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The year 2008 in film saw many new films released worldwide, including several major mainstream sequels such as Rambo, The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian, Harold & Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, Hellboy II: The Golden Army, The Dark Knight, The X-Files: I Want to Believe, The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor, Star Wars: The Clone Wars, High School Musical 3: Senior Year, Saw V, Quantum of Solace, Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa, Transporter 3, and The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2.
Contents |
Top grossing films
Please note that following the tradition of the English-language film industry, these are the top grossing films that were first released in the USA in 2008. The top ten films of 2008, by worldwide gross in $USD, as well as the US & Canada, UK, and Australia grosses, are as follows:
| Rank | Title | Studio | Worldwide Gross | US/Canada Gross | UK Gross | Australia Gross |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Dark Knight | Warner Bros. | $997,041,696 | $530,540,885 | $88,691,400 | $39,727,100 |
| 2 | Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull | Paramount | $786,558,759 | $317,023,851 | $72,662,432 | $27,159,421 |
| 3 | Kung Fu Panda | DreamWorks | $631,869,621 | $215,434,591 | $39,405,501 | $24,764,811 |
| 4 | Hancock | Columbia | $624,386,746 | $227,946,274 | $49,170,891 | $19,636,856 |
| 5 | Iron Man | Paramount | $581,931,630 | $318,313,199 | $33,822,889 | $18,880,106 |
| 6 | Mamma Mia! | Universal | $572,082,632 | $143,762,955 | $129,611,220 | $29,258,425 |
| 7 | Quantum of Solace | MGM/Columbia | $549,056,524 | $151,620,134 | $75,383,843 | $12,616,577 |
| 8 | Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa | DreamWorks | $516,934,000 | $174,862,381 | $41,215,600 | $14,123,100 |
| 9 | WALL-E | Disney (Pixar) | $507,328,080 | $223,704,223 | $41,215,600 | $14,123,100 |
| 10 | The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian | Disney | $419,646,109 | $141,621,490 | $21,581,030 | $13,181,570 |
As of December 26, 2008, fifty-one films released in 2008 have grossed more than $100 million, reaching blockbuster status, tying the record with 2007, which has the same amount. Eleven films have grossed more than $400 million, reaching "international blockbuster" status, tying the record with 2007, which has the same amount. One film (The Dark Knight) has grossed more than $900 million, making it the 4th highest grossing film in history. On August 4, The Dark Knight reached a $400 million domestic gross in a record time of 18 days. The previous record was held by Shrek 2, which reached it in 43 days.1 On August 31, after 45 days in release, The Dark Knight reached $500 million domestically, becoming only the second film in history after Titanic to cross the half-billion-dollar domestic milestone, as well as the only film of the 2000s decade. For 2008, the top ten films consisted of 3 superhero films, 3 animated films, 3 action films and 1 musical film.
For a complete list of 2008's top-grossing films, follow these links:
Events
| Month | Day | Event |
| January | 7 | Due to the 2007-2008 Writers Guild of America Strike, NBC and the Hollywood Foreign Press Association scrap plans to hold its 65th Golden Globe Awards ceremony and instead hold a press conference announcing the winners |
| 13 | The 65th Golden Globe Awards winners were announced:
Drama Musical or Comedy |
|
| 16 | The 61st BAFTA Awards nominations were announced with Atonement the leading film with 14 nominations closely followed by No Country for Old Men and There Will Be Blood, both with 7 nominations | |
| 17 - 27 | The 26th Sundance Film Festival is opened with the world premiere of Martin McDonagh's In Bruges and screens over 120 films. The Grand Jury and Audience Award prizes are awarded to Frozen River and The Wackness respectively. The festival is closed by the world premiere of Bernard Shakey's CSNY Déjà Vu | |
| 22 | The 80th Academy Awards nominations were announced with No Country for Old Men and There Will Be Blood the leading films with 8 nominations each, closely followed by Atonement and Michael Clayton, both with 7
The Oscar nominated actor Heath Ledger, 28, is found dead at his home in Manhattan, New York City, from an accidental prescription pills overdose |
|
| 23 - 3 | The 37th Rotterdam International Film Festival is opened with the world premiere of LucÃa Cedrón’s narrative feature-film debut Lamb of God. | |
| 26 | The 60th Directors Guild of America Award dinner is held in the Hyatt Regency Century Plaza, Los Angeles. The Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Feature Film prize is awarded to Joel and Ethan Coen | |
| 27 | The 14th Screen Actors Guild Awards ceremony is held in the Shrine Exposition Center, Los Angeles. Major winners announced include: | |
| February | 7 - 17 | The 58th Berlin International Film Festival is opened with the world premiere of Martin Scorsese's Shine A Light and screens over 350 films. The Golden Bear prize is awarded to The Elite Squad. The Silver Bear prizes are awarded to Paul Thomas Anderson, Best Director, Reza Naji, Best Actor and Sally Hawkins, Best Actress. The festival is closed by the international premiere of Michel Gondry's Be Kind Rewind |
| 8 | The 35th Annie Awards ceremony is held in the UCLA's Royce Hall, Los Angeles. The Best Animated Feature prize is awarded to Ratatouille | |
| 9 | The 60th Writers Guild of America Awards are announced in a brief statement. The Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Original Screenplay prizes are awarded to Joel and Ethan Coen (No Country for Old Men) and Diablo Cody (Juno), respectively | |
| 10 | The 61st BAFTA Awards ceremony is held in the Royal Opera House, London. Sir Anthony Hopkins is honoured with the Academy Fellowship. Major winners include: | |
| 12 | The members of the WGA agree a three-year deal with the AMPTP and vote to end the 3-month 2007-2008 Writers Guild of America Strike | |
| 23 | The 28th Golden Raspberry Awards ceremony is held in Santa Monica, California. The Worst Picture award is given to I Know Who Killed Me. The Worst Actor and Worst Actress awards are given to Eddie Murphy and Lindsay Lohan, respectively
The 23rd Independent Spirit Awards ceremony is broadcast. The Best Film award is given to Juno. The Best Actor and Best Actress awards are given to Philip Seymour Hoffman and Ellen Page respectively |
|
| 24 | The 80th Academy Awards ceremony is held in the Kodak Theater, Hollywood. Major winners include: | |
| March | 3 | 28th Genie Awards |
| 13 - 21 | 7th Tiburon International Film Festival | |
| April | 4 - 13 | 10th Sarasota Film Festival |
| 23 - 4 | 7th Tribeca Film Festival | |
| 24 - 8 | 51st San Francisco International Film Festival | |
| May | ? - ? | 8th Silver Lake Film Festival |
| 14 - 25 | Entre les murs wins the Palme d'Or while Gomorra receives the Grand Prix at the Cannes Film Festival. | |
| 22 - 15 | 34th Seattle International Film Festival | |
| 26 | Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull earns $126 million in the United States and Canada, becoming the highest grossing debut of 2008 an the second highest for a Memorial Day weekend debut behind Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End. | |
| June | 1 | 17th MTV Movie Awards
A massive fire destroys portions of facilities at Universal Studios in Universal City near Los Angeles, California. |
| 14 - 22 | 11th Shanghai International Film Festival | |
| 18 | Iron Man becomes the first movie of 2008 to earn $300 million in the United States and Canada. | |
| 18 - 29 | 62nd Edinburgh International Film Festival | |
| August | 4 | The Dark Knight reached $400 million in record time at 18 days. The previous record was held by Shrek 2, who reached it in 43 days.1 |
| 6 - 16 | 61st Locarno International Film Festival | |
| 21 - 1 | 32nd Montreal World Film Festival | |
| 27 - 6 | 65th Venice International Film Festival | |
| September | 4 - 13 | 33rd Toronto International Film Festival |
| 15 -20 | 33rd Polish Film Festival in Gdynia | |
| 18 - 27 | 56th San Sebastián International Film Festival | |
| 23 -30 | 6th Bangkok International Film Festival | |
| October | 1 - 12 | 16th Raindance Film Festival |
| 15 - 30 | 52nd London Film Festival | |
| 18 - 26 | 21st Tokyo International Film Festival | |
| November | 18 - 28 | 32nd Cairo International Film Festival |
| December | 5 - 14 | 10th Jakarta International Film Festival |
| 4 - 14 | 23rd Mar del Plata International Film Festival |
Awards
Grand Jury Prize (Sundance Film Festival):
- Frozen River, directed by Courtney Hunt, United States
Golden Bear (Berlin Film Festival):
- The Elite Squad, directed by José Padilha, Brazil
Golden Lion (Venice Film Festival):
- The Wrestler, directed by Darren Aronofsky, United States
Scheduled 2008 releases
Films scheduled to be released in 2008 include:
- L: Limited release in select cities
- W: Wide-release to theaters
- IMAX: Release to IMAX theaters