'Rogue One,' 'Finding Dory' Top 2016 Most Anticipated Films List
A new nationwide survey has revealed that moviegoers will never tire of "Star Wars" and Pixar, with "Rogue One: A Star Wars Story" and "Finding Dory" topping Fandango's annual poll of the most anticipated movies of the year.
Riding the "Force Awakens" popularity wave, "Rogue One" was an obvious pick for film fans who love anything and everything that has to do with a galaxy far, far away. (And based on "TFA"'s current box office annihilation, that seems to be anyone and everyone who's buying tickets these days.) And while "Rogue One" won't continue the story told by "The Force Awakens" -- it's a spinoff that focuses on events that take place before the first "Wars" flick, "A New Hope" -- it's still going to do big business among moviegoers who can't wait for "Episode VIII"'s May 2017 release.
As Fandango notes, the next most-anticipated flick in the queue, "Finding Dory," is a bit of surprise, since it beat out flashier fare including superhero heavyweights "Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice," "Captain America: Civil War," and "X-Men: Apocalypse." (All those films did crack the poll's top ten, though.) But moviegoers love Pixar (see "Inside Out"'s toe-to-toe battle with box office behemoth "Jurassic World" earlier this summer for proof), and "Finding Nemo" is considered a classic in its own right, so anticipation for follow-up "Dory" was certainly expected to be high.
Rounding out the survey's top results were Most Anticpated Actress Melissa McCarthy ("Ghostbusters"), Most Anticipated Actor Matt Damon (untitled "Bourne" sequel), Rising Female Movie Star Sophie Turner ("X-Men: Apocalypse"), Rising Male Movie Star Tom Holland ("Captain America: Civil War"), and Most Anticipated Comic Book Character Debut Wonder Woman (Gal Godot in "Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice").
The complete list of results is below.
Most Anticipated Movie:
1. "Rogue One: A Star Wars Story" (December 16)
2. "Finding Dory" (June 17)
3. "Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice" (March 25)
4. Untitled Jason Bourne Movie (July 29)
5. "Captain America: Civil War" (May 6)
6. "Star Trek Beyond" (July 22)
7. "Independence Day: Resurgence" (June 24)
8. "X-Men: Apocalypse" (May 27)
9. "Zoolander No. 2" (February 12)
10. "The Jungle Book" (April 15)
Most Anticipated Actress:
1. Melissa McCarthy ("Ghostbusters")
2. Scarlett Johansson ("Captain America: Civil War")
3. Jennifer Lawrence ("X-Men: Apocalypse")
4. Emily Blunt ("The Girl on the Train")
5. Charlize Theron ("The Huntsman: Winter's War")
Most Anticipated Actor:
1. Matt Damon (Untitled Jason Bourne Movie)
2. Will Smith ("Suicide Squad")
3. Ryan Reynolds ("Deadpool")
4. Ben Affleck ("Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice")
5. George Clooney ("Hail, Caesar!")
Rising Female Movie Star:
1. Sophie Turner ("X-Men: Apocalypse")
2. Leslie Jones ("Ghostbusters")
3. Karen Fukuhara ("Suicide Squad")
4. Christina Wren ("Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice")
5. Nadia Hilker ("The Divergent Series: Allegiant")
Rising Male Movie Star:
1. Tom Holland ("Captain America: Civil War")
2. Riz Ahmed ("Rogue One: A Star Wars Story")
3. Tye Sheridan ("X-Men: Apocalypse")
4. Stephan James ("Race")
5. Ed Speleers ("Alice Through the Looking Glass")
Most Anticipated Comic Book Character Debuting in a Major Role:
1. Wonder Woman (Gal Godot in "Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice")
2. Deadpool (Ryan Reynolds in "Deadpool")
3. Harley Quinn (Margot Robbie in "Suicide Squad")
4. Aquaman (Jason Momoa in "Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice")
5. Doctor Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch in "Doctor Strange")
6. Black Panther (Chadwick Boseman in "Captain America: Civil War")
[via: Fandango]
Photo credit: Disney