Prior to the start of the year there were four films sitting at the top of the list, expecting to be battling it for the highest grossing movie of the year. This comes in a year in which there are a vast number of exciting releases including Once upon a time in Hollywood and Spider-Man: Far From Home. So did these make the select list of the movies expected to be the highest grossing come the end of the year?

Avengers: Endgame

Topping the list and the short priced favourites at the Royal dynasty slot at the start of the year was Avengers: Endgame. This is the likely final film in the hugely successful franchise, so it was little surprise this topped the list. There was a huge amount of excitement prior to the film’s release, which smashed the records as the biggest opening weekend in history. It has now crossed the $2.7 billion mark at the box office, which means it is moving ever closer to Avatar’s Global box office and the converted award as the highest grossing movie of all time.

#AvengersEndgame breaks multiple box office records domestically and worldwide during its opening night. pic.twitter.com/E2lp6ItIlY

— IGN (@IGN) April 27, 2019

Star Wars: Episode IX

The franchise has always had a vast following, so it will come as little surprise that the next instalment was expected to be a major success this year. It is not set to be released until the end of 2019 and is being called the Rise of Skywalker. This will be the third instalment of the Star Wars sequel trilogy and the final episode of the nine part Skywalker saga. This movie is expected to be a huge success in 2019.

Every generation has a legend. Watch the brand-new teaser for Star Wars: #EpisodeIX. pic.twitter.com/fWMS13ekdZ

— Star Wars (@starwars) April 12, 2019

The Lion King

This remake has been in the works since 2016 following the success of the Jungle Book, in which Jon Favreau will again be directing the movie. This could just be the most anticipated animated movie of all time and is expecting to have great success in the box office later this year. The movie is set to be released in July, as they continue to release new trailers on the run up to its release. The voicing cast includes a number of big names including the likes of Donald Glover, Seth Rogen, James Earl Jones and of course Beyoncé Knowles-Carter.