Movies that left a trail in 2016
Bakang Israel | Friday January 20, 2017 14:21
1. Captain America: Civil War
The month of May is always a big one with Marvel treats. Rated 2016’s hottest film, Civil War had movie enthusiasts crazed in adrenalin moments. New heroes were introduced. The other fun fact about this Marvel blockbuster is that it split heroes and fans into factions of speculator villains and saints.
This time Captain America and Tony Stark/Ironman were on opposite sides with each creating their own team of superheroes. Alliances were forged, vendettas pursued, and villains and saints were unmasked.
Bringing in new action heroes like Black Panther and the web-wielding Spiderman jolted to new excitement this almost trite film that earned a sky rocketing boost of sales of up to $1 billion in the US, and a $153 million worldwide gross, according to the Box Office. Certainly it was a successful sequel to its 2014 predecessor Captain America: Winter Soldier.
Genre: Sci-Fi
Release: May 6, 2016
2. Finding Dory
The second biggest selling film of 2016 is none other than Finding Dory, the world’s favourite ‘forgetful’ fish. This is one special fish that set cinemas alight with underwater humour.
This animation comedy was a continuation of the 2003 blockbuster Finding Nemo, and was not a bit farfetched from Will Smith’s Shark Tale escapades.
This one stole the limelight with its intriguing plot as Dory a wide-eyed, blue tang brought Amnesia or memory loss to cinemas showing fans that fish do happen to go through stress too, and when they do it gets very funny in 3D as Dory tickled viewers to the brim. Dory’s exaggerated mental issues came in second as the 3D animation recorded a gross of $1 billion in the US, and $28 billion worldwide.
Genre: Animation Comedy
Release date: June 16, 2016
3. Zootopia
Zootipia got the bronze medal, after Civil War and Finding Dory snatched the best podium finishes. As such this animation won hearts with an inspiring plot and the ambitious bunny had to teach humans the true nature of perseverance.
When life serves up lemons squeeze them into lemonade. In this one the bunny went up against the odds to succeed.
The film was very refreshing because of the comedy from the funny characters next to a bunny with the heart of a lion, tough looking mafia and syndicate sheep (they incorporated animal features like the bull sheep’s testosterone/ never say die attitude to create rude humor and action, with intimidating buffalo looks incorporated as perceptions of a boss). All this crazy demeanor accumulated a staggering $1 billion in the US, and $23 million worldwide.
Genre: Animation Comedy
Release Date: March 6, 2016
4. The Jungle Book
Talk about a real #throwback. Audiences of all ages thronged the cinema with eagerness to get a glimpse of their favourite character Mowgli, Rudyard Kiplinghis’s action adventure and fantasy reboot of The Jungle Book.
The film is back after an absence spanning over decades. Fans have fallen in love with this idea of a baby being raised by wolves in the jungle.
It taught children the ramifications of not abiding by the rules. For instance Mowgli encroaches into Kaa’s territory he nearly turns into a meal for the python, as such showing young ones dangers of not being home.
It became a hit because it was very colourful and creative with tigers, wolves, bears, panthers, monkeys and pythons are all featured.
Hollywood superstars such as Idris Alba, Scarlet Johanson and the likes voiced some of the characters. But the main highlight was the 3D as of the cinematography of the film. of all films 3D of 2016 the visuals of The Jungle Book were much more engaging as enthusiasts felt part of the script. It amassed $966 million, according to the Box Office.
Genre: Animation Adventure
Release Date: April 15, 2016
5. Rogue One: A Star Wars Story
Galactic Wars close the top five movies of 2016. The Rebel Alliance makes a risky move to steal the plans for the Death Star, setting up the epic saga to follow. Space market was also welcoming last year as this not so old release has already earned an amazing $916 million from across the globe including tickets sale from Botswana.
Genre: Action Sci-Fi
Release Date: December 16, 2016
6. The Secret Life of Pets
Pet ridiculousness at its best. Another animal driven animation comedy that excelled in exaggerating animal behaviour and instincts infused with human etiquette transformed into an irresistible laugh also got good reception. Through 2016, movie enthusiasts were captivated by tones of animation comedies like Zootopia, Angry Birds and Kung Fu Panda 3 amongst others just to name a few. The delight from TSLP came from the funny characters, which include Kevin Hart.
This character is very hilarious as he energised the film spicing it up with a bit of antagonism. I personally enjoyed the part of the script whereby a bunny leads a ferocious rebellion army of stray animals like alligators, snakes, dogs and turtles just to name a few. This comedy garnered $875 million sales worldwide.
Genre: Animation Comedy
Release Date: July 8, 2916
7. Batman V Superman:
Dawn of Justice
Last year was the reincarnation of BATMAN as we enthusiasts were treated to the birth of a new franchise.
This comes after Christian Bale playing the role came to an end. Dawn of Justice edition saw Ben Affleck show us what his ascension to the role had in store for the future. The most anticipated film since as far back as the year 2013 and Marvel fanatics’ wildest dream was realised, as Superman , the Kryptonian took on Gotham’s best. It was another battle of the giants as the two superheroes demonstrated their strength against each other before realising that their fighting skills were best suited for re-wiring the brains of desperados. This mega fight surpassed Floyd Mayweather’s bouts as this one generated $873 million at the Box Office.
Genre: Action Sci-Fi
Release Date: March 24, 2016
8. Fantastic Beasts and Where to Catch Them
This film was just the right remedy for fiction fantasy fanatics of Harry Potter, Game of Thrones, Lord of The Rings. Fans found Fantastic Beasts as a redeemer to quench their overwhelming thirst for magic.
The film’s wizardry left many in cloud nine when the expanding suitcase hid a wide array of diverse, magical creatures that exist among us, ranging from tiny, twig-like ones to majestic and humongous ones.
Well this portrayal of mythical worlds of wands and spells pocketed a good $796 million across the globe.
Genre: Adventure Fantasy
Release Date: November 18, 2016
9. Deadpool
February’s golden boy Ryan Reynolds played the foulmouthed superhero. He failed to crack the top five, as the most anticipated film since as far back as the year 2014 after premiering last February. Armed with his new abilities and a dark, twisted sense of humour, Deadpool hunts down the man who nearly destroyed his life. The film lead by action super stars, Reynolds, was star-studded giving it that magnetic power to which enabled it to drag enthusiasts to the cinema for a dose. Explicit language and some crazy cool stunts left the audience drooling. It only earned $783 million.
Genre: Action Comedy
Release Date: February 12, 2016
10. Suicide Squad
It feels good to be bad... Assemble a team of the world’s most dangerous, incarcerated Super Villains, provide them with the most powerful arsenal at the government’s disposal, and send them off on a mission to defeat an enigmatic, insuperable entity. US intelligence officer Amanda Waller has determined only a secretly convened group of disparate, despicable individuals could save her city. This gathering of the world’s best villains, The Ballon D’Or of criminals smashed the charts when it dominated August cashing in $745 million from cinemas around the world.
Genre: Action Fantasy
Release Date: August 5, 2016
Verdict
Judging by this top 10 selling chart the biggest movies of 2016 were basically animation as it had four strong animated movies on the top 10 list grossing almost $4 billion. Let’s see which genre produces more blockbusters this year.
Hottest Release Month
From the Box Office polls it seems the month of March is the one with the hottest releases, it remains to be seen in 2017 if this repeats.
Bubbling Under
Movies that made noise but made less money (half a billion).
1. The Revernant
2. Ride Along 2
3. Gods of Egypt
4. Kung Fu Pnada 3
5. The Legend Of Tarzan
6. Warcraft
7. Barbershop Next Cut
8. X-Men Next Cut
9. Me Before You
10. Jason Bourne
11. Ghost Busters
12. Assasins Creed