2010 was a great year for movies. Just take a look at the awards season for the proof. A wide range of films—from box office giants like Inception and Toy Story 3 to independent films like Black Swan—took home some of the most coveted awards in the movie industry this past year.

So it should come as no shock that critics and movie lovers are keeping their eyes trained hard on the 2011 season for something good, if not better than 2010.

This year promises to be pretty big. It will see the end of beloved franchises, a slew of “geek” movies and Oscar contenders galore.

Some of the most highly anticipated movies of the year have already come out. Fans of teen sensation Justin Bieber got the chance to see their idol on the big screen in 3D starting in February in Justin Bieber: Never Say Never. Zack Snyder’s pet project, Sucker Punch, hit theaters this past Friday to high box office numbers and low critical approval.

Over the course of this year, people can expect to see a huge number of comic-book films, including Captain America: The First Avenger, Green Lantern and Thor. The success of the Spider-Man, Batman and Iron Man movies served as an impetus for the sudden burst of comic-book films on the market. While some critics are anticipating certain films more than others, all three films are probably going to rake in huge numbers at the box office.

In addition to these films, a few “Oscar-worthy” movies are slated for release this year including The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, an adaptation of the first in the popular Swedish book series by Stieg Larrson. Dragon Tattoo is directed by David Fincher (director of The Social Network) and will star Daniel Craig (James Bond in Casino Royale) as journalist Mikael Blomkvist and Rooney Mara (The Social Network) as the genius hacker Lisbeth Salander. The role of Salander was one of the most sought after roles for young actresses before being snatched up by Mara.

Another film that is already on critics’ Oscar list is Steven Spielberg’s adaptation of the critically acclaimed play, War Horse, which is an adaptation of a children’s novel of the same name. The story is about the bond between a boy and his horse and the painful journey the horse takes through World War I. This and The Adventures of Tintin: Secret of the Unicorn (which will also be released later this year) are the first films since 2008 Spielberg has directed.

This year will also see the highest number of sequels and third, fourth and fifth films in movie series in history. These include the final Harry Potter film, the first part of Breaking Dawn (the last in the Twilight books), a fourth Pirates of the Caribbean film and Sherlock Holmes 2.

Many critics are hesitantly anticipating Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides which will incorporate plot elements from the novel,On Stranger Tides, by Tim Powers. This is mainly due to the lack of enthusiasm for the last Pirates film; however, they remain optimistic because of the new characters being introduced.

“I’m looking forward to Pirates because it looks really awesome and it looks like it has better characters,” Mary Burkey, a senior in physics, said.

Probably the most anticipated movie of 2011 is Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2, not only because it looks to be a good film, but because it is the end of a franchise that has been going for over 10 years.

When asked what movies they were most looking forward to this year, students immediately replied with “Harry Potter,” including Harry Barbee, a sophomore in political science and sociology, and Jessica Badger, a freshman in mathematics.

Some students are torn over whether or not they want the final Harry Potter film to come out as it will mean the end of the series.

“I’m dreading Harry Potter because it’s the very last one,” Burkey said.

Some students aren’t quite sure if this season of sequels will succeed, mainly because sequels have track record of being inferior to their predecessors.

“Typically sequels don’t really live up to the original movie,” Barbee said. “In the case of Harry Potter, people are stoked about it.”

“Same with Twilight,” Badger added.

As far as other movies they are anticipating, many students don’t keep up with future releases, choosing instead to wait until the release date draws near before getting excited about a film. Christopher LaGant, a sophomore in engineering, is in this category.

“I’ll wait to see what is out in theaters before I anticipate a movie,” LaGant said, “because there’s none that I’m so excited to know about months ahead of time,”

“I don’t really know what else is coming out,” Barbee said.

Overall, 2011 looks to have a wide range of films for any and all tastes. And hopefully it will meet the standard set by 2010 as being a great year for the art of motion pictures.