Top Ten Movies Of 2006

30 December 2006

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With the fabulous variety of films hitting our screens, everyone and anyone could find something to see and enjoy.

Action lovers were thrilled by several box office hits like 'Mission: Impossible III' or 'X-Men: The Last Stand'.Comedy and lighter entertainment fans kicked back with the latest swashbuckling adventure 'Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest' or had some cuddly raccoon laughs with animated feel-good adventure 'Over The Hedge'.And 2006 was also a top year for superhero lovers. 'Superman Returns' saw the Man of Steel back on the big screen after 28 years and 007 fans flocked to see their favourite spy's latest venture in 'Casino Royale'.With film budgets constantly on the increase and the audiences growing more and more demanding, Hollywood is working harder than ever to deliver the best entertainment imaginable.

Here is a countdown of the biggest grossing and most popular films of 2006.

1. 'Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest' stormed box offices around the world, grossing a whopping $1,065,396,812.

The swashbuckling adventure - which followed the 2003 blockbuster 'Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl' - saw Johnny Depp reprise his role as eccentric pirate Captain Jack Sparrow, Orlando Bloom return as heartthrob Will Turner and Keira Knightly bring back to life damsel-in-distress Elizabeth Swann.
Despite the success of the first two pirate adventures, fans were left disappointed this year when screenwriters Ted Elliott and Terry Rossio announced the third instalment, 'Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End' due to hit screens in 2007, will be the last in the series.
Elliot said: "'At World's End' is a fairly apt title. There is the idea of an end of an era - the golden age of piracy coming to a close."
The announcement came soon after Knightley revealed she did not want to reprise her role for a third time.
She said: "I've been playing this girl since I was 17. I'm now 21 and onto different things."

2. 'The Da Vinci Code' was probably one of the most anticipated and definitely controversial films of 2006

. Starring Tom Hanks and Audrey Tautou as Professor Robert Langdon and cryptologist Sophie Neveau, the gripping story raised daring interpretations of the history of Christianity and questioned the credibility of the Roman Catholic Church.
The film - based on the bestselling novel by Dan Brown - caused outcry from religious protesters worldwide and it was banned from a number of countries including Pakistan and Samoa.
The controversy only seemed to help ticket sales and the blockbuster earned $756,663,137 worldwide and experienced the second biggest opening weekend in history, after 'Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith'.

3. It was never a surprise 'Ice Age 2: The Meltdown' was going to be a success after the stir caused by its 2002 prequel 'Ice Age'.

The 2006 adventure sees beloved characters Manny the mammoth, Sid the synocnus and Diego the smilodon embarking on a dangerous run for safety, after the ice in their valley starts to quickly melt.
Manny is also devastated by the thought of being the only mammoth left, until he meets Ellie, a female mammoth.
A host of celebrities lent their voices to the much-loved characters.
Ray Ramono brought to life cynical Manny, while Queen Latifah became the voice of Ellie.
Scrat, the saber-toothed squirrel, also has his own adventures, which eventually lead to an unexpected finale.
Breath-taking animation, celebrity voices and top entertainment value helped the film make a whopping $647,246,162 worldwide.

4. Animated movie 'Cars' follows the adventures of young race car, Lightning McQueen, during the last competition of the season.

The hotshot - voiced by Owen Wilson - finds himself lost in the little town of Radiator Springs on Route 66, and there he meets a host of other cars and slowly discovers that happiness is not about winning races and trophies but about love and friendship.
The film - produced by Pixar Animation Studios - was the latest masterpiece of director John Lasseter, who has previously been behind hits like 'Toy Story' and 'A Bug's Life'.
Apart from Wilson, a host of other stars including Paul Newman and Bonnie Hunt lent their voices to the movie.
Newman's involvement was especially welcomed by the creators, due to his personal passion for car racing.
John Lasseter said: "Paul Newman is an acting and racing legend."
The film also featured voices of motoring royalty including Formula 1 world champion Michael Schumacher.
'Cars' opened in June and took $461,801,982 worldwide.

5. 'X Men: The Last Stand' was probably one of the most problem-ridden projects of 2006.

The third instalment of the sci-fi series saw the director of the first two films Bryan Singer abandon the project during pro-production to direct 'Superman Returns' instead.
Matthew Vaughn briefly replaced Singer, but was forced to quit the film just before filming began due to family problems.
Finally, Brett Ratner stepped up and pulled the project off the ground.
'The Last Stand' saw Hugh Jackman reprise his role as Wolverine and Halle Berry return as weather-controlling Storm.
The film focuses on a "mutant cure", which has serious repercussions among mutants and humans and on the mystery resurrection of Jean Grey, who appeared to have died in the second instalment 'X2'.
The film was ridden with breath-taking action and adventures, however, some of the stunts turned out to be too much of a challenge for Berry.
The actress once became so nauseated while shooting a wire-stunt, it caused her to vomit.
She said: "I got a little sick. I got a lot sick. I sprayed the crew with vomit."
Despite all setbacks, 'X Men: The Last Stand' was a hit in the box office and took $458,751,448 worldwide.

6. Some heroes last forever, and for the last decade, along with James Bond and John McClane, Ethan Hunt has taken his rightful place among top action champions.

Ever since the 1990's, 'Mission: Impossible' has been a steady favourite among film fans and Tom Cruise is recognised as one of the biggest action stars of the last ten years.
Therefore, it was no surprise 'Mission: Impossible III' was a hit and made $396,175,221 worldwide.
Once again, Cruise reprised his role as Impossible Mission Force agent Hunt - this time to be called back into action after retiring to confront the toughest villain he has yet faced.
As Hunt is pulled into the dirty world of international weapons trade, he ends up having to save the life of his love, Julia.
The movie presented a star-studded cast, which included Lawrence Fishburne, Simon Pegg and established 'Felicity' actress Keri Russell as a legitimate action star.
Despite relative success at the box office, the film marked the end of Cruise's long-term partnership with Paramount Studios.
Studio bosses blamed the 'Top Gun' actor's wavering popularity for the film failing to match ticket sales for the previous two films - 'Mission: Impossible' raked in $456,494,803, and 'Mission: Impossible II' made $545,902,562.
It was suggested people had been turned-off by Cruise because of his Scientology beliefs and a cringe-worthy incident in which he jumped up and down on a couch proclaiming his love for his now wife Katie Holmes during an interview with chat show host Oprah Winfrey.

7. Making a 'Superman' film was director Bryan Singer's dream. So, when the opportunity presented itself he dropped everything - in this case 'X Men: The Last Stand' - to make his dream come true.

'Superman Returns' was not only hotly anticipated by the critics but also by legions of fans who flocked to theatres to see their hero brought back to life, bringing $391,081,192 into the box office.
The film - which starred Brandon Routh and Kate Bosworth as Clark Kent and Louis Lane - revolved around Superman's return to Earth after a five-year absence.
The Man of Steel re-assumes his identity as newspaper reporter Clark Kent and is stunned to discover his love, Louis Lane, is engaged to another man and has a five-year-old son.
However, the hero hasn't got much time to mope over his lost romance, as his nemesis, Lex Luther - portrayed by Kevin Spacey - has come up with a new plan to destroy him.
Routh, who was relatively unknown before 'Superman Returns' said the role was a "dream come true" and was not put off by the notorious 'Superman curse'.
As well as a string of unfortunate incidents involving crew members, the original TV Superman, George Reeve, was shot dead at 45, and Christopher Reeve was paralysed in a riding accident, before passing away at the early age of 52.
Routh said: "Curse? What curse? I don't think in those terms. If something happens to me, I'll deal with it. I'm not going to worry about it."

8. The name is Bond... James Bond. 2006 was a special year for both 007 creators and fans as it introduced a new, never-before-seen kind of Bond - ruthless, raw and ... blonde.

Daniel Craig was the sixth actor to bring to life Ian Fleming's suave spy in 'Casino Royale'.
Helmed by 'GoldenEye' director Martin Campbell, the film explored the time before Bond was given his 00 status and became the spy we know today.
Based on a 1953 novel, the film also introduced French actress Eva Green as the new Bond Girl - devious double-agent Vesper Lynd.
However, the movie also had two major exclusions - Q and Miss Moneypenny - making it the second Bond film after 'Live and Let Die' without Q and the first without Miss Moneypenny.
Daniel Craig was received by Bond fans with mixed emotions and stories from the 'Casino Royale' set earned him a shoddy reputation.
Craig first infuriated fans by revealing he hadn't been to a cinema to see a Bond film since 1973.
He said: "The first Bond film I went to see was 'Live and Let Die'. The last time I paid to see a Bond film would be 1973! Except no, my dad paid!"
Craig's credibility was also hurt by reports that he was unable to drive a manual car, play cards, and hating guns.
However, despite the criticism, he scored well with the film executives who hailed him the best 007 of all times.
Producer Barbara Broccoli said: "He's the best Bond ever. He'll be the British actor to define his generation."
'Casino Royale' received positive reviews after its release and Daniel Craig was instantly given the sex symbol status.
The popular scene with him walking out of the sea in his blue trunks alone earned the film $372,745,823 worldwide.

9. Another animated masterpiece this year was animal-inspired 'Over The Hedge', which took $331,241,996 worldwide.

The story revolves around RJ, a travelling raccoon con artist, who arrives in woods outside a human city, excited about the easy access to people's food.
However, he is stunned to see the local animal community missing out on regular munchies because they're afraid to venture over the hedge that separates them from the humans.
Eventually RJ lures the animals into the world full of open tin cans and left-over cheese and their journey is not short of adventure, mishaps and comical turns.
Bruce Willis - who brings to life RJ - was so excited to get into character he hooked up with a family of raccoons in his native New Jersey.
He revealed: "I lived with a family of them for about three months. Sadly, it didn't really work out because I couldn't understand what they were trying to tell me. They kept giving me bits of pine bark and little pieces of tin foil."

10. And finally, no year in the movies would ever be complete without a good chick-flick.

However, the 10th top grossing film of 2006, 'The Devil Wears Prada' proved to be much more than that.
Starring Hollywood heavyweight Meryl Streep as icy New York fashion magazine editor Miranda and Anne Hathaway as her exploited assistant, Andy Sachs, the film explores the harsh world of fashion journalism and extreme egos.
As well as showcasing the latest fashions and must-have accessories, 'The Devil Wears Prada' also sees fantastic performance from both actresses.
Streep took her merciless character very seriously and made sure she maintained her act on the set, even when they were not shooting.
She revealed: "Everyone else were always having a party in the corner and I couldn't join in. It was sort of a lonely position that I staked out for myself, but it paid off ultimately."
'The Devil Wears Prada' took $311,695,026 worldwide.
The above list proves there is no set formula for a successful film. It could be anything from a blood-chilling thriller to a raccoon-themed animated story; there are as many tastes as there are movies.
And with the new 'Pirates of the Caribbean', 'Batman' and 'Spider-Man' adventures hitting a cinema near you next year, 2007 looks set to be yet another blockbuster-packed twelve months.
By Baiba Upmale.

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