Movies 2017: Looking Ahead to the Year's Biggest Hits

Last year was a record-breaking year at the box office, but the lion's share of 2016's ticket dollars went to a single studio. Disney collected more than a quarter of all the movie-ticket dollars spent in the United States last year, far outdistancing its closest competitor.

In terms of the year's top movies Disney was even more dominant; six of the year's top ten movies were released by the house that Mickey built. Will the same thing happen in 2017?

Chances are that it will. Last year's top ten consisted entirely of superhero movies and CGI-animated family films, and Disney has plenty of those on tap. It all starts in March with the release of a remake of Beauty And The Beast; even though it looks like a virtual scene-for-scene remake of the original animated version, it's getting plenty of attention for its star, Emma Watson, and it's likely to hit big.

In May, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 and Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales land, followed by Cars 3 in June, Thor: Ragnarok in November, and Star Wars Episode VIII in December. If all goes according to Disney's plan, those films will take up half of the year's top ten.

There will be competition from other superhero movies, though. Warners' Wonder Woman debuts in June, and Justice League arrives in November. Fox will deliver Logan in March, and Sony serves up Spider-Man: Homecoming in June. There's also The Lego Batman Movie in February, which has the dual advantage of superhero-ness and animation.

That's enough to fill out the top ten, but there's more. Tom Cruise's The Mummy premieres in June, Alien: Covenant happens in May, Kong: Skull Island hits in March, War for the Planet of the Apes comes in July, and Fate of the Furious drops in April. Any of these could become a surprise blockbuster, as could at least a half dozen more.

The bottom line: 2017 is going to be a busy year, so let's get started.