Moviegoers are eagerly anticipating Katniss Everdeen’s last act.
“The Hunger Games: Mockingjay — Part 2,” the final film in the popular series, is the most anticipated fall movie, according to a recent survey by Fandango. That distinction comes with a big caveat. The online ticketer polled 1,000 moviegoers on the films they’re most excited to see between September and November, but that excluded a certain blockbuster-to-be because “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” doesn’t hit theaters until December.
The two most recent “Hunger Games” sequels topped Fandango’s list of most anticipated fall releases, making this the third consecutive year it’s topped charts. The first “Hunger Games” was released in March of 2012.
The last “Hunger Games” attracted 36% of the vote. The second and third most anticipated films were the latest James Bond mission, “Spectre,” which 26% of respondents picked, and the Ridley Scott and Matt Damon collaboration, “The Martian,” with 11%. The Steven Spielberg drama “Bridge of Spies” and Johnny Depp’s villainous turn as Whitey Bulger in “Black Mass” round out the top five, with 10% and 9%, respectively.
In the realm of family film’s, Pixar’s “The Good Dinosaur” topped all comers with 26% of voters picking it as the most anticipated, followed by the fantasy adventure “Pan” with 22%, and the R.L. Stine adaptation “Goosebumps” with 19%.
Horror fans are looking forward to M. Night Shyamalan’s return to the genre that made him famous with “The Sixth Sense.” In a close race, his creepy chiller “The Visit” topped the list of most anticipated horror films with 24%, followed by Daniel Radcliffe’s spin on Mary Shelley (23%) with “Victor Frankenstein” and “Paranormal Activity: The Ghost Dimension” (18%).
Survey respondents also did a little Oscar prognosticating. Depp, who is nearly unrecognizable as “Black Mass” notorious gangster Whitey Bulger, was voted most likely to win an Academy Award for best actor, followed by “Bridge of Spies” star Tom Hanks as a heroic lawyer and “Steve Jobs” leading man Michael Fassbender as the prickly Apple co-founder. Were Depp to win, it would be his first Oscar after three previous nominations for “Sweeney Todd,” “Finding Neverland” and “Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl.”
Voters predicted that best actress honors will flow to Julia Roberts for her work as a grieving mother in “Secret in Their Eyes,” followed by Cate Blanchett’s turn as the object of Rooney Mara’s affection in “Carol” and Emily Blunt’s steely drug enforcement officer in “Sicario.”
Of course, other potential Oscar-bait performances such as Will Smith in “Concussion” and Jennifer Lawrence in “Joy” don’t hit theaters until December, meaning that Depp and Roberts might be wise to hold off on drafting their acceptance speeches.
Here are Fandango user’s top autumn picks:
Most anticipated fall movie:
1. “The Hunger Games: Mockingjay, Part 2”: 36%
2. “Spectre”: 21%
3. “The Martian”: 11%
4. “Bridge of Spies”: 10%
5. “Black Mass”: 9%
Most anticipated family pic:
1. “The Good Dinosaur”: 26%
2. “Pan”: 22%
3. “Goosebumps”: 19%
4. “Hotel Transylvania 2”: 17%
5. “The Peanuts Movie”: 14%
Most anticipated horror film
1. “The Visit”: 24%
2. “Victor Frankenstein”: 23%
3. “Paranormal Activity: The Ghost Dimension”: 18%
4. “Goodnight Mommy”: 10%
5. “Rings”: 8%
Actor in a fall movie most likely to get an Oscar nod:
1. Johnny Depp, “Black Mass”: 25%
2. Tom Hanks, “Bridge of Spies”: 16%
3. Michael Fassbender, “Steve Jobs”: 15%
4. Matt Damon, “The Martian”: 8%
5. Idris Elba, “Beasts of No Nation”: 7%
Actor in a Fall Movie Most Likely to Get an Oscar Nod:
1. Julia Roberts, “Secret in Their Eyes”: 27%
2. Cate Blanchett, “Carol”: 20%
3. Emily Blunt, “Sicario”: 12%
4. Julianne Moore, “Freeheld”: 8%
5. Carey Mulligan, “Suffragette”: 8%
