The 60th Directors Guild of America Award dinner is held in the Hyatt Regency Century Plaza, Los Angeles. The 37th Rotterdam International Film Festival is opened with the world premiere of Lucía Cedrón's narrative feature-film debut Lamb of God (Cordero de Dios ). The Oscar-nominated actor Heath Ledger, 28, is found dead at his home in Manhattan, New York City, from an accidental prescription pills overdose. The 80th Academy Awards nominations were announced with No Country for Old Men and There Will Be Blood the leading films with 8 nominations each, closely followed by Atonement and Michael Clayton, both with 7 The festival is closed by the world premiere of Bernard Shakey's CSNY/Déjà Vu
The Grand Jury and Audience Award prizes are awarded to Frozen River and The Wackness, respectively.
The 26th Sundance Film Festival is opened with the world premiere of Martin McDonagh's In Bruges and screens over 120 films. The 61st BAFTA Awards nominations were announced with Atonement the leading film with 14 nominations closely followed by No Country for Old Men and There Will Be Blood, both with 7 nominations The 65th Golden Globe Awards winners were announced. In the domestic box office, 2008 came very close in passing 2007 as the highest-grossing year, falling short by just $30 million.ĭue to the 2007–2008 Writers Guild of America Strike, NBC and the Hollywood Foreign Press Association scrap plans to hold its 65th Golden Globe Awards ceremony and instead hold a press conference announcing the winners Mamma Mia! became the highest-grossing film in UK history until it was surpassed by Avatar in 2010. For 2008, the top ten films consisted of three superhero films, three animated films, three action films and one musical film. Worldwide, it grossed $997 million on its initial release, and an IMAX reissue in 2009 saw it become the fourth film to gross $1 billion at the global box office. On August 31, after 45 days in release, The Dark Knight reached $500 million domestically, becoming only the second film in history after Titanic to cross the half-billion-dollar domestic milestone, as well as the first film of the 2000s decade. The previous record was held by Shrek 2, which reached it in 43 days. On August 4, The Dark Knight reached a $400 million domestic gross in a record time of 18 days. Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull The top 10 films released in 2008 by worldwide gross are as follows: Highest-grossing films of 2008 See also: Lists of box office number-one films § 2008 The film industry and review website IndieWire described 2008 as "a stellar year for movies" that "gave us tons of unforgettable classics" such as The Wrestler, 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days and Che.
We also saw the highly anticipated big-screen returns of iconic characters like Batman, James Bond, and Indiana Jones – some were more successful than others." The games-to-film genre took a hit this year, with only Max Payne proving to be a worthy adaptation of the source material. Marvel got down to business laying the groundwork for their superhero team-up The Avengers with the blockbuster hit Iron Man and their respectable attempt at rebooting The Incredible Hulk.
Highest grossing movies 2008 movie#
Things got off on the right foot with the monster movie madness of Cloverfield. Animated films also proved a huge draw for filmgoers, with Pixar's WALL-E becoming not only the highest grossing toon but also the most lauded. The entertainment agency website IGN described 2008 as "one of the biggest years ever for movies." It stated, "2008 was the year when the comic book movie genre not only hits its zenith, but also gained critical respectability thanks to The Dark Knight. 2008 has been widely considered to be a very significant year for cinema.