicole Kidman, Mel Gibson's incendiary war opus Hacksaw Ridge (January 27) headlining Andrew Garfield as a real-life conscientious objector, who served courageously in the Second World War without firing a single shot, and Jeff Nichols' haunting interracial romance Loving (February 3), which pairs Ruth Negga and Joel Edgerton.
:: Girls On Film
Additionally, in the closely contested acting categories, Natalie Portman is spellbinding as Jackie Onassis in the aftermath of President John F Kennedy's assassination in Pablo Larrain's unconventional biopic Jackie (January 20), Annette Bening is a delight as a free-spirited divorcee in Mike Mills' semi-autobiographical valentine to motherhood, 20th Century Women (February 10), newcomer Lily Gladstone merits inclusion in the Best Supporting Actress category for her heartbreaking portrayal of a lovestruck ranch hand in Kelly Reichardt's tender drama Certain Women (March 3), and French national treasure Isabelle Huppert is in blistering form as a rape victim who becomes empowered by her horrific ordeal, in Paul Verhoeven's provocative Elle (March 10).
:: The Final Cut
A few sparks of originality promise to set the big screen ablaze in 2017, bolstered by performances from Hollywood A-listers and the directorial brio of some of the most visionary film-makers working today.
James McAvoy plays a creepy kidnapper with 23 distinct personalities in Split (January 20) written and directed by M Night Shyamalan (The Sixth Sense), cute critters seek fame and fortune in the computer-animated musical Sing (January 27), east meets west as Matt Damon faces legions of snarling beasties in Zhang Yimou's spectacular action adventure The Great Wall (February 17), and the third film in the Cloverfield franchise, God Particle (February 24), pits a team of astronauts on an international space station in a deadly race against time.
Lord Mountbatten (Hugh Bonneville) and his wife (Gillian Anderson) witness the 1947 partition of India in Viceroy's House (March 3) directed by Gurinder Chadha (Bend It Like Beckham), an inquisitive company executive (Dane DeHaan) unearths dark secrets at a health spa in A Cure For Wellness (March 24), director Guy Ritchie reimagines the story of Excalibur - lock, stock and two smoking cannons - in King Arthur: Legend Of The Sword (March 24), and an extra-terrestrial entity terrorises a space station populated by Jake Gyllenhaal and Ryan Reynolds in Life (March 24).
