1. High-Rise
What Is It? Ben Wheatley's moving away from the complete what-the-f*ck of his own imagination towards the complete what-the-f*ck of J.G. Ballard, adapting his novel on social revolution set in the microcosm of a seventies alt-future tower block. Tom Hiddleson stars as Dr. Robert Laing, an rather introverted puzzle who finds himself mingling with all strata of the class metaphor.
Will It Be Good? I managed to catch the film at the London Film Festival last year, so no need for guesswork here;
it's great. Wheatley's mastered that pervasive suffocating tone that hangs thick in the air, building dread as order slowly collapses, and the weirdness of the whole thing is gamely captured by the actors. Other critics have been a little less glowing, but divisiveness has been the director's hallmark since he debuted Down Terrace in 2009.
But Will It Be A Hit? Ben Wheatley's had massive success in terms of notoriety among film fans, but none of his movies have really cracked the mainstream. While High-Rise is too weird to play super wide, the presence of Hiddleston, Jeremy Irons (who's going to get a massive boon in popularity after Batman V Superman), Luke Evans and Sienna Miller should see this reach more than just fans of Kill List.
Which 2016 movie do you think will be the year's breakout hit? Share your ones to watch down in the comments.