25 Biggest Movies of 2008

1-18-08 (January) A teaser trailer that suggests a disaster movie, a la Godzilla, has been doing all the publicity work for this J.J. Abrams vehicle (codenamed Cloverfield). Both titles and the nature of the film should become more clear as it nears the release date, but it's already a historic movie in that it has signaled the way in which studios can use YouTube to create buzz for their films.

Be Kind Rewind (January) Michel Gondry (Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind) directs Jack Black and Mos Def in a visionary comedy about 2 video store clerks who shoot their own low-budget versions of classic films and rent them as if they were the originals. YouTube Trailer.

10,000 B.C. (March) Following the footsteps of 2007's epic March release, Roland Emmerich (Independence Day, The Day After Tomorrow) directs this prehistoric epic about a mammoth hunter, fighting sabertooth tigers and other prehistoric beasts along the way, as well as fellow humans. Apple Trailer.

Horton Hears A Who (March) Animated adaptation of the classic Dr. Seuss book. Voices of Jim Carrey, Steve Carell, Seth Rogen, and Dane Cook, among others. Apple Trailer.

Iron Man (May) The first superhero movie of the summer season is Jon Favreau's Iron Man, starring Robert Downey Jr. as the long-awaited Marvel comic book hero. The film also stars Terrence Howard, Samuel L. Jackson, Jeff Bridges, and Gwyneth Paltrow. YouTube Trailer of ComicCon Teaser.

Speed Racer (May) Transformers being a mega-hit, it's no wonder another cartoon about fast machines is being brought to the big screen in live-action. Larry and Andy Wachowski (The Matrix trilogy, V For Vendetta) helm this adaptation of the 1960s Japanese animation about Speed (Emile Hirsch), a young racecar driver who drives his signature Mach 5 while battling the evil forces of corruption in the racing world and their underhanded attempts to thwart his winning ways.

The Day The Earth Stood Still (May) Remake of the 1951 Robert Wise sci-fi classic about an alien named Gort and his menacing robot companion, who may or may not come in peace.

The Chronicles Of Narnia: Prince Caspian (May) Sequel to The Chronicles Of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch, And The Wardrobe and part 2 of the 7-part C.S. Lewis series, set a thousand years (in Narnia time) after the events of the first movie. Warwick Davis and Peter Dinklage join the cast.

Indiana Jones 4 (May) The long-awaited fourth installment of the Indiana Jones saga, directed by Steven Spielberg, has Harrison Ford playing Indy in his later years. Karen Allen reprises her role as Marion Ravenwood from Raiders Of The Lost Ark. Also rounding out the cast are Shia LaBeouf (Transformers, Disturbia), Cate Blanchett, John Hurt, and Ray Winstone. Sean Connery is rumored to reprise the role of Indy's father.

The Happening (June) After the lackluster response to Lady In The Water, M. Night Shyamalan goes back to Signs territory with a frightening tale of aliens coming to Earth and controlling the animals and plants and turn them against us to conquer the planet. Mark Wahlberg, Zooey Deschanel, and John Leguizamo lead the cast.

The Incredible Hulk (June) Ang Lee's 2003 big budget flop Hulk has nothing to do with this re-imagining of the comic book strongman, which stars Edward Norton as the cursed Bruce Banner, Liv Tyler as his love interest, Tim Roth, William Hurt, and Tim Blake Nelson. Edward Norton himself re-wrote the script, which claims to be neither a remake of nor a sequel to the 2003 film.

Get Smart (June) Steve Carrell steps into the shoe phones of Don Adams as Agent Maxwell Smart in this big screen adaptation of the tongue-in-cheek 1960s television show. Along for the ride are Anne Hathaway as his female sidekick, Agent 99, Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson as Agent 23, Alan Arkin as the Chief, and Terence Stamp as Smart's nemesis, Siegfried. Apple Trailer.

Valkryie (June) Bryan Singer (X-Men, X-Men 2, Superman Returns) steps away from the superhero genre to direct the inevitably controversial Valkryie, starring Tom Cruise as Nazi Colonel Claus von Stauffenberg, who is immersed in a plot to assassinate Adolf Hitler during World War 2.

Wall-E (June) Pixar Studios' next animated movie is about a cute, futuristic robot from the year 2700 named Wall-E. Andrew Stanton (Finding Nemo, A Bug's Life) directs. Apple Teaser Trailer.

The Dark Knight (July) The anticipated sequel to Batman Begins stars Christian Bale as the title superhero, this time battling it out with The Joker, played by Heath Ledger. Aaron Eckhart plays Harvey Dent (who later turns into Two-Face). Maggie Gyllenhaal replaces Katie Holmes at the love interest, but Morgan Freeman, Michael Caine, and Gary Oldman reprise their roles from the first movie. YouTube Teaser Trailer.

Hancock (July) Will Smith plays a superhero with a public image problem who sleeps with his public relations agent's wife. Co-stars Charlize Theron and Jason Bateman.

Step Brothers (July) Will Ferrell and John C. Reilly play 2 adult men who become stepbrothers after their respective parents marry. Immaturity ensues.

Tropic Thunder (July) Ben Stiller returns to directing for the first time since 2001's Zoolander. Stiller, along with Jack Black, Steve Coogan, Robert Downey, Jr., and Nick Nolte, play a fictional film cast and crew of a big-budget war movie who mistakenly get immersed into a real war.

Hellboy 2: The Golden Army (July) Ron Perlman, John Hurt, and Selma Blair return to this sequel to the cult comic hero movie, directed by Guillermo Del Toro (Hellboy, Pan's Labyrinth). It's up to horn-headed superhero again to save mankind from a monstrous coup.

The Mummy 3: Tomb Of The Dragon Emperor (August) The third movie in The Mummy franchise brings back Brendan Fraser. Jet Li plays the new Mummy.

Where The Wild Things Are (October) Spike Jonze (Being John Malkovich, Adaptation) directs this adaptation of the popular children's book about a boy who creates his own fantasy world with wild creatures. Forest Whitaker and Catherine Keenar supply the voices in this CGI-heavy fairy tale.

Untitled James Bond Project (November) Daniel Craig continues his legacy as Ian Fleming's secret agent. Not much is known about the story so far, but it is rumored that it will be a continuation of the unresolved events at the end of Casino Royale, a first for the characteristically episodic franchise.

Harry Potter And The Half-Blood Prince (November) The sixth Harry Potter movie stars the usual suspects. David Yates (Harry Potter And The Order Of The Phoenix) directs the penultimate Harry Potter movie.

Angels & Demons (December) Tom Hanks returns as Dan Brown's Robert Langdon and Ron Howard returns to direct the follow-up to the controversial The Da Vinci Code. The film, which is a prequel to The Da Vinci Code, focuses around a plot to blow up the Vatican.

Untitled Star Trek Project (December) J.J. Abrams directs this new Star Trek movie, which is a bit of a prequel: it follows the early days of the characters from Star Trek: The Original Series during their time at Starfleet Academy, however, old veterans like Leonard Nimoy are among the cast, so it will likely be a back-and-forth storyline setup. Zachary Quinto from Heroes has landed the role of younger Spock, but no young James T. Kirk has been announced, although rumors have been Matt Damon will fill the role.