Couch Potatoes: The Top Movies of 2016 To-Date

The year 2016 has brought about record-breaking box office hits on the big screen. Animation features by Disney once again showed the way, while superheroes dominated the action scene. Let’s look back and round-up some of the top grossing movies of the year that entertained us this 2016.

Finding Dory. $486, 284,573.   A heart-warming sequel to Pixar’s initial offering “Finding Nemo”. Ellen DeGeneres reprised the role of the bright blue-coloured tang with a short term memory loss. Happily living with surrogate Marlin, a neurotic clownfish, and Nemo at Australia’s Great Barrier Reef, Dory started to regain flashes of her old memories, which leads to this new adventure in the hope of finding her parents. 

Captain America: Civil War. $408,084,349.   Choose your side. It’s Steve Rogers vs. Tony Stark. Recommencing on an era where international incidents, collateral damage and political pressure tend to rip apart the once formidable team of Avengers. A sequel to Avengers: Age of Ultron, the United Nations places a system of accountability on the team forged to protect and maintain peace. Captain America strongly believes otherwise. New alliances are made, friendships scarred, and it all boils down to who is fighting in the side of truth. 

The Secret Life of Pets. $367,907,025.   Have you ever wondered what the pets are up to after the owners go about their daily routine to work or school? This animated film captures the fun, excitement, and complexities of living amongst other animals, and the consequences of their actions in a success or fail situation. Living a cosy lifestyle in a New York apartment with his owner, Max, a terrier, suddenly finds his life tuned upside-down after his owner took in Duke, a large and unruly stray dog. Finding themselves in a predicament of being caught and going to the pound, they found an unlikely ally in Snowball, an overzealous bunny, whose dark agenda is to make war on happy pets and their owners. Eventually Max and Duke must set aside their differences in order to stop the nefarious bunny on its master plan.

The Jungle Book (2016). $364,001,123.   Based on the original classic of Joseph Rudyard Kipling’s The Jungle Book which was further popularized in animation by Walt Disney Pictures, the story evolve around the life events of Mowgli, a young boy who grew up in the company of wolves and his Black Panther guardian Bagheera. Mowgli finds conflict, pain and understanding as he gets timely advice from a sloth bear Baloo, as he cross paths with a power-mad Bengal tiger Shere Kahn and the ever sinister motives of the anaconda Kaa. The 2016 rendition of The Jungle Book showcases the seamless transformation from Animation to Live-Action CGI (computer-generated imagery) film as only Walt Disney Pictures can bring.

Deadpool. $363,070,709.   This is not just your regular Marvel superhero, but more than what you bargained for. Deadpool is an “R” rated film because of its fair mix of violence, sex content, graphic nudity, and use of profane language in a witty and comical way. This blockbuster and record-breaking film tells about how a previous Special Forces operative Wade Wilson, agreed to a highly dangerous experiment in an attempt to fight his terminal cancer.  In the process, he got super accelerated healing or cell regeneration to go with his uncanny fighting abilities, making Deadpool an excellent (and immortal) mercenary. His quest for vengeance on his “maker” Ajax led him through various exploits. Though self-professed that he is not a hero, his abilities led to heroic deeds, one way or the other.  

Zootopia. $341,268,248.   Another adventure-comedy blockbuster 3D animation hit brought to us by Disney. The film revolves around some mysterious disappearances of predators within the mammalian city of Zootopia. Rookie cop bunny Judy Hopps seeks to solve the mysteries with unlikely partner in fox con artist Nick Wilde. Great as the animation is, another Disney trademark in its movies are the lessons emancipating from it. Social prejudice and stereotyping seems the main focus of the movie, and that all creations both big and small have the capacity to change for the better. Such motivational factors create lasting impressions to all.

Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. $330,360,194.   Two of Earth’s greatest heroes in a fight to the death. Gotham City’s Dark Knight vigilante Batman believes Superman to be a potential threat to mankind. Meanwhile Superman’s nemesis, Lex Luthor, schemes a plan of pitting Batman against Superman to get rid of either or both in the process. Making use of his acumen and wealth of resources, Batman designs and builds armour strong enough to put up resistance against Superman’s godlike abilities, and kryptonite enhanced grenade launcher and spear before duelling with the Man of Steel. Luthor then held Martha Kent and demands Superman to kill Batman in exchange for his adoptive mother’s life. Non-stop action and mayhem tore into the city as the two superheroes clash, as they quest for answers on whose truth they should believe.

Suicide Squad. $325,100,054.   After the demise of Superman, Amanda Waller, one of the most feared and witty intelligence officers’ ever recognized, assembled a “disposable” team of villains to be known as Task Force X to protect the world from grave threats. In return for their “sworn duty” to protect mankind against possible Armageddon, 10-years will be staved-off their prison terms; but of course there is always a catch. Attached to their necks are nano bombs to keep their loyalties in check. Little do they know that they will be battling an ancient force that is keen on eradicating life on earth. Top-billed by the assassin and marksman Deadshot, a crazy former psychiatrist Harley Quinn, a former gang member with the power of flame El Diablo, a meta-human of reptilian nature Killer Croc, an unpredictable thief Captain Boomerang, and a mercenary with grappling and scaling expertise Slipknot, these odd but effective crew worked on to subdue their once ally Enchantress and her brother Incubus to save the world from annihilation. But there’s this little problem with the Clown Prince of Crime The Joker on the sidelines as he tries to reclaim his equally crazed partner Harley Quinn.

Doctor Strange. $208,823,177.   A brash and renowned neurosurgeon, Dr. Stephen Strange, met an untimely car accident that rendered his hands useless.  After countless disappointments from unsuccessful experimental surgeries which he devised himself, Strange seeks out the paraplegic Jonathan Pangborn who miraculously was able to walk again, for answers to his predicament. His self-driven investigations led him to a place of mystical power called Kamar-Taj. He was guided by Mordo and The Ancient One in the dark secrets of magic, thus making Dr. Strange as Earth’s Sorcerer Supreme and a champion for good.

Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them. $164,962,403.   A film that was set as a spin off or prequel to the Harry Potter series, “Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them” is set in the year 1926 in North America where the wizard Newt Scamander tries to recapture several magical creatures that escaped from his magical suitcase. Newt, a former student expelled from Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry at his seventh year, and former dark wizard hunter Tina Goldstein went to great lengths to retrieve the magical suitcase which got switched accidentally with aspiring baker Jacob Kowalski. With the aid of the Magical Congress of the United States of America (MACUSA), Newt and company finally put things in their proper places after all the ruckus. 

These are just some of the top grossing films that graced the year 2016. Others that also did good during their screenings were Jason Bourne, Star Trek Beyond, X-Men: Apocalypse, Kung Fu Panda 3, Trolls, Ghostbusters (2016), Central Intelligence, The Legend of Tarzan, and Sully. Of the more recent releases this December 2016, there is Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, Assassins Creed, Passengers, and Solace.