As the last movies of the year roll before the curtain comes down on 2008, there are two words on everyone's lips: Slumdog Millionaire.
One of the few movies this year to be both a critical and commercial hit, it has helped end the year on an uplifting note, proving that a great story, charismatic acting and the directorial talents of Danny Boyle can, in fact, lure movie goers into those increasingly expensive and hard-to-fill seats.
This year, like all years in movies, was filled with its fair share of phenomena, upsets and surprises. The biggest success story of the year was, without a doubt, The Dark Knight, part of the Batman franchise and the only film to come close to hitting the US$1 billion mark in worldwide box office takings.
Indeed, it was overall a good year for the superhero franchise, with Iron Man also faring well at the box office and loved by critics.
But the year also had its low points, among them the fantasy genre, even if the source material was rich and appealing.
'The Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings movies had led to fantasy becoming one of the most popular genres, but this year that didn't prove to be the case,' says Gitesh Pandya, editor of boxofficeguru.com and a prominent industry tracker.
