Considering the accessibility of movies online both legally and illegally, it is remarkable that the box office has been as strong as it is. This year, the total earnings have been around $1.7 billion, a 17.5% rise from last year at this time. Movies such as The Avengers, Harry Potter and The Hunger Games have smashed through the box office, breaking records and bringing in unprecedented revenues. From the look of the hype of the upcoming summer, this record will continue to rise. Here is a glimpse at the most hyped movies of the summer:
1. The Dark Knight Rises – Continuing one of the highest grossing series of all time, director Christopher Nolan releases his follow up to The Dark Knight on July 20th, and the level of hype is monumental. Despite the fact that he added a plethora of upcoming celebrities (including Joseph Gordon Levitt as John Blake, Anne Hathaway as Catwoman and Tom Hardy as Bane), Nolan has kept production under wraps: little about the plot is being revealed, and Nolan has even gone so far as to verbally tell his actors the ending in order to prevent leaks of the script. Like all of his films, the trailer reveals Nolan’s use of bleak, dark sets that create a level of gloom and intensity.
Release Date: July 20th
2. Prometheus – With a series of disappointing films following his Best Picture winner Gladiator in 2000, Ridley Scott has failed throughout the decade to show his ability to manipulate big special effects to fit a claustrophobic atmosphere. His new sci-fi film Prometheus, which has been hyped all over the internet, appears to go back to his roots of Alien and Blade Runner, taking a complex story and shrouding it with mystery and impressive special effects. With a promising cast including Noomi Rapace, Charlize Theron, Michael Fassbender and Guy Pierce, Prometheus has the potential to become one of Scott’s masterpieces. Receiving over a million views within a few days, the trailer has truly raised the amount of hype.
Release Date: June 8th
3. Brave – Pixar has produced film after film with both financial and critical success. Movies such as Wall-E, Up, Toy Story 1, 2, and 3 have earned both money and recognition among the most prestigious film awards, including Best Animated Film at the Oscars. However, Pixar hit its first wall with the release of Cars 2, which did well at the box office but was ill received by critics and audiences alike. Pixar’s next film, Brave, is the first Pixar film in years to not be a sequel, and the first Pixar movie to ever star a female. The buzz around Brave has been collecting throughout the year, and with good reason: the trailer looks beautifully animated with an intriguing story.
Release Date: June 22nd
4. The Amazing Spider-Man – Only 5 years after Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man trilogy, Columbia Pictures decided that Spider-Man was in need of a reboot. Nabbing the rising star Emma Stone as well as The Social Network’s Andrew Garfield, the film has stirred a lot of speculation: while director Marc Webb was a success with his first feature film 500 Days of Summer, he seems like a strange choice to direct a superhero movie with such high expectations. Nonetheless, with a solid cast and a good director, the film has the potential to be better than the first series, and will definitely draw in a large amount of revenue. Overall, the film appears to have a much darker feeling than the first series, but this dark slant may provide a fresh look at the hero.
Release Date: July 3rd
5. Moonrise Kingdom – Wes Anderson has developed one of the largest cult followings of any modern filmmaker. His films combine a kinetic camera as well as a wit and style exclusive to his films alone. Movies such as The Royal Tenenbaums, The Darjeering Limited, and The Fantastic Mr. Fox have left imprints on a number of viewers, and his new film, Moonrise Kingdom, appears to possess his best qualities. Garnering an all-star cast (as usual) including Edward Norton, Bruce Willis, Tilda Swinton and Bill Murray, the film looks beautiful visually, truly giving definition to the word cinematic with its wonderfully imaginative cinematography from the trailer alone. Hopefully this film will appeal universally and thus earn a wider release.
Release Date: May 25th (limited)