December 11, 2015. Copyright 2015, Graphic News. All rights reserved

MOVIES: Film releases in 2016

1. Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. Directed by Zack Snyder, starring Ben Affleck, Henry Cavill, Amy Adams, Jeremy Irons. Following the destruction of Metropolis, Batman (Affleck) embarks on a personal vendetta against Superman (Cavill). A new threat quickly arises, putting humankind in great danger.
Released by Warner Bros. Pictures from March 25

2. Rogue One: A Star Wars Story. Directed by Gareth Edwards, starring Mads Mikkelsen, Felicity Jones, Alan Tudyk. Epic space opera - set in between the events of Episode III: Revenge of the Sith and Episode IV: A New Hope -  Rogue One is the first film in the Star Wars Anthology series. Rebels set out on a mission to steal plans for the Death Star.
Released by Lucasfilm from December 16

3. Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. Directed by David Yates, starring Eddie Redmayne, Colin Farrell, Ezra Miller. J.K. Rowling's prequel, set in 1920s New York - more than 50 years before Harry Potter was born - follows Newt Scamander (Redmayne) and his travels to find and document magical creatures. 
Released by Warner Bros. Pictures from November 18

4. Independence Day: Resurgence. Directed by Roland Emmerich, starring Jeff Goldblum, Bill Pullman, Liam Hemsworth, Jessie Usher, Maika Monroe. Using recovered alien technology, the nations of Earth have collaborated on an extensive defence programme to protect the planet, but nothing can prepare for the aliens' advanced and unprecedented attack.
Released by Twentieth Century Fox from June 24

5. The Magnificent Seven. Directed by Antoine Fuqua, starring Denzel Washington, Chris Pratt, Ethan Hawke, Matt Bomer, Vincent D'Onofrio and Peter Sarsgaard. Seven gunmen gradually come together to help a poor village against murderous thieves - remake of 1960 Western, inspired by Akira Kurosawa's Seven Samurai movie.
Released by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer from September 23

6. London Has Fallen. Directed by Babak Najafi, starring Gerard Butler, Angela Bassett, Charlotte Riley, Morgan Freeman, Aaron Eckhart. Attending the funeral of the British Prime Minister, leaders of the Western world come under terrorist attack. U.S. Secret Service agent Mike Banning (Butler), and British MI6 agent (Riley) must stop them.
Released by Focus Features from March 4

7. Captain America: Civil War. Directed by Anthony and Joe Russo, starring Scarlett Johansson, Chris Evans, Robert Downey, Jr., Elizabeth Olsen. After politicians attempt to regulate superhuman activity, the Avengers become divided with the schism escalating into an open fight between allies Iron Man and Captain America. Civil War is the 13th installment of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
Released by Walt Disney Studios from  May 6

8. Alice Through the Looking Glass. Directed by James Bobin, starring Johnny Depp, Mia Wasikowska, Helena Bonham Carter, Sacha Baron Cohen, Alan Rickman, Stephen Fry. To prevent the loss of her friend the Mad Hatter (Depp), Alice (Wasikowska) turns to Time himself (Baron Cohen), a weird creature who is part human, part clock.
Released by Walt Disney Pictures from May 27

9. X-Men: Apocalypse. Directed by Bryan Singer, starring Jennifer Lawrence, James McAvoy, Evan Peters, Michael Fassbender. As the fate of the Earth hangs in the balance, Raven (Lawrence) with the help of Professor X (McAvoy) must lead a team of young X-Men to stop their greatest nemesis, Apocalypse, and save humankind.
Released by 20th Century Fox from May 27

10. Star Trek Beyond. Directed by Justin Lin, starring Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Zoe Saldana, Karl Urban. The 13th film in the Star Trek film franchise, based on the TV series created five decades ago by Gene Roddenberry, sees Pine and Quinto reprise their roles as Captain James T. Kirk and Commander Spock, with Zoe Saldana as Lieutenant Uhura.
Released by Paramount from  July 22

11. Ghostbusters. Directed by Paul Feig, starring Chris Hemsworth, Melissa McCarthy, Kristen Wiig, Bill Murray. The third instalment in the franchise sees an all-female team save Manhattan from ghouls. They are joined by Bill Murray - the actor who played Dr. Peter Venkman in Ghostbusters (1984) and Ghostbusters II (1989).
Released by Columbia Pictures from July 15

12. Snowden. Directed by Oliver Stone, starring: Shailene Woodley, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Scott Eastwood, Nicolas Cage. Gordon-Levitt plays famous whistleblower, Edward Snowden, who joins the U.S. Army at age 22 and CIA two years later, before landing at the NSA. By age 29 - after leaking thousands of classified documents - he is the world's most wanted man.
Released by Endgame Entertainment from May 13

13. Bourne Sequel. Directed by Paul Greengrass, starring Alicia Vikander, Matt Damon, Julia Stiles, Tommy Lee Jones. Damon returns to the series as Jason Bourne with Greengrass, who directed Bourne Supremacy and Ultimatum. The first four films, which also included Identity and Legacy, which Damon turned down, collectively made $1.2 billion worldwide. Stiles once again plays Nicky Parsons.
Released by Universal Pictures from July 29

ENDS