2016 looks set to be a huge year in the world of comic book movies (really, is there a year that isn’t a big year in the world of comic book movies these days?).
No less than seven huge productions starring Marvel and DC characters will hit cinema screens around the world; Deadpool (February), Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (March), Captain America: Civil War (May), X-Men: Apocalypse (May), Suicide Squad (August), Gambit (October) and Doctor Strange (November).
With that in mind, there’s going to be one hell of a battle for box office success in the genre and it will be interesting to find out which movie wins out. Of course, it’s unlikely that any of them will flop completely, but there has to be an order. This article will predict which of those movies will be the top five in terms of how much they will gross worldwide.
Suicide Squad
As obscure as the Suicide Squad might be as a concept (at least as far as mainstream audiences go), the fact is that this movie is extremely intriguing and it will, therefore, do pretty well at the box office – just about edging out Doctor Strange.
The cast is incredible – the likes of Jared Leto, Will Smith, Margot Robbie, Cara Delevingne and Jai Courtney are just some of the actors in the ensemble – and the array of interesting characters they will be portraying will certainly attract legions of DC fans to movie theatres around the world at the very least.
Moreover, the fact that the movie will see the return of The Joker to the big screen will be a huge draw. Jared Leto is the man tasked with following in the footsteps of Jack Nicholson and Heath Ledger and fans of the villain will be intrigued to see his new take on him.
The whole “criminals and villains working for the government” concept is certainly different, but that adds to the movie’s mystique and it should bring in some viewers by default. Its best chance to do even better will come from word of mouth (assuming audiences are impressed) and a good performance from Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice before it, but its relatively obscure source material should prevent it from beating the others on this list.
Predicted worldwide gross: $750 million.
