The year 2016 was a really good year for movies. With the overall global box office being at $38.6 billion and audiences receiving a wide variety of good movies across all genres like animation, drama, action, horror and more. Many movies across all genres were nominated at the academy awards. In this article we will be going over only a few of the many popular movies of 2016.
Arrival
Arrival is a sci-fi film that was released on November 11, 2016. The film follows Louise Banks who is a linguist recruited by the military in an attempt to decipher the complex non-linear language of aliens that have landed all over the world. The film was directed by Denis Villeneuve who also directed Dune Part one and two (Dune Part three is also directed by him and is set to release December 18, 2026), Sicario, Blade Runner 2049, Prisoners, and Enemy. The film was nominated for a total of eight Oscars and won one for best sound editing. The film was also a success at the box office earning $203 million dollars with a budget of $47 million.
LaLaland
LaLaLand was released on December 9,2026 and is a musical/romance film set in Los Angeles and follows two main characters, Mia and Sebastian. Mia is a struggling actress with dreams of becoming a big famous actress. Sebastian is a Jazz Pianist who is also struggling but has the dream of opening his own jazz club one day. The film was directed by Damien Chazelle who also directed films like Babylon, First Man, The Stunt Double, and Whiplash. The film earned 14 Oscar nominations and won six of them, which included Emma Stone’s first Oscar win as best actress. The film was a major box office success earning $522 million dollars with a budget of only $30 million.
Moonlight
Moonlight was released on October 21, 2016 and is a romance/drama film that follows the coming of age story of main character Chiron, who is a young black man growing up in a rough Miami neighborhood. The film has a unique way of telling his story as it follows him in the three chapters of his life. Childhood, adolescence, and adulthood. The film was directed by Barry Jenkins who also directed If Beale Street Could Talk and Mufasa. The film was nominated for eight Oscars and won three. One of them being for best picture. Which if you remember had a pretty crazy mix-up as at first they announced that LaLaland had won best picture and the whole LaLaland crew went up to accept the award but then someone ran to correct their mistake and announce Moonlight as the official best picture winner. The film was also a box office success earning $66 million dollars with a budget of only $4 million.
Manchester by the Sea
Manchester by the Sea was released on November 18,2016 and is a drama film that follows maintenance man Lee Chandler as he has to return to his hometown after the death of his brother and discovering that he left him as the sole guardian of his nephew. This leads to forcing Lee to face his tragic past. The film was directed by Kenneth Lonergan who also directed You can count on me. The film was nominated for six Oscars and won 2. One of those was for Casey Affleck as best actor. The film succeeded in the box office earning $78 million dollars with a budget of $9 million.
Captain America: Civil War
Captain America: Civil War was released on May 6, 2016 and is the 13th film to be released in the Marvel cinematic universe and the first film of phase 3. The film is also a sequel to both Captain America: Winter Soldier and Avengers: Age of Ultron. The film was directed by the Russo brothers who also directed Avengers: Infinity War, Avengers: Endgame, and Avengers: Doomsday which is set to release the same day as Dune Part Three, December 18, 2026. While the film was not nominated for any academy awards, it was a major success at the box office. The film earned $1.15 billion dollars with a budget of $250 million. This earned it the top spot of the highest grossing film of 2016.
Lights Out
Lights Out is a horror movie that was released on July 22,2016 and it follows a family that is haunted by a creature that can only appear when the lights are off or just in dark environments. The film was very popular at the time of releasing due to the very simple premise of a monster in the dark which is a fear everyone has had at one point in their life. The film was directed by David F. Sandberg who also directed Shazam, Shazam: Fury of the Gods, Until Dawn, Annabelle Creation, and Until Dawn. The film was not nominated for any academy awards but was a big hit in the box office with the film earning $149 million dollars with only a small budget of $4.9 million.
Overall 2016 was a really good year for movies. And while I only covered a few of the biggest ones of that year, there were still a lot more movies that were good from that year that I didn’t cover. So I encourage you to look at what some of your favorites from that year were.
