The upcoming instalment of the Star Wars franchise tops moviegoers’ lists of most anticipated films of 2015, ticket seller Fandango said on Tuesday in what Hollywood watchers expect to be a banner box-office year for studios.

Star Wars: Episode VII – The Force Awakens highlights a year of big-budget franchise releases that includes runner-up films Avengers: Age of Ultron and The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 2.

Those films are expected to challenge 2013’s record year of about $11 billion in US ticket sales. So far this year, films have grossed $9.4 billion domestically, according to boxofficemojo.com.

The new Star Wars film, which will be the first produced by Walt Disney Co., is set to be released on December 18 and the reboot of George Lucas’s sci-fi universe will be directed by Star Trek filmmaker J.J. Abrams. Hunger Games star Jennifer Lawrence was the top female actor moviegoers wanted to see for the second consecutive year, according to Fandango’s survey of more than 1,000 people.

The new Star Wars film will be the first produced by Walt Disney Co.

The final instalment of Lionsgate’s young-adult thriller is scheduled to be released on November 20, 2015. This year’s instalment has so far grossed $306.7 million five weeks into its run at US theatres, the second-highest in 2014 ticket sales behind Guardians of the Galaxy.

Robert Downey Jr, who returns as Tony Stark/Iron Man in the follow-up to Disney’s 2012 Avengers superhero film, was the top male actor, according to Fandango.

Other anticipated films include erotic thriller Fifty Shades of Grey, from Universal Pictures’ art house unit Focus Features, and Jurassic World, Universal’s resurrection of the Jurassic Park dinosaur disaster series.

Fifty Shades star Jamie Dornan was picked as the biggest break-out male star, while Star Wars actress Daisy Ridley was the biggest female break-out star.

The top anticipated family movie was Minions, Universal’s next instalment in the animated Despic-able Me franchise. It was followed by Cinderella, Inside Out, Peanuts and Pan.

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