The year 2008 involved many major film events. ''

The Dark Knight ''The Dark Knight'' is a 2008 superhero film directed by Christopher Nolan from a screenplay he co-wrote with his brother Jonathan. Based on the DC Comics superhero, Batman, it is the sequel to ''Batman Begins'' (2005) and the second instal ...

'' was the year's highest-grossing film, while ''

Slumdog Millionaire ''Slumdog Millionaire'' is a 2008 British drama film that is a loose adaptation of the novel '' Q & A'' (2005) by Indian author Vikas Swarup. It narrates the story of 18-year-old Jamal Malik from the Juhu slums of Mumbai. Starring Dev Pat ...

'' won the

Academy Award for Best Picture The Academy Award for Best Picture is one of the Academy Awards presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) since the awards debuted in 1929. This award goes to the producers of the film and is the only categor ...

(out of eight Academy Awards).

Evaluation of the year

2008 has been widely considered to be a very significant year for cinema. 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 ''

''. Animated films also proved a huge draw for filmgoers, with Pixar's ''

WALL-E ''WALL-E'' (stylized with an interpunct as ''WALL·E'') is a 2008 American computer animation, computer-animated science fiction film produced by Pixar Animation Studios and released by Walt Disney Pictures. It was directed and co-written by ...

'' becoming not only the highest grossing toon but also the most lauded. Things got off on the right foot with the monster movie madness of ''

Cloverfield ''Cloverfield'' is a 2008 American found footage monster film directed by Matt Reeves, produced by J. J. Abrams, and written by Drew Goddard. It stars Lizzy Caplan, Jessica Lucas, T.J. Miller, Michael Stahl-David, Mike Vogel and Odett ...

''. Marvel got down to business laying the groundwork for their superhero team-up ''The Avengers'' with the blockbuster hit ''

Iron Man Iron Man is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was co-created by writer and editor Stan Lee, developed by scripter Larry Lieber, and designed by artists Don Heck and Jack Kirby. The charact ...

'' and their respectable attempt at rebooting ''

The Incredible Hulk The Hulk is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby, the character first appeared in the debut issue of '' The Incredible Hulk'' (May 1962). In his comic book ...

''. The games-to-film genre took a hit this year, with only Max Payne proving to be a worthy adaptation of the source material. We also saw the highly anticipated big-screen returns of iconic characters like ''

Batman Batman is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger, and debuted in the 27th issue of the comic book '' Detective Comics'' on March 30, 1939 ...

'', ''

James Bond The ''James Bond'' series focuses on a fictional Secret Intelligence Service, British Secret Service agent created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short-story collections. Since Fleming's death in 19 ...

'', and ''

Indiana Jones ''Indiana Jones'' is an American media franchise based on the adventures of Dr. Henry Walton "Indiana" Jones, Jr., a fictional professor of archaeology, that began in 1981 with the film ''Raiders of the Lost Ark''. In 1984, a prequel, '' The ...

'' – some were more successful than others." The film industry and review website

IndieWire IndieWire (sometimes stylized as indieWIRE or Indiewire) is a film industry and review website that was established in 1996. The site's focus was predominantly independent film, although its coverage has grown to "to include all aspects of Holl ...

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 ''4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days'' ( ro, 4 luni, 3 săptămâni și 2 zile) is a 2007 Romanian art film written and directed by Cristian Mungiu and starring Anamaria Marinca, Laura Vasiliu, and Vlad Ivanov. The film is set in Socialist Republic o ...

'' and '' Che''.

Highest-grossing films

The top 10 films released in 2008 by worldwide gross are as follows: For 2008, the top ten films consisted of three

superhero film A superhero film (or superhero movie) is a film that focuses on the actions of superheroes. Superheroes are individuals who possess superhuman abilities and are dedicated to protecting the public. These films typically feature action, adventu ...

s, three

animated Animation is a method by which still figures are manipulated to appear as moving images. In traditional animation, images are drawn or painted by hand on transparent celluloid sheets to be photographed and exhibited on film. Today, most ani ...

films, three

action film Action film is a film genre in which the protagonist is thrust into a series of events that typically involve violence and physical feats. The genre tends to feature a mostly resourceful hero struggling against incredible odds, which include lif ...

s and one musical film.

Box office records

* In the domestic box office, 2008 came very close in passing 2007 as the highest-grossing year, falling short by just $30 million. * On August 4, ''The Dark Knight'' reached a $400 million domestic gross in a record time of 18 days. The previous record was held by ''

Shrek 2 ''Shrek 2'' is a 2004 American computer-animated comedy film loosely based on the 1990 picture book ''Shrek!'' by William Steig, produced by DreamWorks Animation and released by DreamWorks Pictures. The sequel to ''Shrek'' (2001) and the se ...

'', which reached it in 43 days. On August 31, after 45 days in release, ''The Dark Knight'' reached $500 million domestically, becoming only the second film in history after ''

Titanic RMS ''Titanic'' was a British passenger liner, operated by the White Star Line, which sank in the North Atlantic Ocean on 15 April 1912 after striking an iceberg during her maiden voyage from Southampton, England, to New York City, Unite ...

'' to cross the half-billion-dollar domestic milestone, as well as the first film of the 2000s decade. Worldwide, it grossed $997 million on its initial release, and an

IMAX IMAX is a proprietary system of high-resolution cameras, film formats, film projectors, and theaters known for having very large screens with a tall aspect ratio (approximately either 1.43:1 or 1.90:1) and steep stadium seating. Graem ...

reissue in 2009 saw it become the fourth film to gross $1 billion at the global box office. * ''

Mamma Mia! Mama(s) or Mamma or Momma may refer to: Roles *Mother, a female parent *Mama-san, in Japan and East Asia, a woman in a position of authority *Mamas, a name for female associates of the Hells Angels Places * Mama, Russia, an urban-type settlemen ...

'' became the highest-grossing film in UK history until it was surpassed by ''

Avatar Avatar (, ; ), is a concept within Hinduism that in Sanskrit literally means "descent". It signifies the material appearance or incarnation of a powerful deity, goddess or spirit on Earth. The relative verb to "alight, to make one's appeara ...

'' in 2010. * ''

'' set several records. At the worldwide box office, it became the most successful British

independent film An independent film, independent movie, indie film, or indie movie is a feature film or short film that is produced outside the major film studio system, in addition to being produced and distributed by independent entertainment companies (or, i ...

of all time. At the UK box office, it became the highest-grossing British independent film (surpassing '' Four Weddings and a Funeral''), the highest-grossing British film without US studio investment, and the biggest ever weekly "increase for a UK saturation release" (surpassing ''

Billy Elliot ''Billy Elliot'' is a 2000 British coming-of-age comedy-drama film directed by Stephen Daldry and written by Lee Hall. Set in County Durham in North East England during the 1984–1985 miners' strike, the film is about a working-class boy w ...

'')''.''

Events

Awards

2008 films

The list of films released in 2008, arranged by country, are as follows: *

American films This is a list of films produced by the American film industry from the earliest films of the 1890s to the present. Films are listed by year of release on separate pages, either in alphabetical order (1900–2013) or in chronological order (2 ...

* Argentine films * Australian films *

Bengali films Bengali cinema may refer to: * Cinema of Bangladesh, also called Dhallywood * Cinema of West Bengal Tollywood, also known as Cinema of West Bengal, is an Cinema of India, Indian film industry of Bengali language, Bengali-language motion pict ...

* Bollywood films * Brazilian films *

British films The United Kingdom has had a significant film industry for over a century. While film production reached an all-time high in 1936, the "golden age" of British cinema is usually thought to have occurred in the 1940s, during which the directors D ...

* French films *

Hong Kong films The cinema of Hong Kong ( zh, t=香港電影) is one of the three major threads in the history of Chinese language cinema, alongside the cinema of China and the cinema of Taiwan. As a former British colony, Hong Kong had a greater degree of p ...

* Italian films * Japanese films * Mexican films * Pakistani films * Russian films *

South Korean films South is one of the cardinal directions or compass points. The direction is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to both east and west. Etymology The word ''south'' comes from Old English ''sūþ'', from earlier Proto-Germanic ''*sunþaz' ...

* Spanish films * List of Kannada films of 2008 * Malayalam films * Tamil films * Telugu films

Births

*January 24 - Chlaui Malayao, Filipina child actress *March 14 - Abby Ryder Fortson, American actress *June 3 - Harshaali Malhotra, Indian actress *July 15 - Iain Armitage, American actor *August 1 - Emma Berman, American actress *November 23 - Asher Blinkoff, American actor *December 27 -

Faithe Herman Faithe Herman (born December 27, 2007) is an American actress, best known for her work in '' This Is Us'' (2016) and ''Shazam!'' (2019). Career After appearing as Annie Pearson in the 2016 television show '' This Is Us'', Herman landed her fir ...

, American actress

Deaths

Film debuts

Chadwick Boseman Chadwick Aaron Boseman (; November 29, 1976August 28, 2020) was an American actor. During his two-decade career, Boseman received two Screen Actors Guild Awards, a Golden Globe Award, a Critics' Choice Movie Award, and a Primetime Emmy Award, ...

– '' The Express: The Ernie Davis Story'' * Jessica Chastain – '' Jolene'' * Boyd Holbrook – ''

Milk Milk is a white liquid food produced by the mammary glands of mammals. It is the primary source of nutrition for young mammals (including breastfed human infants) before they are able to digest solid food. Immune factors and immune-modulati ...

'' *

Felicity Jones Felicity Rose Hadley Jones (born 17 October 1983) is a British actress. She started her professional acting career as a child, appearing in '' The Treasure Seekers'' (1996) at age 12. She went on to play Ethel Hallow for one series of the tel ...

– '' Flashbacks of a Fool'' *

Jennifer Lawrence Jennifer Shrader Lawrence (born August 15, 1990) is an American actress. The world's highest-paid actress in 2015 and 2016, her films have grossed over $6 billion worldwide to date. She appeared in ''Time''s 100 most influential people i ...

– '' Garden Party'' * Riyadh Mahmood – '' Aduri'' *

Rooney Mara Patricia Rooney Mara ( ; born April 17, 1985) is an American actress. She has received various accolades, including a Cannes Film Festival Award for Best Actress, in addition to nominations for two Academy Awards, a British Academy Film Award, ...

– '' Dream Boy'' * Margot Robbie – ''Vigilante'' * Davide Sordella, Pablo Benedetti – ''

Woman's Hearts ''Woman's Hearts'' ( it, Corazones de mujer) is a 2008 film. Synopsis Once upon a time there was the best Arabic dressmaker of the city: his name was Shakira, he was a travestite and he had to make her wedding gown to Zina, a fiancée An ...

References

{{Portal bar, Film Film by year