The ongoing Hollywood franchise wars are kicking into high gear in 2018 as the year’s release schedule is overflowing with sequels and blockbuster tentpoles. Unsurprisingly, many of these massive movies are the most anticipated of 2018.
According to a Fandango survey of 8,000 website visitors, Avengers: Infinity War tops the list of 2018 movies fans are most looking forward to. Given that the uber team-up is 10 years in the making and features upwards of 50 characters, we can’t say that’s all too surprising. Marvel Studios head honcho Kevin Feige has already teased that Infinity War will help to set up the grand future of the Marvel Cinematic Universe with many of the franchise mainstays set to depart after 2019’s Avengers 4. With Hollywood’s most prominent brand undergoing a re-design, you can bet fans are going to turn out in droves for Infinity War.
But that’s not the only Marvel title moviegoers are excited for as February’s Black Panther ranks No. 2 on Fandango’s survey. The Chadwick Boseman-led solo film has been generating massive buzz thanks to its electric trailers and diverse cast. Director Ryan Coogler, 31, is enjoying a meteoric rise through the industry and a successful Black Panther will do wonders for his studio cred.
Other franchise blockbusters ranked in the top 10 include X-Men: The Dark Phoenix, which Fox is hoping will reinvigorate the traditional mutant series, Deadpool 2 and Pixar’s The Incredibles 2, a sequel that is 14 years in the making. Following the divisive response to Star Wars: The Last Jedi, it will be interesting to see how Lucasfilm approaches the marketing of May’s Solo: A Star Wars Story. The anthology film went through some highly publicized behind-the-scenes shakeups and fans have yet to see a single promotional item.
Questions abound for each of these major movies and it will be fun to track their successes and failures next year.
Here’s the full top 10 list:
1. Avengers: Infinity War (May 4)
2. Black Panther (Feb. 16)
3. Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom (June 22)
4. Untitled Deadpool sequel (June 1)
5. Solo: A Star Wars Story (May 25)
6. Incredibles 2 (June 15)
7. Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald (Nov. 16)
8. A Wrinkle in Time (March 9)
9. X-Men: Dark Phoenix (Nov. 2)
10. Ocean’s 8 (June 8)
