2019 was a record-breaking year for movies. For nearly a decade, James Cameron’s sci-fi adventure Avatar remained at the top of the all-time box office chart, unchallenged by even the biggest recent Star Wars, Marvel, and Jurassic World movies. But finally, Avatar slipped into second place when Avengers Endgame claimed the title as the biggest movie of all-time.
With a worldwide box office gross of $2.29 billion, Endgame ensured Disney’s hugely successful 2019. But the studio’s fortunes didn’t stop there–from Captain Marvel and Toy Story 4 to The Lion King and Frozen II, no other studio could come close. Nevertheless, there were successful and hugely acclaimed movies elsewhere. DC’s Joker became the biggest R-rated movie of all time, while films as varied as Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, Us, Parasite, Uncut Gems, and Midsommar proved that ambitious and original movies still have a place amongst the blockbusters and franchise movies. Of course, it wasn’t all good news. There were still many safe, predictable films and big box office flops, including new Men in Black and X-men movies, and the change in the streaming landscape meant that highly acclaimed, awards-friendly films such as The Irishman and Marriage Story only received extremely limited theatrical releases.
While it’s unlikely that 2020 will deliver a film as huge as Endgame, it’s still set to be an exciting year for movie fans. In terms of the big franchises, Phase 4 of the MCU kicks off with Black Widow and The Eternals, while DC will hope its current run of success continues with Birds of Prey and Wonder Woman 1984. The new James Bond movie finally arrives, and there are new Bad Boys, Ghostbusters, Halloween, and Fast & Furious films on the way.
Beyond that, there are some intriguing reboots, such as Candyman and Dune, the latest film in Sony’s universe of Spider-Man characters, and a pair of new, original Pixar movies. The year will, of course, deliver even more than that, so with so much on the way, we’ve chosen the biggest must-watch movies of 2020…