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The UK's 10 biggest movies from 2016 have been revealed

Credit: Disney/Licasfilm, 20th Century Fox, Warner Bros.
But which of the year’s most popular movies came out on top? – Credit: Disney/Lucasfilm, 20th Century Fox, Warner Bros.

It’s been a record high for the UK’s film box office, thanks to some big hitters.

Each year we find out whether our most anticipated films are the massive commercial hits we expected them to be, or whether they fail to excite us and flop.

2016, like any year, was a mixed bag of critically lauded and universally panned films that impressed and disappointed different audiences for various reasons. But which were the winners at the UK box office?

Here are the 10 biggest films in the UK from 2016, with some entries that may not surprise you – and some that will.

10. Star Wars: The Force Awakens (£35.9m)

John Boyega and Daisy Ridley in Star Wars: The Force Awakens. Image via Lucasfilm
John Boyega and Daisy Ridley in ‘Star Wars: The Force Awakens’ – Credit: Disney/Lucasfilm

We know what you’re thinking – this one came out in 2015! And while it did, it continued its gloriously strong cinema run well into 2016, where it ended up amassing an incredible £1.7 billion. J.J. Abrams’ ‘The Force Awakens’ was always predicted to do big business, and it certainly did.

9. The Secret Life of Pets (£36.3m)

Credit: Universal
Audiences went barking mad for this animated caper – Credit: Universal

Universal’s family-friendly animation about what our beloved pets really get up to when we go out was a huge hit globally, having taken over £700 million by the end of its run. There’s already a sequel, ingeniously titled ‘The Secret Life of Pets 2’, which was greenlit after the success of this.

8. Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (£36.6m)

Seja para falar bem ou para falar mal, milhões de usuários digitaram o nome do filme na barra de pesquisa para saber mais sobre ele. (Divulgação)
Three’ a crowd? Credit: Warner Bros.

Despite this DC epic having the potential to be one of the greatest superhero romps ever, Zack Snyder’s lengthy, CGI-heavy interpretation of when Batman met Superman who were in turn introduced to Wonder Woman didn’t go down well with everyone – that goes for both fans and critics – but it still performed well in ticket sales.

7. Captain America: Civil War (£36.9m)

Marvel’s long-awaited smackdown between Captain America and Iron Man didn’t disappoint with that epic airport showdown providing fan boys with enough superhero-on-superhero action to keep them going until ‘Avengers: Infinity War’. Spider-Man’s debut set up nicely for 2017's 'Homecoming' too.
Marvel’s long-awaited smackdown between Captain America and Iron Man didn’t disappoint – Credit: Disney/Marvel

Marvel’s eagerly anticipated showdown between Robert Downey Jr.’s Iron Man and Chris Evans’ Captain American was always going to be explosive, and the Russo brothers didn’t let us down with their action-packed, witty superhero flick that brilliantly introduced Tom Holland’s new-look Spider-Man and the absolute badass that was Chadwick Boseman’s Black Panther.

6. Deadpool (£37.8m)

Ryan Reynolds delivers the whole chimichanga in this R-rated Marvel romp about a mouthy mutant mercenary who channels Ferris Bueller while gleefully dispatching bad guys. Irreverent and inspired, ‘Deadpool’ disrupts the tired superhero formula and establishes a new standard for X-Men movies. Wolverine, you're on notice. – M.E (Photo: 20th Century Fox)
Ryan Reynolds delivers the whole chimichanga in this R-rated romp – Credit: 20th Century Fox

The surprise comicbook movie of the year – if not the decade – wasn’t just down to how popular Ryan Reynolds’ Merc with a Mouth was, but mainly due to the well-made film Tim Miller’s feature turned out to be. The sequel may have had a bump in the road with Miller severing ties with the project but Fox had a big hit on their hands in early 2016, before ‘X-Men: Apocalypse’ had the chance to let us down.

5. Finding Dory (£42.9m)

FINDING DORY (Phto: Disney/Pixar)
Somehow Dory manages to get lost across the ocean this time – Credit: Disney/Pixar

Pixar’s ‘Finding Nemo’ was huge back in 2003, and in those 13 long years young fans had inevitably grown into adulthood but were still eager to see the follow-up. And the film still managed to capture the studio’s appeal after their last effort, ‘The Good Dinosaur’, failed to ignite the box office in 2015.

4. The Jungle Book (£46.2m)

Baloo (Bill Murray) and Mowgli (Neel Sethi) in 'The Jungle Book'. (Credit: Disney)
The Jungle Book had more animated characters than real humans – Credit: Disney

John Favreau’s live-action adaptation of the Rudyard Kipling classic – not to mention the sing-along Disney staple from 1967 – seemed a risk at first, but having painstakingly nailed the CGI (and let’s face it, there’s a lot of it in there) and retained the essence of the story, Disney had yet another monster hit on their hands.

3. Bridget Jones’s Baby (£48.1m)

Renée Zellweger  in Bridget Jones' Baby (Photo: Universal)
Bridget’s future seems rosy – Credit: Universal

The fanbase were out in force to see how Renee Zellweger’s hapless Brit’s love life would pan out in the third and final ‘Bridget’ movie. Considering it hit cinemas in September, which is notoriously a dead period for releases, it did tremendously well.

2. Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (£52.1m)

Newt Scamander (Eddie Redmayne) hunting for his fantastic beasts (Photo: Warner Bros.)
Newt Scamander (Eddie Redmayne) hunting for his fantastic beasts (Photo: Warner Bros.)

‘Fantastic Beasts’ was always going to be one of the year’s biggest and most anticipated films. Not only did J.K. Rowling write the screenplay – for the first ever time, may we note – but the ‘Harry Potter’ spin-off had fans salivating over Eddie Redmayne fumbling around New York as Newt Scamander, decades before the Potter storyline even began.

And it was very nearly the UK’s biggest movie of the year, but then one other spin-off came along…

1. Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (£56.4m)

Credit: Lucasfilm
The Force was certainly with this ‘Star Wars’ spin-off – Credit: Disney/Lucasfilm

Was it ever in doubt, especially after how ‘The Force Awakens’ dominated its time in cinemas? Gareth Edwards’ prequel to ‘A New Hope’ may have only been released in mid-December, but it didn’t waste any time in getting bums on seats, as it comfortably snatched the number one spot from David Yates and Warner Bros.

(Box office figures sourced from Screen Daily.)

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