30 Movies To Be Excited For Before The End Of 2015: Blockbuster And Studio Edition

We're well past the midpoint of the year, and we've already delivered our list of the Top 10 Films of 2015 So Far. And as we reach the end of the summer, the movie business starts slowing down, giving a little calm before the storm that is awards season. But that doesn't mean there aren't still tons of movies to look forward to before the end of the year.

That's why we've collected a list of 30 Movies to Be Excited for Before the End of 2015. And since there are so many great movies coming up before the end of the year, this is the Blockbuster and Studio Edition of the list, and next week we'll deliver a completely different list for independent movies. But until then, here's a list of movies we think you won't want to miss over the next four months.

Note: While this is the Blockbuster and Studio Edition of fall/winter 2015 movies we're excited to see, you'll still find some lower key releases that may have once been indies, but have since been picked up for distribution by major studios. But otherwise, we really tried to keep this list to the major releases with well-known actors, actresses and filmmakers in front of and behind the camera. So without further adieu, here we go!

Release Date: September 11th (limited)Why You Should Be Excited: I've seen what this romantic comedy from Leslye Headland has to offer, and it's a When Harry Met Sally for a new generation. It's raunchy, hilarious, authentic and boasts some truly great comedic talent. Not only do Jason Sudeikis and Alison Brie prove their talents as a leading gentleman and lady, but Amanda Peet, Adam Scott, Natasha Lyonne, and Jason Mantzoukas round out the cast in a great way. Watch the trailer right here.

Release Date: September 18thWhy You Should Be Excited: It's been awhile since we've seen Johnny Depp deliver a performance that can truly be called great. He's been treading water for far too long as Captain Jack Sparrow, and his work with frequent collaborator Tim Burton over the past decade (with the exception of The Corpse Bride) has been fairly lackluster. But his turn as real life Boston crime kingpin Whitey Bulger looks like a stirring, stellar performance that just might get Depp back on track. Plus, Benedict Cumberbatch, Joel Edgerton, Kevin Bacon, Dakota Johnson and plenty more also star in the film. Watch the trailer right here.

Release Date: September 18th (limited)Why You Should Be Excited: It's been a while since we've had a really good mountain climbing thriller, and this one takes an incredible cast, including Jason Clarke, Josh Brolin, John Hawkes and Jake Gyllenhaal, to the most dangerous mountain on the planet. Man has always tried to dominate nature, and there's a chance nature might win this battle against a majority of these climbers, and it should be quite a sight to see on an IMAX screen this fall. Watch the latest trailer right here.

Release Date: September 18th (limited)Why You Should Be Excited: You already know that Emily Blunt can be quite the badass thanks to Edge of Tomorrow. But this time she doesn't need Tom Cruise to hog the spotlight as she takes the lead in this intense crime thriller from Denis Villeneuve, the director of Prisoners and Enemy. The trailer shows a drug war that looks to escalate quickly, putting Blunt and her team at great risk. Benicio del Toro, Jon Bernthal and Josh Brolin also star in the film to sweeten the deal. Watch the trailer here.

Release Date: September 30th on IMAX, October 9th everywhereWhy You Should Be Excited: Despite the fact that Joseph Gordon-Levitt puts on quite a heavy French accent to play Phillipe Petit, the story of the only man to walk on a high wire strung between the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center should be enough to pique your interest. It's like a heist movie where no one is getting stolen from, and this might be one of the times when the 3D filmmaking will actually be worth seeing on the big screen. Watch the trailer right here.

Release Date: October 2ndWhy You Should Be Excited: I haven't heard a bad word about Andy Weir's book, upon which Ridley Scott's latest sci-fi drama is based, so seeing it brought to life on the big screen should make for an entertaining ride. Matt Damon stars in the movie that feels like Cast Away meets Apollo 13 as he plays an astronaut stranded on Mars. There, he's forced to figure out how to survive on the planet for several years before his crew can come back to get him. This one could be great. Watch the trailer right here.

Release Date: October 2nd (limited)Why You Should Be Excited: Tom Hardy always gives 110% in whatever role he takes, and this time he's doubling up on his efforts playing Ron and Reggie Kray, the twins who became infamous as rulers of London's underworld in the 1960s. And since this one is directed by LA Confidential writer Brian Helgeland, we're hoping for a tense, powerful crime thriller fueled by Hardy's dual role. Watch the trailer right here.

Release Date: October 9thWhy You Should Be Excited: We could probably just say that this movie is like Last Action Hero meets Friday the 13th, but it's so much more than that. Taissa Farmiga, Thomas Middleditch, Adam DeVine, Malin Akerman and more star in this movie about a group of friends who end up trapped in a bad horror movie of the 80s. But at the heart of this story is an emotional core as Farmiga plays a young girl whose mother (Akerman) died when she was young, but lives on in this dangerous movie universe. There's something that feels special about this one. Watch the trailer right here.

Release Date: October 9thWhy You Should Be Excited: It's about time we got a proper biopic about Steve Jobs, and since this one is written by Aaron Sorkin and directed by Danny Boyle, this could be the definitive glimpse into the mind of the tech genius who was Steve Jobs. This time it's Michael Fassbender who plays the Apple co-creator, and with flares of The Social Network, this looks like a real awards contender waiting in the wings. It should also be rather interesting to see Seth Rogen test out his dramatic chops as Jobs' right-hand man Steve Wozniak. Watch the trailer here.

Release Date: October 16thWhy You Should Be Excited: If the fourth collaboration between Oscar-winners Tom Hanks and director Steven Spielberg isn't enough, then maybe a historical drama set in the heart of the Cold War (with a script by the Coen Brothers) will tickle your fancy. Hanks may not be chasing Leonardo DiCaprio, saving Matt Damon, or stuck in an airport, but Spielberg's new thriller looks like the kind of tense drama that doesn't get made too often anymore. If anything, it's the kind of role that's always intriguing for an actor like Tom Hanks. Watch the trailer right here.

Release Date: October 16hWhy You Should Be Excited: This is a horror movie from Guillermo del Toro. Need I say more? Oh, all right. It stars Tom Hiddleston (The Avengers), Mia Wasikowska (Alice in Wonderland) and Jessica Chastain (Interstellar), and gives us what looks like a truly terrifying, gothic, haunted house thriller. If one director has proven to give us horrifying visions on the big screen, it's del Toro, and seeing a horror movie with a big Hollywood budget should give us plenty of nightmares, in a good way. Watch the trailer right here.

Release Date: October 16thWhy You Should Be Excited: No one was quite sure what to expect from this little horror adventure, but then the trailer unleashed all of R.L. Stine's monstrous creations on a small town. It's Jumanji by way of the books that terrified you as a kid, and that premise looks and sounds fun enough to work. There's been some early buzz behind the scenes from test screenings that indicate this may actually be better than you have anticipated, almost like the kind of live-action family adventure that studios don't really take a chance on nowadays. Watch the trailer right here.

Release Date: October 16th (limited)Why You Should Be Excited: Here's another promising adaptation of a best-selling novel, but this one is far from a space survival story. Instead, it's the harrowing story of a young woman (Brie Larson) and her five-year old son who has been raised in captivity, since his mother was kidnapped years ago and kept in an isolated shed turned into a makeshift apartment. This one is playing at TIFF next month, so we'll have a good indication of what to expect after it premieres there, but judging by the trailer, some tears could flow. Watch the trailer right here.

Release Date: October 23rdWhy You Should Be Excited: After the absolutely insane ending of Paranormal Activity: The Marked Ones, I'm fully on board to see how this found footage horror franchise plays out. According to producer Jason Blum, this is the final entry in the Paranormal Activity franchise, but we all know how horror movies work. But still, I'm excited to see if they can wrap up this franchise neatly. Watch the trailer right here.

Release Date: November 6thWhy You Should Be Excited: It's the first big screen adaptation of Charles Schulz's iconic comic creations done with stylistic computer animation, and the spirit of Charlie Brown and Snoopy appears to be firmly intact. With a voice cast that includes a slew of unknown kids bringing to life Lucy, Linus, Sally, Pigpen and all your favorite characters, this is exactly what you'll want to take your family to see this fall. Watch the trailer right here.

Release Date: November 6thWhy You Should Be Excited: After the magic that Sam Mendes worked with Skyfall in 2012, his return to the James Bond franchise starring Daniel Craig is one of the most anticipated movies of the entire year. Add the fact that this film brings the infamous Spectre organization into play, tying all of James Bond's previous missions together, and this entry in 007's film series promises to really shake things up for the secret agent. Plus, Christoph Waltz was born to play a Bond villain. Watch the trailer right here.

Release Date: November 6th (limited)Why You Should Be Excited: This period romance received quite some acclaim when it debuted at the Sundance Film Festival back towards the beginning of the year, and it feels like a nice film to take a break from the more traditional blockbuster and studio fare this fall. Saoirse Ronan plays an Irish woman, fresh off the boat in America, who begins to feel at home again when she meets a young boy. But when disaster sends her back to Ireland, she finds romance in the world she left behind, and finds herself torn between two places she calls home. Watch the trailer right here.

Release Date: November 6th (limited)Why You Should Be Excited: Bryan Cranston was previously the one who knocks, but now he's the one fighting for a career. The Breaking Bad star plays Dalton Trumbo, a blacklisted screenwriter who struggles to stay in Hollywood after being accused of having ties to communism. Somehow, he manages to win two Academy Awards during the time he was banished from show business, and the story of how that happened is one of the great ones from cinema's history. Watch the trailer right here.

Release Date: November 6th (limited)Why You Should Be Excited: There's been plenty of whisteblower dramas over the years. This one doesn't really need to do much to convince you that the scandal uncovered is despicable and needs to be exposed, but it's the cast that brings some real drama to the table as it includes Michael Keaton, Mark Ruffalo, Rachel McAdams, Liev Schrieber, Brian D'Arcy James, Stanley Tucci and Billy Crudup. That should be enough to get you on board this film from Thomas McCarthy. Watch the trailer right here.

Release Date: November 13thWhy You Should Be Excited: Angelina Jolie is behind the camera again, and this time she's directing herself and husband Brad Pitt in a drama about a crumbling marriage, and the couple trying to salvage it while on vacation. It feels a little familiar following films like American Beauty, Revolutionary Road and Blue Valentine, but Jolie and Pitt bring something different to the table as a real married couple, oozing with tension and chemistry. Watch the trailer right here.

Release Date: November 20thWhy You Should Be Excited: It's the end of the young adult sci-fi adaptation that started three years ago, and now the battle with The Capitol will meet a presumably grisly end. Jennifer Lawrence takes her revolution all the way to the doorstep of President Snow (Donald Sutherland), and the conclusion of the two-part finale looks to up the ante, even adding more action than there was in the book. Will all our key heroes survive? Watch the trailer right here.

Release Date: November 25thWhy You Should Be Excited: Since Sylvester Stallone already came back as Rocky Balboa a few years ago, it's time for someone else to step into the ring. But this rising boxer still has ties to the classic boxing film franchise as Michael B. Jordan plays Adonis Creed, son of the late Apollo Creed, the iconic former opponent of Rocky's. And for those who still want to see Stallone kicking around, he comes into play as Creed's trainer, making this a reboot that should satisfy fans and newcomers. Watch the trailer right here.

Release Date: November 25thWhy You Should Be Excited: It's a new Pixar movie with talking dinosaurs and stunning animation. Seriously, that should be enough to get your excited about this movie. Watch the trailer right here.

Release Date: November 25thWhy You Should Be Excited: Take Jonathan Levine, the director of 50/50, and reateam him with the film's stars Seth Rogen and Joseph Gordon-Levitt, and add Anthony Mackie and some raunchy holiday comedy. Sounds like a winner right? We certainly think so, and if that image above with some of the best Christmas sweaters we've ever seen isn't enough to convince you, then your Christmas spirit is already broken. Watch the trailer right here.

Release Date: December 11thWhy You Should Be Excited: Who wants to see Thor fight Moby Dick? This is about as close as we're gonna get to seeing that happen as Chris Hemsworth encounters the mythic whale that inspired Herman Melville's classic novel. It's like Jaws, except this time they do have a bigger boat, several of them, and it doesn't seem to help at all. Watch the trailer right here.

Release Date: December 18thWhy You Should Be Excited: We've been covering this movie so much that it's amazing that there's still something to be excited about. But there's still so much mystery and excitement surrounding the beginning of a new Star Wars trilogy that even people who don't care that much about Star Wars will probably end up seeing the movie. Plus, how can you go wrong with the return of Harrison Ford, Mark Hamill and Carrie Fisher to a galaxy far, far away. Watch the trailer right here.

Release Date: December 25thWhy You Should Be Excited: Director David O. Russell is teaming up with his American Hustle and Silver Linings Playbook stars Jennifer Lawrence, Bradley Cooper and Robert De Niro yet again. Lawrence plays a struggling mother who becomes a successful entrepreneur, but it doesn't sound like it's an entirely American-dream-come-true sort of story. A tour de force performance from Lawrence is certainly the driving force for this movie. Watch the trailer right here.

Release Date: December 25thWhy You Should Be Excited: The headline-making NSA whistleblower will have his story told by controversial, politically outspoken director Oliver Stone. Playing the titular character is Joseph Gordon-Levitt, who will play Snowden in the movie that recaps important parts of his life that would inform the key decisions he made later that would change his future forever. Watch the trailer right here.

Release Date: December 25th (limited)Why You Should Be Excited: After delivering last year's Best Picture winner Birdman, director Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu is back with something completely different.  Leonardo DiCaprio and Tom Hardy star in the revenge drama, set in the early 19th century American wilderness, which has been rumored to have very little dialogue and also employs some truly impressive cinematography yet again. Watch the trailer right here.

Release Date: December 25th (limited)Why You Should Be Excited: What better Christmas present is there to open than another film from Quentin Tarantino. And just in time for the holiday season, this one looks to have plenty of snow as a variety of travelers get stuck in a tavern and inn in the middle of a storm. But once they get to talking, there's probably some blood that will end up being spilled. After all, this is a Tarantino movie. And with a cast that includes Kurt Russell, Samuel L. Jackson, Bruce Dern, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Walton Goggins and more. Watch the trailer right here.

***

That's all for the Blockbuster and Studio Edition of Movies to Be Excited for Before the End of 2015. Come back next week for our Arthouse and Indie Edition with even more movies to catch before the year is out.

Which of these movies are you the most excited to see?