Box office aiming for blockbuster boom time

BLOCKBUSTER season is upon us. Every year it starts earlier and earlier and 2016 is no exception, with not one but two big releases coming in the next few days.

Kung Fu Panda 3 and Allegiant, the latest instalment in the Divergent series, both hit cinemas nationwide this weekend, hoping to draw large audiences.

A few weeks later, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice arrives, which finds Ben Affleck and Henry Cavill battling each other as DC superheros Batman and Superman, respectively.

Hot on the heels of that is Captain America: Civil War. Returning cast members from The Avengers films Chris Evans and Robert Downey Jr butt heads alongside a host of familiar faces, and a few new ones, too.

Elsewhere, we have the fifth instalment in the Ice Age franchise, Collision Course, and popular app-cum-film Angry Birds, featuring an impressive voice cast that includes Maya Rudolph and Kate McKinnon.

Saturday Night Live member McKinnon also pops up in Ghostbuters, the female lead spin on the old-school cult classic that also stars Kristen Wiig, Melissa McCarthy and Leslie Jones. It’s directed by Bridesmaids’ Paul Feig.

Another superhero film on the horizon is X-Men: Apocalypse, which sees one of last year’s biggest success stories, Oscar Isaac turn villainous against Professor Xavier and Magneto.

Johnny Depp returns to Wonderland in Disney’s Alice Through the Looking Glass. Then comes Zootropolis, The Jungle Book, BFG, Pete’s Dragon, Finding Dory and Moana.

It’s a big year, then, for big budget cinema. So grab your popcorn, sit back and let the good times be projected onto a giant screen in front of you. The bigger the better.