A new year is upon us, and with it a whole slew of new films to look forward to. 2016 is as appealing as any year, but it brings with it a fair share of unique opportunities in the world of film, from bold takes on the superhero genre to excitingly unusual stories from some of our greatest living filmmakers. Of course 2016 will no doubt also offer plenty of surprises, which are impossible to anticipate, but as we step foot into a new year, the Collider.com staff decided to run down what movies we’re most looking forward to seeing in 2016.

An important note before we begin: this list was assembled by having each writer craft his or her own personal list of the 20 most anticipated films of 2016, assigning a numeric points value to each choice (the #1 choice gets 20 points, #2 gets 19, etc.) and then compiling all the individual lists together and, statistically, adding up the points of each film mentioned to result in this here final list. There are plenty more movies we’re all looking forward to that didn’t make the cut, from Assassin’s Creed to The Light Between Oceans to Keanu, so this is not a be-all, end-all list, but is instead a fun way to see what the Collider staff as a whole is most looking forward to seeing.

The following was compiled from the personal lists of Collider.com staffers Adam Chitwood, Matt Goldberg, Haleigh Foutch, Dave Trumbore, Perri Nemiroff, Chris Cabin, and Brian Formo.

20. Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice

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Image via Warner Bros

Release Date: March 26th

DC ramping up its collective universe by pitting two of their most popular characters against each other definitely has must-see appeal. How Zack Snyder will be able to introduce so many iconic characters in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice—intermixed with a cohesive story—will be the biggest challenge. Ben Affleck is an intriguing Batman, Jesse Eisenberg could appeal to non-canon filmgoers as it appears that he's playing Lex Luthor as a Silicon Valley hipster cuckoo, but if I can be entirely honest, I'm not as excited for the titular scuffle as I am the introduction of Wonder Woman (Gal Gadot). When I saw Star Wars: The Force Awakens the Batman v Superman trailer played three times in a row—in error?—and every time Wonder Woman appeared the crowd applauded. The title might be Batman vs. Superman, but this is DC's Holy Trinity. — Brian Formo

19. Finding Dory

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Image via Disney

Release Date: June 17th

If Pixar is determined to move forward with sequels, it’s hard to argue against wanting to see further adventures of Dory (Ellen DeGeneres), Marlin (Albert Brooks), and the rest of the Finding Nemo gang. Finding Nemo might be my favorite Pixar movie, and I’m sure director Andrew Stanton knows he has a high bar to clear in trying to match a film that’s become a touchstone to an entire generation (if you were a child in the early 2000s, Finding Nemo was probably your movie). While sequels are tough, keep in mind that Pixar created one of the best sequels of all time with Toy Story 2, so hopefully they can do it again with Finding Dory. – Matt Goldberg

18. The Bad Batch

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Release Date: TBA 2016

Ana Lily Amirpour's Iranian vampire rockabilly Western, A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night, was one of the most exciting feature film debuts of recent memory and she's being rewarded by having super-producer Megan Ellison's (The Master, Her, Zero Dark Thirty) backing for her next film. The logline for The Bad Batch is simple and enticing—"a dystopian love story in a Texas wasteland set in a community of cannibals"—but the cast is absolutely bonkers: Jason Momoa, Keanu Reeves, Jim Carrey, and newcomer Suki Waterhouse. With that wacky assemblage Amirpour has us guessing what the tone might be and we hope to see some tasty morsels—a trailer, an image, a scene, a festival announcement, anything—soon! — Brian Formo

17. X-Men: Apocalypse

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Image via 20th Century Fox

Release Date: May 27th

Fans of the 1990s X-Men animated series have wanted to see the mutant team’s biggest bad, Apocalypse, brought to life on screen for a long time. While early looks at Oscar Isaac’s title villain in action have left viewers divided on just how well that live-action version will work on screen, I’ll remind readers that fans had a similar reaction to the first look at X-Men: Days of Future Past’s Quicksilver (Evan Peters) in costume. When that character’s brief scene became a highlight of the film, however, opinions quickly changed.  In other words, even if you still don’t trust Bryan Singer, at least wait until X-Men: Apocalypse comes out to judge how well it works.

Perhaps the biggest mystery at this point is just how the plot of the film will unfurl. Apocalypse, in all his immense power, looks to imbue four already-powerful mutants with greater abilities in order to become his Four Horsemen. How the remaining heroes hope to stand against that menace is the film’s most enticing aspect for many fans. For me, the most intriguing part of this film is how it will introduce the new generation of heroes, and where these newly minted X-Men will go from here. – Dave Trumbore

16. Independence Day: Resurgence (tie)

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Image via 20th Century Fox

Release Date: June 24th

I grew up in the 90s so it’s probably no surprise that I have an obsession with the original Independence Day. Whether or not we really need a sequel isn’t a factor. I’m counting down the days until the aliens return no matter what. It’s also quite the treat that Roland Emmerich reassembled so much of the original cast. Yes, it would have been nice to have Will Smith back, but there’s no doubt that Bill Pullman, Jeff Goldblum, Vivica A. Fox, Brent Spinerand Judd Hirsch will be just fine without him, especially paired with a roster of such promising newcomers. I still don’t care much for Liam Hemsworth, but I’ve got all the faith in the world in Maika Monroe (It Follows) and high hopes for Jesse Usher as well. The sequel narrative, however, is a different story. I’d like to think that Emmerich wouldn’t pull the trigger until he nailed the script, but this is the guy behind 2012, Godzilla and Stonewall, just to name a few resume blemishes; Independence Day: Resurgence could go either way. — Perri Nemiroff

16. Deadpool (tie)

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Image via 20th Century Fox

Release Date: February 12th

Deadpool could have earned a spot on this list based on that leaked test footage alone, but since becoming the real deal, 20th Century Fox has been absolutely killing it with the official marketing campaign for the film, creating more hype than ever - and who would have thought that was possible? The Merc with a Mouth (Ryan Reynolds) got his R-rating and while that could keep Deadpool from pulling in Avengers-sized profits, it’s abundantly clear that that rating suits the material and will help ensure that this is a quality, highly unique and downright hilarious film. The character’s outlandish behavior has lent itself to irreverent holiday-themed trailers and hilarious poster art that’s well worth a double take, if not more. Fox seems to have an endless supply of unprecedented and wonderfully inappropriate gags to dish out for the promo campaign, so I’m expecting director Tim Miller to go above and beyond in the full feature. Brace yourselves. — Perri Nemiroff

15. The BFG (tie)

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Image via Disney

Release Date: July 1st

It’s hard to believe it’s been over four years since Steven Spielberg brought us a crowd-pleasing adventure, but here we are. The Adventure of Tintin was released in 2011, and in the interim he’s gone the drama route with War Horse, Lincoln, and Bridge of Spies. But now Spielberg will attempt to dazzle our imaginations again by adapting Roald Dahl’s classic novel. Other Dahl books have found their way to the big screen, but this will be the first attempt for The BFG, which is about the endearing friendship between a young girl (Ruby Barnhill) and the Big Friendly Giant (Mark Rylance). Spielberg will be working from a script by the late Melissa Mathison. The last time they teamed up on a feature-length film (i.e. discounting the Twilight Zone: The Movie segment “Kick the Can”), they gave us E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial, so hopes are high on this one. – Matt Goldberg

15. Doctor Strange (tie)

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Image via Marvel

Release Date: November 4th

Doctor Strange is inarguably Marvel’s best cast film: Benedict Cumberbatch as Stephen Strange, Chiwetel Ejiofor as Baron Mordo, Rachel McAdams likely as the Night Nurse, and Tilda Swinton as the motherfucking Ancient One. But that’s not it, supporting roles have reportedly gone out to Steve Jobs standout Michael Stuhlbarg, Transparent standout Amy Landecker, and face-kicking standout Scott Adkins. Point being, any movie with this cast would be worth getting excited about. Scott Derrickson, who has demonstrated a tremendous ability for ambiance with The Exorcism of Emily Rose and Sinister will direct a script from original Prometheus scribe Jon Spaihts and his Sinister co-writer C. Robert Cargill.

Doctor Strange also has Marvel’s track record for origin stories going for it, and every bit of information about the film promises one of Marvel’s most ambitious, mind-bending efforts yet. Doctor Strange will definitely introduce magic to the Marvel Cinematic Universe and from what it sounds like, it might also introduce the powers of the Time Gem. What’s certain is that Doctor Strange will mark a major step in the MCU, and there’s nothing that indicates it will be less than one of their finest efforts yet. – Haleigh Foutch

14. Green Room

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Image via A24

Release Date: April 15th

After his well received but underseen feature debut Murder Party, Jeremy Saulnier captured the industry’s attention with Blue Ruin — which proved a gifted eye for violence, the nastiness and redundant nature of it — a wonderful, unusual revenge film and one of my picks for the best of 2014. His follow up, Green Room, promises to be an equal if not superior endeavor. The tale of a punk rock band trapped with a bunch of extra neo-nazis led by Patrick Stewart — yep, neo nazis led by living snickerdoodle Patrick Stewart — Green Room has received nearly impeccable rave reviews at its festival screenings, including a solid “A” review from Perri. In addition to Stewart, Green Room boasts the cast of Blue Ruin’s nuanced lead Macon Blaire, the always reliable Anton Yelchin and Ali Shawkat, and the consistently under appreciated Mark Webber. For movie buffs looking for a viscerally violent cinematic treat, no film promises greater reward than Green Room. – Haleigh Foutch

13. Midnight Special

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Image via Warner Bros.

Release Date: March 18th

Original, studio-funded sci-fi is always exciting, but especially when it comes from an unexpected place. Jeff Nichols (Mud, Take Shelter) has carved out a much needed John Sayles-ian contemporary career of new American realism—usually favoring small town milieu and paranoia—we can't wait to see what he can do with a sci-fi budget on Midnight Special. And the first trailer was jaw-dropping and still able to keep its narrative secrets. The always reliable Michael Shannonthe newest Star Wars baddie (Adam Driver) and the career-resurgent Kirsten Dunst lead one of the more intriguing casts this year; but it appears that whatever might make Midnight Special special rests on Nichols and the super-powered kid (Jaeden Lieberher). We're officially counting down the hours to Midnight. — Brian Formo

12. Knight of Cups (tie)

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Image via Broad Green Pictures

Release Date: March 4th

Terrence Malick saw a bit of an uptick in popularity with the release of The Tree of Life, but that quickly faded, as his follow-up, the extraordinary To the Wonder, struggled to find distribution and went largely ignored. Despite having a cast that includes Christian Bale, Cate Blanchett, Natalie Portman, and Antonio Banderas, the director’s latest revelation, which follows the spiritual and romantic trials of a Hollywood screenwriter (Bale), has suffered similar hardships in getting picked up but is slated for release in March.

This is great news, as Knight of Cups is as sublime a formal and narrative high as Malick has ever produced in his career, and that includes Badlands, Days of Heaven, and The Thin Red Line. (I was lucky enough to see the film early in Germany.) Where To the Wonder studied the endless plains, Mid-Western landscapes, and French sights, Malick’s latest film hovers through designer homes and apartments, Skid Row, and the Warner Bros. lots, amongst other West Coast locales, as the thoughts and dialogue of various characters loom in the atmosphere, often detached from what’s being seen or said in any given scene. It’s a staggering, dizzying assemblage that evokes contemplation of the infinite, but also reflects a belief in how light and faces are key to the cinema’s unmistakable emotional power. – Chris Cabin

12. Kubo and the Two Strings (tie)

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Image via LAIKA

Release Date: August 19th

This year, like every year, is packed with plenty of franchise films, sequels, prequels, spin-offs, remakes, and reboots. But if it’s something truly original you’re looking for, look no further than LAIKA Entertainment. The relatively small studio that specializes in stop-motion and computer-generated animation films somehow manages to technologically and artistically reinvent themselves with each and every film that they release. Their latest achievements will be on display this August when Kubo and the Two Strings makes its way into theaters.

Directed by LAIKA’s CEO Travis Knight and written in part by ParaNorman screenwriter Chris Butler, Kubo and the Two Strings looks to be somewhat of a departure from their previous films. While Corpse Bride, Coraline, ParaNorman, and The Boxtrolls certainly had their own action sequences, Kubo and the Two Strings feels like a true action-adventure movie, judging from the footage we’ve seen so far. Set in ancient Japan and featuring mythological gods and monsters, the story tracks the title character in his quest to discover a legendary suit of armor once worn by his father. While you can fully expect an action-packed adventure story that tugs on the heartstrings, this film is my most-anticipated of the year if only to see what sort of mind-blowing effects the talented folks at LAIKA have come up with this time around.  – Dave Trumbore

11. Untitled Bourne Sequel

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Image via Universal Pictures

Release Date: July 29th

The adventures of Jason Bourne so far have delivered three of the best spy movies of the 21st century. It’s just short of a decade since we last saw the super spy take on his adversaries, and boy, a lot changes in a decade. In its time, the Bourne films demonstrated our distrust of covert government branches, embedding the government's secrecy and omnipotence within its action-packed narrative. It also delivered some of the indisputable best action scenes of the last decade — set pieces that had an enormous and lasting impact on how fight sequences have been staged in the years since.

As we saw in last year in The Martian, Matt Damon can lead the hell out of a film. He’s a true movie star in an age where such commodities grow rarer and rarer. We’ve seen very little of the as yet untitled Bourne 5 (the only official image is literally just Damon’s face), but it has the pedigree to be the real deal — not only is Damon returning, so is Paul Greengrass, the director behind the second and third installments in the original trilogy — installments many consider the best. Despite knowing very little about it, Bourne 5 has a lot of promise — at the very least we’re going to see Damon’s Bourne throw punches again, and he’s one of the proven best face-punchers in film history. – Haleigh Foutch

10. Suicide Squad

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Image via Warner Bros.

Release Date: August 5th

It’s a testament to the ambition and filmmaker-driven nature of Warner Bros. that the studio’s second official “DC Cinematic Universe” film (Man of Steel was crafted as a standalone, before the universe officially existed) is the gritty, villain-centric Suicide Squad. We knew they were aiming high with the project when folks like Margot Robbie and Jared Leto signed on to play the iconic roles of Harley Quinn and The Joker, and indeed writer/director David Ayer filled out his ensemble with a diverse group of actors ranging from Will Smith to Cara Delevigne to Viola Davis. The grounded, street-level nature of the film is a change of pace from the massive Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, and if Ayer can pull off this ragtag Dirty Dozen-esque supervillain picture, an incredibly interesting corner of the DC Cinematic Universe will be open for business. – Adam Chitwood

9. Everybody Wants Some

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Release Date: April 15th

Full disclosure: Dazed and Confused has been one of my very favorite movies since I was in high school and no, not just because of its unburdened depiction of teen drug use and exquisite period detail. So, the fact that Richard Linklater has fashioned a “spiritual sequel” to that wonder has been a matter of intense anticipation for me since the project was first announced years ago. The focus of Everybody Wants Some is a similar gathering of good-time kids, this time in a collegiate setting in the early 1980s, and from the looks of the trailer, the dialogue and narrative will be focused on the nuances of action and invention that just such kids used for partying. Like the original film, the cast includes largely unknown character actors, such as Teen Wolf’s Tyler Hoechlin and Glee’s Blake Jenner, but the filmmaking looks like classic Linklater, deceptively breezy yet filled with acute humor and thematically substantial detail. Alright, alright, alright! – Chris Cabin

8. Ghostbusters

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Image via Sony Pictures

Release Date: July 15th

Sony Pictures has been trying for a very, very, very long time to reignite the Ghostbusters property, and every incarnation—be it a direct sequel, a reboot, or a rebootquel featuring the original cast—failed to get off the ground until Bridesmaids and Spy director Paul Feig had a different take: reboot the franchise, but instead of trying to replace Bill Murray or Harold Ramis, make the film with four entirely different, incredibly funny comedic actresses. Melissa McCarthy, Kristen Wiig, Kate McKinnon, and Leslie Jones offer four incredibly different comedic flavors, just as the original film did, and given how successfully Feig has traversed the comedy genre in the past, there’s plenty of faith he’s crafted something hilarious, heartfelt, and truthful. It also doesn’t hurt that he cast Chris Hemsworth as the new Ghostbusters’ assistant. – Adam Chitwood

7. The Witch

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Image via A24

Release Date: February 26th

You can thank some serious festival buzz for this one. Not only did The Witch score Robert Eggers the Directing Award at Sundance and tons of rave reviews, including one from Adam, but then A24 unveiled a trailer for the film that wound up being one of the best promos of 2015. It’s one thing to read about how terrifying a movie is, but it’s another to experience it for yourself. Not only does this trailer show off some stunning imagery, an eerie score and a chilling feel overall, but the material also gets a nice boost from the critical praise. The piece doesn’t just show off the quotes in a clunky attempt to sell tickets. The text is so perfectly paired with the footage that it truly gives you the sensation that you’re getting a taste of the horror so many expressed feeling while watching the film. Could this be the next Babadook or It Follows? Clearly I can’t confirm that until I see it, but it certainly seems like it’s got a shot. — Perri Nemiroff

6. Silence

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Image via Paramount

Release Date: TBA 2016

It’s finally happening! After years of having to half-apologize for his hugely interesting Kundun, which more directly confronted Martin Scorsese’s spiritual side, the best American filmmaker currently working will at long last release Silence, the passion project about the voyage of two Jesuit priests to locate their mentor in 1600s Japan. With a cast lead by Adam Driver and Andrew Garfield, as the priests, with Liam Neeson playing their mentor, the film promises to show a far more introspective Scorsese, though Hugo, Shutter Island, and The Wolf of Wall Street also excavated extremely personal portions of the director’s inner life. Silence figures more in the vein of his great George Harrison documentary, Living in the Material World, in studying how an artist struggles to express both faith and a life of affluent creation; it’s also Scorsese’s reunion with screenwriter Jay Cocks, who penned Gangs of New York and The Age of Innocence. Any new film by Scorsese would be anticipated, but Silence hints at a new avenue of artistry for the director that could push his already wildly ambitious technique into new realms. – Chris Cabin

5. The Nice Guys

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Image via Warner Bros.

Release Date: May 20th

As arguably the world’s #1 Kiss Kiss Bang Bang fan, I was excited for The Nice Guys from the moment it came to my attention. After all, it’s a new Shane Black movie — with Ryan Gosling and Russell Crowe. Two guys you’re pretty much certain can handle his whip-smart dialogue and precarious tone. Then Black described it as the spiritual successor to KKBB; another story about two mismatched sleuths whose investigation leads them to a deadly conspiracy. Shortly after, the first trailer arrived and it was everything you could hope for in a new Shane Black film: vibrant, unpredictable, and really fucking funny. It was also chosen as our top trailer of 2015.

Gosling and Crowe seem to have a complete grasp of Black’s tone, and promise to be an odd couple duo for the ages. The dialogue looks an equal match to Black’s history of cutting banter and profane irreverence (remember, this is the guy who landed "No need to be a pussy about it” in a Marvel movie). The period setting looks to give Black an even greater opportunity to embrace his colorful, dynamic eye for cinema. In short, The Nice Guys has the credentials to be one of the best and most delightful movies of 2016, and everything we’ve seen of it so far indicates it will live up to that promise. – Haleigh Foutch

4. Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them

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Image via Warner Bros.

Release Date: November 18th

The prospect of mining the Harry Potter film franchise for more new material maybe made us a tad wary at first, but Warner Bros. enlisting J.K. Rowling to write the screenplay for Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them herself was a brilliant move that not only ensures the Harry Potter universe is being well-treated, but also serves as an extra selling point for the film: this is a new, original Wizarding World story written by J.K. Rowling! We know director David Yates is well-versed in the visual language of the Potter world, but what’s exciting about Fantastic Beasts is getting to see an entirely new corner of the universe in New York City. Add to that the phenomenal casting—Eddie Redmayne, Katherine Waterston, Colin Farrell, Ezra Miller, etc.—and this is basically the ideal scenario for extending the life of the Harry Potter franchise. – Adam Chitwood