What Happened in 2015:

Jan. – The annual Sundance Film Festival started on Jan. 22. This festival, known to debut some of the best movies of the year and proves to be an important event for the film industry year over year. It premiered many independent films, including “Me and Earl and the Dying Girl” as well as “Slow West”.

Feb. – On Feb. 27, “Star Trek” alum Leonard Nimoy died of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD), a diagnosis he was affiliated with for many years. The “Spock” actor played the character from 1964 to 2013 and lived to be 83 years old and was also known for his poetry, film directing and photography.

March – March 15 saw the release of rapper Kendrick Lamar’s second studio album, “To Pimp a Butterfly”. Critically acclaimed when released, it is now the fourth highest rated album of all time, according to Metacritic (as of Jan. 2016), and was the most listened to album in Spotify history on the day of release.

April – 2015 was a huge year in the movie industry, especially in April. “Furious 7”, the seventh installment in the ever-growing “Fast & Furious” series, managed to rake in over $1.5 billion during its theatrical run, and is now in the top 10 highest grossing movies internationally of all time (as of Jan. 2016).

May – AMC’s seven-season long TV show “Mad Men” came to an end in May. The long-running series managed to captivate audiences from beginning to end with the story of Don Draper, a 1960’s advertising agent. According to IGN, it was an amazing end to the series’ nine-year program.

June – Steven Spielberg’s classic franchise returned to the big screen on June 12 with “Jurassic World”. The popcorn action flick proved to be extremely successful, making over $2 billion in ticket sales. The story of the movie brought viewers to the titular amusement park, now fully-operational with prehistoric creatures. For those who want more dinosaurs after this, the sequel to “Jurassic World” is planned to release in 2018.

July – 55 years after Harper Lee released her Pulitzer Prize-winning novel “To Kill a Mockingbird”, she decided to finally publish one of her previously written novels, titled “Go Set A Watchman”. According to Telegraph, the book, released on July 14, sparked controversy for its depiction of character Atticus Finch prior to the events of “To Kill a Mockingbird”, but was also the most pre ordered book since 2007.

Aug. – On Aug. 6, Lin-Manuel Miranda’s musical “Hamilton” made its Broadway debut to universal praise. The musical is a biographical depiction of Alexander Hamilton, founding father of America, set to rap music. According to The New York Times, it is both historically accurate and thoroughly entertaining.

Sept. – After ending “The Colbert Report” back in Dec. 2014, host Stephen Colbert returned to late-night television by succeeding David Letterman on “The Late Show” on CBS. According to Rotten Tomatoes, his revamped show is intelligent, funny and manages to maintain the host’s great charisma.

Oct. – 1989’s “Back to the Future Part II” made bold predictions of a wild, extraordinary future packed with flying cars, self-tying shoes and hoverboards. On Oct. 21, the time period depicted in the film finally coincided with the real world’s timeline. And, even though most of the events portrayed within the movie did not occur, the world still recognized this iconic day in movie history.

Nov. – Actor Shia LaBeouf has been in the public eye for some time now, anywhere from starring in a movie or TV show to performing an intricate publicity stunt. Nov. 9 was no exception, where the celebrity decided to livestream himself marathoning all of his movies in order of release. Dubbed #ALLMYMOVIES, people around the world could watch him laugh, cry or even sleep for hours on end.

Dec. – “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” was one of the most hotly anticipated movies in recent years. On Dec. 18, the science fiction adventure film was released to acclaim from both critics and fans, and broke almost all movie records in the process. The story follows both new and classic characters in the Star Wars universe and takes place 30 years after 1983’s “Return of the Jedi”. As of Jan. 2016, it is the highest-grossing movie of all time in North America.  

What to Look Forward to in 2016:

Rapper Kanye West, known for both his interesting music and personality, plans to release his next studio album, “Swish”, on Feb. 11 in 2016. The artist has been working on the album for over two years, and his first single off the album, “Facts”, launched worldwide on Dec. 31 of 2015.

“Full House”, the classic ABC TV show, will be making a return to television on Feb. 26. This time, however, the show will premiere on Netflix, with an initial new 13 episodes available right away. Now called “Fuller House”, it takes place decades after the original show ended, and will focus on DJ Tanner-Fuller. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Mary Kate and Ashley Olsen are the only cast members not returning.

The 88th Academy Awards will be on Feb. 28, hosted by Chris Rock . This annual award show to recognize the best films of 2015 should show general audiences some overlooked films of the last year, as it has in recent years. According to Gold Derby, the frontrunners for Best Picture this year are currently “Spotlight” and “The Martian”.

2003’s “Finding Nemo” was both a critical and commercial success, leaving people to wonder if they would ever see more of their favorite aquatic characters again. On June 17, Nemo and friends will return to the big screen in “Finding Dory”, where this time, Dory, the loveable blue tang fish from the original film, is in search of her family.  With the original writer, director and cast returning, it is definitely something people should keep on their radar.

Fans of the “Harry Potter” franchise will finally be able to return to the wizarding world in 2016. “Harry Potter and the Cursed Child”, a two-part stage play premiering in London in July, will tell the story of Harry Potter and his son after the events of the final book. Also, a new movie, titled “Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them” will release on Nov. 18 and give audiences a peek into 1920’s America through the eyes of new, magical characters.

In Aug. of 2016, the quadrennial Summer Olympics will take place in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Featuring sporting events from archery to badminton and diving, the 2016 Olympics are decidedly anticipated worldwide. This year will introduce two new events into the Summer Olympic lineup: golf and rugby union.
At the tail-end of 2016, the first “Star Wars” spinoff movie will release. “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story” takes place between “Revenge of the Sith” and “A New Hope”. On Dec. 16, the story of how the Rebellion acquired the plans to the Death Star weapon will be told. According to director Gareth Edwards, fans should expect more of a gritty, war film compared to the fantastical that was portrayed in other movies in the franchise.