2015 December movies like Spectre and The Hunger Games: Mockingjay were two highly-anticipated sequels when they opened in theaters last month.
Critics liked The Peanuts Movie and Creed, one of the biggest box office hits of 2015.
The second movie got a lot of attention from the Oscars, and many critics say it’s the best Rocky movie since the original from 1976.
As the Christmas season continues, it’s no surprise that more and more people are going to the movies to see big hits.
Let’s go through some of the 2015 December movies.
1. In the Heart of the Sea
- Director: Ron Howard
- Star casts: Chris Hemsworth, Cillian Murphy, Tom Holland, Benjamin Walker, Brendan Gleeson, Ben Whishaw
- IMDb rating: 6.9/10
Ron Howard and Chris Hemsworth, who worked together on the 2013 racing drama Rush, try to tell the real story that inspired Herman Melville’s 1851 classic novel Moby Dick in the movie
The Heart of the Sea. Also in the movie are Cillian Murphy, Brendan Gleeson, Ben Whishaw, and Tom Holland, who will play Spider-Man in next year’s Captain America: Civil War.
Hemsworth’s movies that aren’t Marvel movies haven’t been as popular as when he played Thor, but In the Heart of the Sea should be a good story about man versus nature.
People all over the world like these kinds of movies because they are fun to watch and tell real stories about people who have to fight to stay alive.
With a seasoned director like Howard in charge, the movie was a hit with the people who like it most.
2. The Big Short
- Director: Ron Howard
- Star casts: Chris Hemsworth, Cillian Murphy, Tom Holland, Benjamin Walker, Brendan Gleeson, Ben Whishaw
- IMDb rating: 6.9/10
Adam McKay has made a name for himself with movies like Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy, The Other Guys, and Step Brothers, which are funny and popular with audiences. But with The Big Short, the director takes a risky new step.
It’s his first film as a director with dramatic parts, and it’s the only one that doesn’t star his producing partner Will Ferrell. The comedy/drama is based on Michael Lewis’s 2010 book of the same name.
It tells the story of the financial crisis of 2007–2010 and the housing and credit bubbles that went along with it. With a big-name star like Christian Bale at the head of the cast.
The Big Short is getting a limited release and stars Steve Carell, Ryan Gosling, and Brad Pitt.
It was the start of a new era for McKay’s career and one of the most interesting based-on-a-true-story movies of the year.
3. Star Wars: The Force Awakens
- Director: J.J. Abrams
- Star casts: Daisy Ridley, John Boyega, Harrison Ford, Adam Driver, Oscar Isaac, Carrie Fisher
- IMDb rating: 5.5/10
At this point, there’s not much more to say about Star Wars: Episode VII—The Force Awakens. The movie is already a worldwide sensation, and one of the top 2015 December movies.
It’s the result of Disney’s purchase of Lucasfilm in 2012 and the first movie in a new era of Star Wars movies. Fans are waiting with bated breath to get on the Millennium Falcon.
Even though the movie is getting a lot of promotion, the main story is still mostly a mystery, especially since Mark Hamill’s Luke Skywalker isn’t in it.
But most of what we know so far suggests that director J.J. Abrams relaunched the franchise just the right way, balancing classic elements with exciting new additions and saving the Skywalker saga from the controversial prequel trilogy.
4. Sisters
- Director: Jason Moore
- Star casts: Tina Fey, Amy Poehler, Maya Rudolph, Paula Pell, John Cena, John Leguizamo
- IMDb rating: 8.3/10
Tina Fey and Amy Poehler used to work together on Saturday Night Live. Now, they can’t seem to stay apart.
Now, the stars of Baby Mama are back as co-leads in Pitch Perfect director Jason Moore’s new comedy, Sisters.
Fey and Poehler play two sisters who go back to the house where they grew up to throw one last party before the house is sold.
The two have shown over and over again that they have great chemistry and can go beyond their material.
The real question is whether or not the movie will live up to its considerable comedic skills.
With longtime SNL writer Paula Pell writing the script, there is a solid foundation for something special.
Fey and Poehler were yet to make it as big-screen stars, but this movie helped them get a foothold in the industry.
5. The Hateful Eight
- Director: Quentin Tarantino
- Star casts: Samuel L. Jackson, Kurt Russell, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Tim Roth, Walton Goggins, Channing Tatum
- IMDb rating: 7.8/10
Quentin Tarantino has some of the most loyal fans of any filmmaker. When he’s involved in a project, it becomes an event movie immediately.
The Hateful Eight, which was thought to be dead after a script leaked, is no different.
In Tarantino’s most traditional Western so far, Samuel L. Jackson, Tim Roth, and Michael Madsen, who have all worked with him before, are the stars of the show.
While Kill Bill: Vol. 2 and Django Unchained used Western elements in their stories, The Hateful Eight looks like it will be Tarantino’s sincere homage to the spaghetti Westerns he loves.
Ennio Morricone, who wrote the music for The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly, wrote the score for this movie, which is one of the 2015 December movies.
6. Concussion
- Director: Peter Landesman
- Star casts: Will Smith, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, David Morse, Alec Baldwin, Albert Brooks, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje
- IMDb rating: 7.1/10
Will Smith was nominated for an Oscar for his role in The Pursuit of Happiness as a single father who was having trouble making ends meet.
Now, he wants to play a role that is just as intense in Concussion, which was written and is being directed by Peter Landesman.
Smith plays Dr. Bennett Omalu, who fought with the NFL because the league tried to hide what he found about brain damage in football players.
The movie is based on a 2009 GQ article by Jeanne Marie Laskas about the same subject, and it looks like the movie will do justice to Omalu’s story.
Smith is not the only actor in the movie. Alec Baldwin, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Albert Brooks, and many others also have parts.
During awards season, true stories usually get a lot of attention, and this one, with its focus on moral questions, is one of the most talked-about.
7. Daddy’s Home
- Director: Sean Anders
- Star casts: Will Ferrell, Mark Wahlberg, Mel Gibson, Linda Cardellini, Didi Costine, Scarlett Estevez, Owen Vaccaro
- IMDb rating: 6.2/10
Will Ferrell and Mark Wahlberg aren’t the first funny actors that come to mind, but in Adam McKay’s 2010 comedy The Other Guys, they played off each other well. This month, they’re back with Daddy’s Home.
When his stepchildren’s father (Wahlberg) comes back into their lives, Ferrell’s executive has to compete with him to win the love of his stepchildren.
In The Other Guys, Ferrell played the straight man to Wahlberg’s loose cannon, and it looks like Daddy’s Home will follow a similar pattern.
The movie is directed by Sean Anders, who also made That’s My Boy and Horrible Bosses 2.
Even though an up-and-coming director made Daddy’s Home, its stars brought in crowds.
8. Joy
- Director: David O. Russell
- Star casts: Jennifer Lawrence, Robert De Niro, Bradley Cooper, Édgar Ramirez, Isabella Rossellini
- IMDb rating: 6.0/10
After Jennifer Lawrence won an Oscar and was nominated for another one for her work with David O. Russell, it’s hard to blame her for wanting to work with the director of Silver Linings Playbook and American Hustle for the third time.
In the movie Joy, Jennifer Lawrence plays Joy Mangano, a single mother, and businesswoman who comes up with inventions like the “Miracle Mop.”
Mangano is also the president of Ingenious Designs LLC, which she runs while building her business empire.
The movie also reunites Lawrence with her co-stars from Silver Linings Playbook, Bradley Cooper and Robert De Niro.
The story is about a young woman who works hard to achieve the American dream, which sounds like it would be right up Russell’s alley.
His ability to blend comedy and drama naturally should work well for Joy. Since he is a favorite for awards, you will hear more about the movie in the coming weeks. This movie is one of the best 2015 December movies you should see.
9. The Revenant
- Director: Alejandro González Iñárritu
- Star casts: Leonardo DiCaprio, Tom Hardy, Will Poulter, Domhnall Gleeson, Lukas Haas, Paul Anderson
- IMDb rating: 8.0/10
Many people were surprised when Birdman (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) by Alejandro González Iárritu won Best Director and Best Picture at this year’s Oscars. But the director isn’t happy just because that movie did well.
His new movie, The Revenant, seems even more ambitious than the one before, judging by the trailer.
It looks like it will be one of the year’s most complicated and visually stunning movies.
Hugh Glass, an explorer who was left for dead after being attacked by a bear in the American wilderness in 1823, is played by Leonardo DiCaprio in the film.
He goes on a dangerous journey through the cold winter to get revenge, mostly on the criminal John Fitzgerald (Tom Hardy).
