15. X-Men: Dark Phoenix

The X-Men franchise hasn’t been entirely consistent, but it’s had more hits than misses. Coming off a miss (Apocalypse), one would expect that first-time director (risky!) but longtime writer Simon Kinberg wants to get things back on track. The “Dark Phoenix” story brings pretty of potential, but also lofty expectations.
End-of-year impression: moved to 2019.

14. The Nun

The last several years have been great for horror, and when it comes to mainstream scares, The Conjuring universe has served up reliably scary movies. The Nun, the latest spinoff, should be expected to give you nightmares much the same.
End-of-year impression: not very good at all.

13. First Man

Damien Chazelle (La La Land) directs Ryan Gosling in this drama about astronaut Neil Armstrong.
End-of-year impression: very good and shockingly overlooked by audiences.

12. Sicario 2: Soldado

The original Sicario was a pretty awesome movie, but not necessarily one designed for sequels. Emily Blunt isn’t returning, but more critically neither is director Denis Villeneuve (Blade Runner 2049). What mitigates the risk is that rockstar writer Taylor Sheridan (Hell or High Water) is back.
End-of-year impression: decent but forgettable. The final act is terrible.

11. Maze Runner: The Death Cure

This underrated franchise comes to an end with this delayed sequel (delayed because its star suffered a serious on-set injury that postponed production). Thank God that Hollywood seems to be over the split-film finales for young adult adaptations.
End-of-year impression: decent finale to a middle-of-the-road franchise.