Woody Allen has been a dormant force in the last decade, Midnight In Paris aside, but his latest, Blue Jasmine, is winning plaudits as his best film in decades. Cate Blanchett heads the usual eclectic Allen cast.

Maritime drama Captain Phillips sees Paul Greengrass return to the fray after invigorating the Jason Bourne franchise, with Tom Hanks as the ship’s captain kidnapped by Somalian pirates. It’s likely to be a banner year for Hanks, with Saving Mr Banks, in which he plays Walt Disney overseeing the making of Mary Poppins, also set to be awards bait.

Also likely to be busy on the promotional rounds is George Clooney, who stars alongside Sandra Bullock for Alfonso Cuarón’s long-awaited space epic Gravity, while also teaming up again with Matt Damon for WWII drama The Monuments Men.

Martin Scorsese takes on the bankers in The Wolf of Wall Street, which features Leonardo DiCaprio in a satirical look at the excesses of corporate business, right down to dwarf-pitching competitions. Co-star Matthew McConaughey is also likely to be in awards contention for his portrayal of an HIV sufferer in The Dallas Buyers Club.

The Coen Brothers scooped the Grand Prix at the Cannes film festival with Inside Llewyn Davis, set in New York’s 1960s folk scene. Oscar Isaac, Carey Mulligan and Justin Timberlake star.

Scarlett Johansson features in Jonathan Glazer’s first film in nine years, an adaptation of Michel Faber’s celebrated novel Under The Skin. ScarJo plays a predatory woman who seduces Scottish drivers on the A9 to Inverness.

For those who love comic books, Thor: The Dark World and Captain America: The Winter Soldier lead the charge for Marvel as the Avengers Assemble world continues to expand. They’ll be closely followed by new instalments of Spider Man, X-Men, and Planet of the Apes.

There are likely to be long queues for the continuing adventures featured in The Hunger Games: Catching Fire, with Jennifer Lawrence picking up her bow and arrow for more futuristic girl-empowerment. The march of the franchise continues with The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug and 300: Rise of an Empire.

Comedy has become a neglected genre of late, but hopes are pinned on Ben Stiller in an adaptation of James Thurber’s The Secret Life of Walter Mitty. Bridesmaids star Kristen Wiig plays the love interest in a CGI-heavy story of one man’s fantasies becoming his reality. Wiig also features opposite Will Ferrell in Anchorman 2.

Did we mention Ridley Scott’s The Counsellor, Nicole Kidman and Colin Firth in POW camp drama The Railway Man, David O Russell’s American Hustle, or Michael Fassbender in Steve McQueen’s 12 Years a Slave? No? That’s a shame, because we’re running out of space …