Hard as it is to believe, 2016 is halfway done. For moviegoers, 2016 has had its disappointments (Batman vs. Superman…really anything Warner Brothers made), but it’s also delivered flawless films, super hero awesomeness, animated classics, and some surprise gems. The story of the year so far, though, is Disney. The studio has manhandled the box office, winning nearly half the weeks in the year thus far. Yes, Alice: Through the Looking-Glass failed and The BFG isn’t looking like a winner, but the studio barely noticed because the films trampling those and still earning were OTHER Disney films. They’ve made my top three films of the year, to date, and four of the top seven. Disney is hitting it out of the park with all of its major weapons: Disney Animation (Zootopia), Live-Action Films (Jungle Book), Pixar (Finding Dory), and Marvel (Cap: Civil War). Not to mention that it still has another Marvel film in Dr. Strange this fall and that’s all before we get to Rogue One: A Star Wars Story. They’re pretty much running a clinic on how to deliver quality and how that translates into monetary success. I’m looking forward to a lot of films in the year’s second half, and who knows what the final list will be, but here are my Top 5 Films of 2016 at halftime.
- Captain America: Civil War
2. Disney’s The Jungle Book
3. Finding Dory
4. 10 Cloverfield Lane
5. Eye in the Sky
Honorable Mention: Deadpool & Zootopia