With '08 a few weeks from ending, the industry is beginning to focus on next year's line-up of films. Here's the tentative schedule of '09 releases...
(All dates subject to change.)
JANUARY
2nd
-N/A
9th
-“Bride Wars” (Fox)
-“Gran Torino” (WB) WIDE
-“Not Easily Broken” (Sony)
-“The Reader” (Weinstein Co.) WIDE
-“The Unborn” (Universal)
16th
-"The Brothers Bloom" (Summit Entertainment) WIDE
-"Defiance" (Paramount Vantage) WIDE
-“My Bloody Valentine 3D” (Lionsgate)
-“Paul Blart: Mall Cop” (Sony)
-“Notorious B.I.G.” (Fox Searchlight)
23rd
-“The Dark Knight” (WB) Reissue
-“Hotel for Dogs” (DreamWorks/Paramount)
-“Inkheart” (New Line/WB)
-“Killshot” (Weinstein Co.)
-"Last Chance Harvey" (Overture Films) WIDE
-"Possession" (Yari Film Group)
-“Underworld: Rise of the Lycans” (Sony)
30th
-“Chilled in Miami” (Lionsgate)
-“Taken” (Fox)
-“The Uninvited” (DreamWorks/Paramount)
Expected top grosser for the month: “Inkheart”
FEBRUARY
6th
-“Coraline” (Focus Features)
-“Fanboys” (Weinstein Co.)
-“He’s Just Not That Into You” (New Line/WB)
-“The Pink Panther 2” (Sony)
-“Push” (Summit Entertainment)
13th
-“Confessions of a Shopaholic” (Disney)
-“The International” (Sony)
-“Friday the 13th” (New Line/WB)
20th
-"Fired Up" (Sony)
-“Tyler Perry’s Madea Goes to Jail” (Lionsgate)
-“Youth in Revolt” (Weinstein/Dimention)
27th
-"Assassination of a High School President" (Yari Film Group)
-“Jonas Brothers 3D Concert Movie” (Disney)
-“Resurrection” (Sony)
-“Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li” (Fox)
Expected top grosser for the month: “The Pink Panther 2”
MARCH
6th
-“All About Steve” (Fox)
-“Watchmen” (WB)
13th
-"Miss February" (Fox)
-“A Perfect Getaway” (MGM)
-“Race to Witch Mountain” (Disney)
20th
-“Duplicity” (Universal)
-“I Love You Man” (DreamWorks/Paramount)
-“Knowing” (Summit Entertainment)
27th
-“12 Rounds” (Fox)
-“The Accidental Husband” (Yari Film Group)
-“Adventureland” (Miramax)
-“The Janky Promoters” (Weinstein/Dimention)
-“Monsters vs. Aliens” (DreamWorks/Paramount)
Expected top grosser for the month: “Watchmen”
APRIL
3rd
-“Fast & Furious” (Universal)
-“The Ugly Truth” (Sony)
8th (Wednesday)
-“Dragonball Evolution” (Fox)
10th
-“Case 39” (Paramount)
-“Hannah Montana: The Movie” (Disney)
-"Observe and Report" (WB)
17th
-“17 Again” (New Line/WB)
-“Crank 2” (Lionsgate)
-“State of Play” (Universal)
24th
-“Fighting” (Rogue)
-"Obsessed" (Sony)
-“The Soloist” (DreamWorks/Paramount)
-“Vanilla Gorilla” (Freestyle Releasing)
Expected top grosser for the month: “Fast & Furious”
MAY
1st
-“Ghosts of Girlfriends Past” (New Line/WB)
-“X-Men Origins: Wolverine” (Fox)
8th
-“My Life in Ruins” (Fox Searchlight)
-“Next Day Air” (Summit Entertainment)
-“Star Trek” (Paramount)
-“Wild Child” (Universal)
15th
-“Angels & Monsters” (Sony)
-“Bruno” (Universal)
22nd
-“Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian” (Fox)
-“Terminator Salvation” (WB/Sony)
29th
-“Drag Me to Hell” (Universal)
-“Up” (Disney/Pixar)
Expected top grosser for the month: “X-Men Origins: Wolvlerine”
JUNE
5th
-“Land of the Lost” (Universal)
12th
-“The Hangover” (WB)
-“Nowhereland” (Paramount)
-“The Proposal” (Disney)
-“The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3” (Sony)
19th
-"The Haunting in Connecticut" (Lionsgate)
-“The Year One” (Sony)
26th
-“My Sister’s Keeper” (New Line/WB)
-“Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen” (DreamWorks/Paramount)
Expected top grosser for the month: “Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen”
JULY
1st (Wednesday)
-“Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs” (Fox)
-“Public Enemies” (Universal)
3rd
N/A
10th
-“2012” (Sony)
-“I Love You Beth Cooper” (Fox)
17th
-“Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince” (WB)
24th
-“G-Force” (Disney)
-“Orphan” (WB)
-“Piranha 3D” (Weinstein/Dimention)
31st
-"Bandslam" (Summit Entertainment)
-“Funny People” (Universal)
-“They Came From Upstairs” (Fox)
Expected top grosser for the month: “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince”
AUGUST
7th
-“G.I. Joe: Rise of Cobra” (Paramount)
-“Julie & Julia” (Sony)
-“Shorts” (WB)
14th
-"Dance Flick (Paramount)
-“District 9” (Sony)
-“Taking Woodstock” (Focus Features)
21st
-“Final Destination: Death Trip 3D” (New Line/WB)
-"The Goods: The Don Ready Story" (Paramount Vantage)
-"Inglorious Bastards" (Weinstein Co.)
28th
-"Mardi Gras" (Sony)
-"Halloween 2" (Dimention)
Expected top grosser for the month: “G.I. Joe: Rise of Cobra”
SEPTEMBER
4th
-“Game” (Lionsgate)
-“Pandorum” (Overture)
9th (Wednesday)
-“9” (Focus Features)
11th
-"Daybreakers" (Lionsgate)
-“Whiteout” (WB)
18th
-“Armored” (Sony)
-“Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs” (Sony)
-“The Informant” (WB)
-"Jennifer's Body" (Fox)
25th
-“The Crazies” (Overture)
-“Fame” (MGM)
-“Surrogates” (Disney)
Expected top grosser for the month: “The Informant”
OCTOBER
2nd
-“Shutter Island” (DreamWorks/Paramount)
-“Sorority Row” (Summit Entertainment)
-“Toy Story” 3D (Disney)
9th
-"Zombieland" (Sony)
16th
-“Stepfather” (Sony)
-“Where the Wild Things Are” (WB)
23rd
-“Amelia” (Fox Searchlight)
-“Astro Boy” (Summit Entertainment)
-“Saw VI” (Lionsgate)
30th
-N/A
Expected top grosser for the year: “Where the Wild Things Are”
NOVEMBER
6th
-“The Box” (WB)
-“A Christmas Carol” (Disney)
-“The Fantastic Mr. Fox” (Fox)
-“The Wolfman” (Universal)
13th
-“The Tooth Fairy” (Fox)
20th
-"New Moon" (Summit Entertainment)
-“Planet 51” (Sony)
-“Sherlock Holmes” (WB)
-“The Three Stooges” (MGM)
27th
-“Old Dogs” (Disney)
Expected top grosser for the month: “A Christmas Carol”
DECEMBER
4th
-N/A
11th
-“The Lovely Bones” (DreamWorks/Paramount)
18th
-“Avatar” (Fox)
25th
-“Alvin & the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel” (Fox)
-“The Princess and the Frog” (Disney)
-Untitled Hugh Grant/Sarah Jessica Parker Comedy (Sony)
-Untitled Nancy Meyers (Universal)
Expected top grosser for the month: “Avatar”
Of these upcoming releases, here the ten films that the studios feel will be the year's biggest box office hits...
-"Avatar" (Fox)
-"Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" (WB)
-"Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs" (Fox)
-"Monsters vs. Aliens" (DreamWorks)
-"Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian" (Fox)
-"Terminator Salvation" (WB/Sony)
-"Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen" (DreamWorks/Paramount)
-"Up" (Pixar/Disney)
-"Watchmen" (WB)
-"X-Men Origins: Wolverine" (Fox)
"2012" (could become director Roland Emmerich's fifth $100 million-plus earner out of his last six movies), "Angels & Demons" (may give Oscar-winner Tom Hanks his 16th $100 million-plus domestic performer, it would be the sixth for Oscar-winning director Ron Howard), "A Christmas Carol" (another CG animated film from Oscar-winner Robert Zemeckis following "The Polar Express" and "Beowulf"), "G.I. Joe: Rise of Cobra" (could launch a new franchise), and "Star Trek" (may resurrect the series and become only the second $100 million domestic earner of the 11 film series) are also expected to pull in big numbers next year.
'Harry Potter', 'Transformers', and 'Wolverine' are the three films many speculate will have opening weekend marks north of the $100 million plateau. The producers of 'Transformers' seem very confident that they can eclipse the $158.4 million debut of "The Dark Knight" to claim the record of biggest opening weekend haul in history. 'Half-Blood Prince' looks to earn the biggest debut tally ever for the 'Harry Potter' series, while 'Wolverine' could kick-start a brand new franchise for Fox.
Oscar-winner James Cameron returns to the director's chair to release his first mainstream film in 12 years with the highly anticipated sci-fi flick "Avatar". The film is expected to be one of the most visually stunning achievements in history as Peter Jackson's FX house Weta Digital could be looking at nabbing their fifth Visual FX Oscar out of the last 8 years for their work on the movie. "Avatar" may also end up being the biggest competition for 'Harry Potter' at the worldwide box office. 'Half-Blood Prince' is expected to earn no less than $900 million globally.
As with every year, the studios are looking to have another record year of box office grosses, even if theater admissions fall off from this year. The hope is that ticket sales will either match or (slightly) exceed this year's numbers (currently sitting at 1.264 billion admissions sold).
Regardless of how many tickets the studios sell, '09 should end up being a very solid year of movie-going.
(All dates subject to change.)
JANUARY
2nd
-N/A
9th
-“Bride Wars” (Fox)
-“Gran Torino” (WB) WIDE
-“Not Easily Broken” (Sony)
-“The Reader” (Weinstein Co.) WIDE
-“The Unborn” (Universal)
16th
-"The Brothers Bloom" (Summit Entertainment) WIDE
-"Defiance" (Paramount Vantage) WIDE
-“My Bloody Valentine 3D” (Lionsgate)
-“Paul Blart: Mall Cop” (Sony)
-“Notorious B.I.G.” (Fox Searchlight)
23rd
-“The Dark Knight” (WB) Reissue
-“Hotel for Dogs” (DreamWorks/Paramount)
-“Inkheart” (New Line/WB)
-“Killshot” (Weinstein Co.)
-"Last Chance Harvey" (Overture Films) WIDE
-"Possession" (Yari Film Group)
-“Underworld: Rise of the Lycans” (Sony)
30th
-“Chilled in Miami” (Lionsgate)
-“Taken” (Fox)
-“The Uninvited” (DreamWorks/Paramount)
Expected top grosser for the month: “Inkheart”
FEBRUARY
6th
-“Coraline” (Focus Features)
-“Fanboys” (Weinstein Co.)
-“He’s Just Not That Into You” (New Line/WB)
-“The Pink Panther 2” (Sony)
-“Push” (Summit Entertainment)
13th
-“Confessions of a Shopaholic” (Disney)
-“The International” (Sony)
-“Friday the 13th” (New Line/WB)
20th
-"Fired Up" (Sony)
-“Tyler Perry’s Madea Goes to Jail” (Lionsgate)
-“Youth in Revolt” (Weinstein/Dimention)
27th
-"Assassination of a High School President" (Yari Film Group)
-“Jonas Brothers 3D Concert Movie” (Disney)
-“Resurrection” (Sony)
-“Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li” (Fox)
Expected top grosser for the month: “The Pink Panther 2”
MARCH
6th
-“All About Steve” (Fox)
-“Watchmen” (WB)
13th
-"Miss February" (Fox)
-“A Perfect Getaway” (MGM)
-“Race to Witch Mountain” (Disney)
20th
-“Duplicity” (Universal)
-“I Love You Man” (DreamWorks/Paramount)
-“Knowing” (Summit Entertainment)
27th
-“12 Rounds” (Fox)
-“The Accidental Husband” (Yari Film Group)
-“Adventureland” (Miramax)
-“The Janky Promoters” (Weinstein/Dimention)
-“Monsters vs. Aliens” (DreamWorks/Paramount)
Expected top grosser for the month: “Watchmen”
APRIL
3rd
-“Fast & Furious” (Universal)
-“The Ugly Truth” (Sony)
8th (Wednesday)
-“Dragonball Evolution” (Fox)
10th
-“Case 39” (Paramount)
-“Hannah Montana: The Movie” (Disney)
-"Observe and Report" (WB)
17th
-“17 Again” (New Line/WB)
-“Crank 2” (Lionsgate)
-“State of Play” (Universal)
24th
-“Fighting” (Rogue)
-"Obsessed" (Sony)
-“The Soloist” (DreamWorks/Paramount)
-“Vanilla Gorilla” (Freestyle Releasing)
Expected top grosser for the month: “Fast & Furious”
MAY
1st
-“Ghosts of Girlfriends Past” (New Line/WB)
-“X-Men Origins: Wolverine” (Fox)
8th
-“My Life in Ruins” (Fox Searchlight)
-“Next Day Air” (Summit Entertainment)
-“Star Trek” (Paramount)
-“Wild Child” (Universal)
15th
-“Angels & Monsters” (Sony)
-“Bruno” (Universal)
22nd
-“Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian” (Fox)
-“Terminator Salvation” (WB/Sony)
29th
-“Drag Me to Hell” (Universal)
-“Up” (Disney/Pixar)
Expected top grosser for the month: “X-Men Origins: Wolvlerine”
JUNE
5th
-“Land of the Lost” (Universal)
12th
-“The Hangover” (WB)
-“Nowhereland” (Paramount)
-“The Proposal” (Disney)
-“The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3” (Sony)
19th
-"The Haunting in Connecticut" (Lionsgate)
-“The Year One” (Sony)
26th
-“My Sister’s Keeper” (New Line/WB)
-“Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen” (DreamWorks/Paramount)
Expected top grosser for the month: “Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen”
JULY
1st (Wednesday)
-“Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs” (Fox)
-“Public Enemies” (Universal)
3rd
N/A
10th
-“2012” (Sony)
-“I Love You Beth Cooper” (Fox)
17th
-“Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince” (WB)
24th
-“G-Force” (Disney)
-“Orphan” (WB)
-“Piranha 3D” (Weinstein/Dimention)
31st
-"Bandslam" (Summit Entertainment)
-“Funny People” (Universal)
-“They Came From Upstairs” (Fox)
Expected top grosser for the month: “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince”
AUGUST
7th
-“G.I. Joe: Rise of Cobra” (Paramount)
-“Julie & Julia” (Sony)
-“Shorts” (WB)
14th
-"Dance Flick (Paramount)
-“District 9” (Sony)
-“Taking Woodstock” (Focus Features)
21st
-“Final Destination: Death Trip 3D” (New Line/WB)
-"The Goods: The Don Ready Story" (Paramount Vantage)
-"Inglorious Bastards" (Weinstein Co.)
28th
-"Mardi Gras" (Sony)
-"Halloween 2" (Dimention)
Expected top grosser for the month: “G.I. Joe: Rise of Cobra”
SEPTEMBER
4th
-“Game” (Lionsgate)
-“Pandorum” (Overture)
9th (Wednesday)
-“9” (Focus Features)
11th
-"Daybreakers" (Lionsgate)
-“Whiteout” (WB)
18th
-“Armored” (Sony)
-“Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs” (Sony)
-“The Informant” (WB)
-"Jennifer's Body" (Fox)
25th
-“The Crazies” (Overture)
-“Fame” (MGM)
-“Surrogates” (Disney)
Expected top grosser for the month: “The Informant”
OCTOBER
2nd
-“Shutter Island” (DreamWorks/Paramount)
-“Sorority Row” (Summit Entertainment)
-“Toy Story” 3D (Disney)
9th
-"Zombieland" (Sony)
16th
-“Stepfather” (Sony)
-“Where the Wild Things Are” (WB)
23rd
-“Amelia” (Fox Searchlight)
-“Astro Boy” (Summit Entertainment)
-“Saw VI” (Lionsgate)
30th
-N/A
Expected top grosser for the year: “Where the Wild Things Are”
NOVEMBER
6th
-“The Box” (WB)
-“A Christmas Carol” (Disney)
-“The Fantastic Mr. Fox” (Fox)
-“The Wolfman” (Universal)
13th
-“The Tooth Fairy” (Fox)
20th
-"New Moon" (Summit Entertainment)
-“Planet 51” (Sony)
-“Sherlock Holmes” (WB)
-“The Three Stooges” (MGM)
27th
-“Old Dogs” (Disney)
Expected top grosser for the month: “A Christmas Carol”
DECEMBER
4th
-N/A
11th
-“The Lovely Bones” (DreamWorks/Paramount)
18th
-“Avatar” (Fox)
25th
-“Alvin & the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel” (Fox)
-“The Princess and the Frog” (Disney)
-Untitled Hugh Grant/Sarah Jessica Parker Comedy (Sony)
-Untitled Nancy Meyers (Universal)
Expected top grosser for the month: “Avatar”
Of these upcoming releases, here the ten films that the studios feel will be the year's biggest box office hits...
-"Avatar" (Fox)
-"Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" (WB)
-"Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs" (Fox)
-"Monsters vs. Aliens" (DreamWorks)
-"Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian" (Fox)
-"Terminator Salvation" (WB/Sony)
-"Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen" (DreamWorks/Paramount)
-"Up" (Pixar/Disney)
-"Watchmen" (WB)
-"X-Men Origins: Wolverine" (Fox)
"2012" (could become director Roland Emmerich's fifth $100 million-plus earner out of his last six movies), "Angels & Demons" (may give Oscar-winner Tom Hanks his 16th $100 million-plus domestic performer, it would be the sixth for Oscar-winning director Ron Howard), "A Christmas Carol" (another CG animated film from Oscar-winner Robert Zemeckis following "The Polar Express" and "Beowulf"), "G.I. Joe: Rise of Cobra" (could launch a new franchise), and "Star Trek" (may resurrect the series and become only the second $100 million domestic earner of the 11 film series) are also expected to pull in big numbers next year.
'Harry Potter', 'Transformers', and 'Wolverine' are the three films many speculate will have opening weekend marks north of the $100 million plateau. The producers of 'Transformers' seem very confident that they can eclipse the $158.4 million debut of "The Dark Knight" to claim the record of biggest opening weekend haul in history. 'Half-Blood Prince' looks to earn the biggest debut tally ever for the 'Harry Potter' series, while 'Wolverine' could kick-start a brand new franchise for Fox.
Oscar-winner James Cameron returns to the director's chair to release his first mainstream film in 12 years with the highly anticipated sci-fi flick "Avatar". The film is expected to be one of the most visually stunning achievements in history as Peter Jackson's FX house Weta Digital could be looking at nabbing their fifth Visual FX Oscar out of the last 8 years for their work on the movie. "Avatar" may also end up being the biggest competition for 'Harry Potter' at the worldwide box office. 'Half-Blood Prince' is expected to earn no less than $900 million globally.
As with every year, the studios are looking to have another record year of box office grosses, even if theater admissions fall off from this year. The hope is that ticket sales will either match or (slightly) exceed this year's numbers (currently sitting at 1.264 billion admissions sold).
Regardless of how many tickets the studios sell, '09 should end up being a very solid year of movie-going.
