There are almost too many blockbusters to cram into the year. 2017 ends strongly with films from Marvel (and a new Star Wars) but don't worry if you don't like big budget action as there's contemplative science fiction, art house, cheeky animation, bloody horror and dark thrillers to see you through to 2018.

AUGUST

Detroit

Director: Kathryn Bigelow
Cast: John Boyega, Will Poulter, Algee Smith
Set 50 years after an incident at the Algiers Hotel sparked mass rioting in Detroit, this crime drama is a gut wrenching reminder of a tragic event in American history. Trailers suggest Bigelow (The Hurt Locker, Zero Dark Thirty) has made a film of powerful intensity.
Release date: 25 Aug. Book tickets for Detroit.

Logan Lucky

Director: Steven Soderbergh
Cast: Channing Tatum, Adam Driver, Daniel Craig
Two brothers use a NASCAR race to try and pull off a heist, hilarity ensures. That's the premise of Logan Lucky, a comedy with an impressive cast that also includes Katie Holmes and Hilary Swank. It also marks the return of Steven Soderbergh to the director's chair, after his short-lived retirement from film-making.
Release date: 25 Aug. Book tickets for Logan Lucky.

SEPTEMBER

God's Own Country

Director: Francis Lee
Cast: Josh O'Connor, Alec Secareanu, Ian Hart
We were moved by it when it screened at the opening gala of the Edinburgh International Film Festival, and now God's Own Country gets a full UK release. A rugged romance set on the Yorkshire moors, it sees a young farmer (O'Connor) fall for a migrant worker (Secareanu).
Release date: 1 Sep. Book tickets for God's Own Country.

Patti Cake$

Director: Geremy Jasper
Cast: Danielle Macdonald, Bridget Everett, Siddharth Dhananjay
One of the biggest surprises of the Sundance Festival, this story of an unlikely white female rapper battling against a torrent of negativity in pursuit of fame and fortune got a standing ovation at its world premiere. In a sentence? Looks like 8 Mile meets Precious.
Release date: 1 Sep. Buy tickets for Patti Cake$.

It

Director: Andrés Muschietti
Cast: Bill Skarsgård, Finn Wolfhard, Jaeden Lieberher
A demonic shape shifting clown (Skarsgård) haunts the lives of seven children in this creepy
adaptation of Stephen King's best seller. Stranger Things' cool kid Finn Wolfhard is part of the cast and the film is directed by Andrés Muschietti, who Guillermo Del Toro says is responsible for 'the scariest scenes he'd ever seen'.
Release date: 8 Sep

Kingsman: The Golden Circle

Director: Matthew Vaughn
Cast: Taron Egerton, Mark Strong, Julianne Moore
Developed from a comic co-written by the very much in-demand Scotsman, Mark Millar, the sequel to 2014's The Secret Service brings even more cheeky high-octane spy action adventures. This time out, Eggsy (Egerton) must hook up with the Kingsmen's American counterparts, the Statesmen, to save the world.
Release date: 20 Sep. Book tickets for Kingsman: The Golden Circle.

Borg/McEnroe

Director: Janus Metz
Cast: Shia LaBeouf, Sverrir Gudnason, Stellan Skarsgård
One of the greatest sporting rivals in history is given the big screen treatment. Borg/McEnroe looks at the classic showdown between tennis giants Björn Borg (Sverrir Gudnason) and John McEnroe (Shia LaBeouf) at Wimbledon.
Release date: 22 Sep

Flatliners

Director: Niels Arden Oplev
Cast: Nina Dobrev, Ellen Page, James Norton
Joel Schumacher's original film from 1990 was a great idea let down by fumbled execution. This remake offers an opportunity to get it right second time round. The presence of the excellent Ellen Page alone lends this reboot some credibility.
Release date: 29 Sep

OCTOBER

Blade Runner 2049

Director: Denis Villeneuve
Cast: Ryan Gosling, Harrison Ford, Jared Leto
The original Blade Runner, adapted from Philip K. Dick's classic novel Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?, is a science-fiction classic. This reboot is a sequel most people never thought they'd see, with Villeneuve resurrecting Ridley Scott's dystopian tale about life-like robots and bounty hunters.
Release date: 6 Oct. Buy tickets for Blade Runner 2049.

The Glass Castle

Director: Destin Daniel Cretton
Cast: Brie Larson, Woody Harrelson, Naomi Watts
Based on the memoirs of American writer and journalist Jeanette Walls, The Glass Castle, which tells of Walls' unconventional, poverty-stricken upbringing. Brie Larson plays the grown-up Walls, who was raised by an eccentric artist mother (Watts) and an alcoholic father (Harrelson) who had to use his imagination to distract her from the family's deprivation.
Release date: 6 Oct

The LEGO Ninjago Movie

Director: Charlie Bean, Paul Fisher, Bob Logan
Cast: Dave Franco, Justin Theroux, Olivia Munn
After the runaway success of The LEGO Movie, and its follow up The LEGO Batman Movie, the toy brick film franchise takes a big step for its third outing. The LEGO Ninjago Movie is the first of the films to be based on original Lego property, based around the adventures of six teenagers who, under the tutelage of an old master, become ninja heroes.
Release date: 13 Oct

The Snowman

Director: Tomas Alfredson
Cast: Michael Fassbender, Rebecca Ferguson, James D'Arcy
Based on the hit novel by Scandicrime master Jo Nesbø, the dark crime thriller stars Fassbender as Harry Hole, a detective hunting a mysterious serial killer. With the help of a brilliant new recruit, Katrine Bratt (Ferguson) he must join the dots to stop the bloodshed.
Release date: 13 Oct

Jigsaw

Director: Michael Spierig, Peter Spierig
Cast: Tobin Bell, Laura Vandervoort
Who'd have thought that Saw would end up as one of the biggest film franchises of this century to date? Seven years since the last edition of the series comes Jigsaw. A decade after the death of the series' original antagonist, a series of murders have been committed that are suspiciously familiar. More demonic traps lie in wait, just in time for Halloween.
Release date: 20 Oct

The Death of Stalin

Director: Armando Iannucci
Cast: Jeffrey Tambor, Steve Buscemi, Michael Palin
Armando Iannucci's first film since The Thick of It spin-off In The Loop, The Death of Stalin focuses on the immediate aftermath of the death of the Soviet Dictator. With comedy royalty on board both onscreen and off, it's a tantalising prospect.
Release date: 20 Oct. Get tickets for The Death of Stalin.

Thor: Ragnarok

Director: Taika Waititi
Cast: Chris Hemsworth, Tom Hiddleston, Cate Blanchett
Thor goes 80s in this neon MCU superhero sequel as Thor (Hemsworth) teams up with Hulk (Mark Ruffalo), Loki (Hiddleston) and Valkyrie (Tessa Thompson) to take on the Godess of Death: Hela (Blanchett). It's directed by Taika Waititi, the New Zealander better known for dry comedies like What We Do In The Shadows, Hunt For The Wilderpeople and Flight of the Conchords.
Release date: 27 Oct. Get tickets for Thor: Ragnarok.

Call Me By Your Name

Director: Luca Guadagnino
Cast: Armie Hammer, Timothée Chalamet, Michael Stuhlbarg
An adaptation of André Aciman's 2007 novel of the same name, this love story set in 1980s Italy is brought to the big screen by director Luca Guadagnino, who was responsible for 2015's A Bigger Splash. A hotly anticipated coming of age drama, it was given an overwhelmingly positive response when it premiered at Sundance.
Release date: 27 Oct

November

Murder on the Orient Express

Director: Kenneth Branagh
Cast: Johnny Depp, Kenneth Branagh, Michelle Pfeiffer
Agatha Christie's much-adapted murder mystery is given (another) all-star workout courtesy of director/star Kenneth Branagh and his ridiculous moustache. Other notable passengers on the famous train include Penelope Cruz, Willem Dafoe and Dame Judi Dench.
Release date: 3 Nov

Only the Brave

Director: Joseph Kosinski
Cast: Josh Brolin, Miles Teller, Jeff Bridges, James Badge Dale
With films like Lone Survivor, Deepwater Horizon and Patriots Day, Peter Berg in recent years has made this particular genre of real life American tragic-heroism his own. Here Joseph Kosinski (TRON: Legacy) steps into those shoes with the story of the Granite Mountain Hotshots, the 'Seal Team 6' firefighters, tasked with tackling wildfire on the frontline. In 2013, 19 out of the 20-man crew died protecting the town of Yarnell, documented brilliantly by Outside magazine. Bring tissues for this one.
Release date: 10 Nov

Paddington 2

Director: Paul King
Cast: Jim Broadbent, Brendan Gleeson, Sally Hawkins
This sequel to the hugely successful 2014 film sees the titular bear happily ensconced in the Brown family home. Until events conspire against them. The family-friendly comedy also features the considerable vocal talents of Ben Whishaw, Peter Capaldi and Brendan Gleeson.
Release date: 10 Nov

Justice League

Director: Zack Snyder
Cast: Ben Affleck, Amy Adams, Willem Dafoe
Zack Snyder has it all to prove, after his last outing as director, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice was universally panned. Justice League, rather like Marvel's Avengers, brings superheroes of multiple universes together into one place as Batman, Superman, and all their DC amigos join forces to battle the supervillain Steppenwolf.
Release date: 17 Nov

Ingrid Goes West

Director: Matt Spicer
Cast: Aubrey Plaza, Elizabeth Olsen, Billy Magnussen
Early reviews of Ingrid Goes West suggest the film is a career best performance from Aubrey Plaza, who's gone from strength to strength since first lighting up Parks and Recreation with her dry depiction of apathetic teenager April Ludgate. As Ingrid, she becomes obsessed with a social media celebrity, packing her bags to befriend her in real life.
Release date: 17 Nov

The Killing of a Sacred Deer

Director: Yorgos Lanthimos
Cast: Colin Farrell, Nicole Kidman, Alicia Silverstone
Director Yorgos Lanthimos pairs up with Colin Farrell once more for this psychological horror. The two teamed up to brilliant effect for 2015's The Lobster, a surreal black comedy. The Killing of a Sacred Deer feels like a much darker proposition. Starring Nicole Kidman, it follows the formation of a bond between a surgeon and a sinister teenage boy. The consequences, needless to say, are unpleasant.
Release date: 17 Nov

DECEMBER

Star Wars: The Last Jedi

Director: Rian Johnson
Cast: Daisy Ridley, John Boyega, Mark Hamill
The Force Awakens, was a return to form after the much-maligned prequels. The plot of the eighth chapter in the Star Wars saga remains a closely guarded secret. Expect to see much more of Mark Hamill as Luke Skywalker returns to the fold.
Release date: 15 Dec.

Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle

Director: Jake Kasdan
Cast: Dwayne Johnson, Jack Black, Kevin Hart
Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson leads the cast in this reboot of the popular 1995 adventure film about a teenager who gets stuck on a board game. Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle is set in a video game, with Johnson playing the role of an avatar in that world.
Release date: 20 Dec

Molly's Game

Director: Aaron Sorkin
Cast: Jessica Chastain, Kevin Costner, Idris Elba
Sorkin, the brilliant mind behind The West Wing and screenwriter supreme in general, makes his directorial debut with Molly's Game. A witty, sharp script is a sure thing and this tale of the shady world that is the underground poker circuit, based on the memoirs of 'poker princess' Molly Bloom, should make for an intriguing motion picture.
Release date: December 26