Ten Most Anticipated Films 2007

By now the year is already a quarter of the way over. But since it is the quarter where films simply don’t count and no one worth their salt opens a film after the Oscars hangover no one has missed much. It is that time again to look at the most anticipated films expected out this year.

Often the list can be surprising; for one thing movie release dates aren’t always set in stone, look at Letters From Iwo Jima which was pushed up a whole year after Flags of Our Fathers poor showing. Anticipated films generally have a few things going for them: usually they are remakes or part of a well known franchise, they generally have been name stars or directors, and they generally have a well funded advertising department behind them. Of course they also have unrealistic expectations and often the films are a major disappointment even when the make over 100 million domestically. But just because we have been let down in the past doesn’t mean that we don’t get swept up in the fervor of the soon-to-be next blockbuster. So here are my most anticipated films of 2007. Not surprisingly the first three are entries from some of the most successful franchises of the last decade.

1. Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End - May 25 - The setup from Dead man’s Chest was too obvious and too downbeat to leave an audience hanging for long. Luckily we now live in a world where crews shoot multiple films at a time and so there is only a year wait for the next installment of Jack Sparrow’s improbably life. Previews make this look like it will again be the adrenaline rush of the summer and net hundreds of millions of dollars.

2. Spider-Man 3 - May 4 - This one has been a while in coming but the attention to detail in the Spider-man franchise is what has allowed it to be so successful in reinvigorating the comic book hero to film culture. This time Peter Parker has got the girl and his biggest enemy is himself. A lack of footage of The Sandman in the previews either means that they are holding off to amaze in the film or the character didn’t quite come off right. Knowing this franchise it is probably the former.

3. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix - July 13 - This time around Harry is hitting in the summer rather than wait until the kid friendly waters of November and it seems like a move that should have happened long ago. The films are catching up with the books as the fifth outing for JK Rowling’s hero commences on film and fans wait one more week for the seventh and final book.

4. The Simpson Movie - July 27 - Has Hollywood ever waited so long to bring a guaranteed hit movie to the screen as they have with the most long live animated family in history? Homer and the Simpson clan get the big screen treatment and expect a full-on marketing blitz of everything Simpson.

5. Grind House - April 6 - Quentin Tarantino, Robert Rodriguez direct. What more do you need to know? It has zombies, fast cars, scantily clad women, and lots and lots of fake blood. Plus, who can resist seeing Kurt Russell back to his former Snake Plissken style baddest behavior. Hopefully this film is as much fun to watch as it apparently was to make for these two directors. If so, expect a whole franchise of double feature films to begin.

6. Shrek the Third - May 18 - As with all franchises the cast keeps growing with each successive story. This time Shrek and Fiona add a baby and King Arthur to the mix as they try to get out of becoming the king and queen of Far Far Away and fight off a coup by Price Charming and some other less than charming fairy tale baddies.

7. Transformers - July 4 - Part of the 80s are cool again movement. This film looks better thought out and executed than the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles film that releases several months earlier.

8. The Bourne Ultimatum - August 3 - Big bad Matt Damon, still sounds funny doesn’t it, gets to show off his tough side again in the third film about super agent Jason Bourne. Again Bourne is trying to uncover the past while the government tries to track him down. It is familiar territory but hopefully this franchise can keep it fresh.

9. Evan Almighty - June 22 - The sequel to the Jim Carrey hit Bruce Almighty this time with Steve Carell. It is hard to think of someone who could carry on with a Jim Carrey role but with Steve Carell, Evan Almighty has a chance of being just as good if not better than Bruce Almighty.

10. Knocked Up - June 1 - The latest from the team that brought you 40 Year Old Virgin. No one expected that film to be big but expectations for Judd Apatow’s latest film are much higher. This time around Seth Rogan is the star of the show as a goof off who knocks up a one night stand. Didn’t Matthew Perry already make this movie only it wasn’t funny?

Runners Up
The Number 23 - A Jim Carey thriller about a man who reads a book about his life that ends up being a murder?
Zodiac - film about the zodiac killer and his taunts in a San Francisco killing spree. Stars Robert Downey Jr. and Jake Gyllenhaal.
Hot Fuzz - from the makers of Shaun of the Dead
Blades of Glory - a skating pair made up of two men previously banned from competitive singles skating? Starring Will Ferrell? Count me in.
Ghost Rider - a spring release does not bode well for this super hero though last year’s V for Vendetta was one of the best action films of the year and came out in the wasteland of February.

Related posts:

1. Ten Most Anticipated Films of 2006
2. Ten most anticipated films of 2005
3. Most Anticipated Films of 2005 Revisited