Here’s your ultimate guide to new movies in 2015
After what was financially and creatively a middling year for movies, Hollywood is pulling out all the stops to ensure 2015 at least addresses that first concern.
The studios are throwing everything possible — short of a genetically engineered young Eddie Murphy and the reanimated corpse of John Wayne — at theaters this year
You want sequels? Look for new installments of James Bond, “The Avengers,” “The Hunger Games,” “Mission: Impossible,” “Jurassic Park,” “The Terminator,” “Mad Max,” whatever they’re calling “The Fast and the Furious” these days and a little movie you might have heard something about called “Star Wars: Episode VII — The Force Awakens.”
You want original offerings that only feel familiar? Dwayne Johnson once again saves the day. Tina Fey teams up with Amy Poehler. Disney/Pixar returns with two new animated offerings. David O. Russell directs Jennifer Lawrence, Bradley Cooper and Robert De Niro. And there’s yet another Nicholas Sparks movie.
You want new versions of “Poltergeist,” “Point Break” and “Jem and the Holograms”? You’ll have those, too. But why? Why would you want that?
Here’s a look at some of what’s coming to the multiplexes in 2015. And, as always, release dates are subject to change.
JANUARY
9th: Liam Neeson trots out his very particular set of skills, reportedly for the last time, in “Taken 3.”
9th: Martin Luther King Jr. (David Oyelowo) leads a history-making civil rights march in “Selma.”
9th: Joaquin Phoenix, Josh Brolin and Owen Wilson star in writer-director Paul Thomas Anderson’s “Inherent Vice,” based on the Thomas Pynchon novel.
16th: Bradley Cooper stars as Chris Kyle, the most lethal U.S. military sniper in history, in director Clint Eastwood’s “American Sniper.”
16th: A convicted hacker (Chris Hemsworth) helps track an international gang of cyber criminals in Michael Mann’s “Blackhat.”
16th: A socially awkward groom (Josh Gad) hires a flattering best man (Kevin Hart) in the comedy “The Wedding Ringer.”
23rd: An art dealer (Johnny Depp) launches a global search for a stolen painting in the action comedy “Mortdecai.”
FEBRUARY
6th: A knight (Jeff Bridges) and a young farmhand (Ben Barnes) battle an evil witch (Julianne Moore) in “Seventh Son.”
6th: A former military hunter (Channing Tatum) travels to Earth to tell a Chicago maid (Mila Kunis) she’s destined for greater things in “Jupiter Ascending,” from “The Matrix” creators the Wachowskis.
6th: Return to Bikini Bottom with “SpongeBob: Sponge Out of Water.”
13th: Anastasia Steele (Dakota Johnson) interviews wealthy businessman Christian Grey (Jamie Dornan), which leads to plenty of kinky, kinky sex, in “Fifty Shades of Grey.”
13th: A street kid is recruited to join a secret, gadget-crazy spy organization in “Kingsman: The Secret Service.”
20th: Get wet all over again with “Hot Tub Time Machine 2.”
27th: Con artists (Will Smith, Margot Robbie) fall for each other in the crime caper “Focus.”
MARCH
6th: Writer-director Neill Blomkamp (“District 9,” “Elysium”) goes back to the sci-fi well with the robot-centric “Chappie,” co-starring Hugh Jackman and Sigourney Weaver.
13th: “Downton Abbey’s” Lily James brings the titular princess to life in the live-action “Cinderella,” with Cate Blanchett as the Wicked Stepmother and Helena Bonham Carter as the Fairy Godmother.
13th: Ron Howard directs Chris Hemsworth in “In the Heart of the Sea,” which chronicles the devastating whale attack that inspired “Moby-Dick.”
13th: It’s hard to believe there’s still horror footage left to be found, but there’s at least enough for “Paranormal Activity: The Ghost Dimension.”
20th: Tris (Shailene Woodley) and Four (Theo James) are on the run from the Erudites in “The Divergent Series: Insurgent.”
27th: A criminal hedge fund manager (Will Ferrell) asks the nearest black man (Kevin Hart) to help him prepare for a stretch in San Quentin, despite the fact that said black man has never even gotten a parking ticket, in the comedy “Get Hard.”
27th: When Earth is conquered by aliens, a banished extraterrestrial (voiced by Jim Parsons) and a human girl (Rihanna) hit the road in the animated “Home.”
APRIL
3rd: Jason Statham, Djimon Hounsou, Ronda Rousey and Kurt Russell join Vin Diesel, the late Paul Walker and the gang in “Furious 7.”
10th: A bull rider (Scott Eastwood) and an art student (Britt Robertson) fall for each other in “The Longest Ride,” the latest Nicholas Sparks movie.
17th: America’s favorite shopping-center-based security guard keeps Wynn Las Vegas safe in “Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2.”
17th: Liam Neeson is a mobster forced to choose between his crime family and his real family in “Run All Night.”
MAY
1st: Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.), Captain America (Chris Evans), Thor (Chris Hemsworth), The Incredible Hulk (Mark Ruffalo), Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson) and Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner) reunite in “The Avengers: Age of Ultron.”
15th: Max Rockatansky (Tom Hardy), who still sounds more like an accountant than a post-apocalyptic warrior, is back in “Mad Max: Fury Road.”
15th: Beca (Anna Kendrick), Fat Amy (Rebel Wilson) and the rest of the Barden Bellas return in “Pitch Perfect 2.”
22nd: A disillusioned genius (George Clooney) and a teen scientist (Britt Robertson) seek answers in Disney’s secretive “Tomorrowland,” from “Lost’s” Damon Lindelof and “The Incredibles” director Brad Bird.
22nd: Melissa McCarthy reteams with her “Bridesmaids” and “The Heat” director Paul Feig for the action comedy “Spy.”
29th: When the West Coast is rockin’, endangered residents come knockin’ for Dwayne Johnson in the earthquake extravaganza “San Andreas.”
JUNE
5th: Vinnie Chase (Adrian Grenier) and his boys Eric (Kevin Connolly), Turtle (Jerry Ferrara) and Johnny Drama (Kevin Dillon) hit the big screen, along with Ari (Jeremy Piven) and Lloyd (Rex Lee), in “Entourage.”
12th: Considering that every encounter has ended in tragedy, you’d think mankind would realize that cloning dinosaurs isn’t a great idea. Since they won’t, Chris Pratt stars in “Jurassic World.”
19th: A young girl’s emotions — Joy (voiced by Amy Poehler), Fear (Bill Hader), Anger (Lewis Black), Disgust (Mindy Kaling) and Sadness (Phyllis Smith) — are the stars of “Inside Out,” the latest animated offering from Disney/Pixar.
26th: Thunder Buddies John (Mark Wahlberg) and Ted (voiced by Seth MacFarlane) return for more filthy hijinks in “Ted 2.”
JULY
1st: Mike (Channing Tatum) takes his man thong out of storage for a series of farewell performances in “Magic Mike XXL.”
1st: Well, he did say he’d be back. Arnold Schwarzenegger returns, along with new incarnations of John Connor (Jason Clarke), Sarah Connor (Emilia Clarke) and Kyle Reese (Jai Courtney), in “Terminator Genisys.”
10th: Those little yellow mumblers search for a new evil boss in “Minions.”
17th: The Marvel Cinematic Universe gets a bit smaller with the introduction of Paul Rudd as “Ant-Man.”
24th: An orphan travels to Neverland in the origin tale “Pan,” featuring Hugh Jackman as Blackbeard.
24th: Judd Apatow directs Amy Schumer in the hot-mess comedy “Trainwreck.”
24th: Aliens attack Earth using classic video game characters in the action comedy “Pixels,” starring Adam Sandler and Kevin James.
24th: We’ll find out if there’s enough room in those newfangled flat-screen TVs for Carol Anne to get sucked inside in the “Poltergeist” reboot.
31st: The FBI is going to pay Johnny Utah to learn to surf all over again in the remake of “Point Break.”
AUGUST
7th: “The Fantastic Four” gets a lot younger with Miles Teller as Mr. Fantastic, Michael B. Jordan as The Human Torch, Kate Mara as Invisible Girl and Jamie Bell as The Thing.
14th: You remember the ’60s TV series “The Man from U.N.C.L.E.” No? Well, Guy Ritchie is rebooting it anyway, with Henry Cavill and Armie Hammer.
14th: Revisit the time before Dr. Dre made your headphones and Ice Cube was a lovable beer pitchman with the N.W.A. biopic “Straight Outta Compton.”
SEPTEMBER
18th: Thomas (Dylan O’Brien) and the Gladers encounter a new set of ordeals in “The Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials.”
18th: Johnny Depp stars as Whitey Bulger in “Black Mass.”
25th: Dracula (voiced by Adam Sandler) reopens his doors for “Hotel Transylvania 2.”
OCTOBER
2nd: Now that Olympus has fallen, Gerard Butler has to save the president (Aaron Eckhart) all over again in “London Has Fallen.”
9th: Rusty Griswold (Ed Helms) packs up his family and embarks on a cross-country road trip to see Clark (Chevy Chase) and Ellen (Beverly D’Angelo) in “Vacation.”
9th: Jon Favreau wrangles the voices of Bill Murray (Baloo), Scarlett Johannsson (Kaa) and Idris Elba (Shere Khan) for Disney’s live action “The Jungle Book.”
23rd: Vin Diesel stars as “The Last Witch Hunter.”
23rd: A small-town girl and her three sisters conquer the music world in “Jem and the Holograms.”
30th: It’s scouts vs. zombies in “Scouts vs. Zombies.”
NOVEMBER
6th: James Bond (Daniel Craig) battles the secretive organization known as “SPECTRE.”
6th: Charlie Brown, Snoopy and pals get the 3-D treatment in “The Peanuts Movie.”
13th: Jason Voorhees returns for his 13th killing spree in “Friday the 13th.”
20th: It’s the end of the road for Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence) in “The Hunger Games: Mockingjay — Part 2.”
25th: Arlo the Apatosaurus meets a human boy in Disney/Pixar’s animated “The Good Dinosaur.”
25th: Ridley Scott directs Matt Damon, Jessica Chastain and Jeff Daniels in the sci-fi tale “The Martian.”
DECEMBER
18th: Hold on to your lightsabers! Luke (Mark Hamill), Han (Harrison Ford) and Leia (Carrie Fisher) are back in “Star Wars: Episode VII — The Force Awakens.”
18th: Tina Fey and Amy Poehler portray sisters who throw a rager for their high-school classmates in the comedy “The Nest.”
23rd: The fur is set to fly in “Alvin & The Chipmunks 4.”
25th: The David O. Russell Players — Jennifer Lawrence, Bradley Cooper and Robert De Niro — reunite for “Joy,” the story of the inventor of the Miracle Mop.
25th: Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) gets the gang back together for “Mission: Impossible 5.”
Contact Christopher Lawrence at clawrence@reviewjournal.com or 702-380-4567.
