Boxing Day and trips to the cinema go together like turkey and cranberry sauce. Here’s a quick look at some of the top flicks that are due to make their debut in Australia on Boxing Day.

The blockbuster:  Aquaman

Rated M, running time 143 minutes
Stars: Jason Momoa, Amber Heard, Willem Dafoe
From Warner Bros Pictures and director James Wan comes an action-packed adventure that spans the vast, visually breathtaking underwater world of the seven seas, Aquaman, starring Jason Momoa in the title role.

The film reveals the origin story of half-human, half-Atlantan Arthur Curry and takes him on the journey of his lifetime—one that will not only force him to face who he really is, but to discover if he is worthy of who he was born to be … a king.

The family flick:  Ralph Breaks the Internet

Rated PG, running time 112 minutes
Stars: John C Reilly, Sarah Silverman, Gal Gadot

Ralph Breaks the Internet features voices of some of the best in the business. Photo: Walt Disney

Ralph Breaks the Internet: Wreck-It Ralph 2 leaves Litwak’s video arcade behind, venturing into the uncharted, expansive and thrilling world of the internet – which may or may not survive Ralph’s wrecking.

Video game bad boy Ralph (voice of John C Reilly) and fellow misfit Vanellope von Schweetz (voice of Sarah Silverman) must risk it all by travelling to the world wide web in search of a replacement part to save Vanellope’s video game, Sugar Rush. In way over their heads, Ralph and Vanellope rely on the citizens on the internet – the netizens – to help navigate their way, including a website entrepreneur named Yesss (voiced of Taraji P Henson), who is the head algorithm and the heart and soul of trend-making site BuzzzTube.

The awards contender: VICE

Rated M, running time 132 minutes
Stars: Christian Bale, Amy Adams, Steve Carell

Christian Bale makes an amazing transformation to play Dick Cheney in Vice. Photo: Annapurna Films

Christian Bale transforms himself to play Dick Cheney in Oscar-winning The Big Short filmmaker Adam McKay’s star-studded biopic. McKay tells the epic story of how a bureaucratic Washington insider quietly became one of the most powerful men in the world as Vice-President to George W Bush, reshaping the US and the rest of the world with his politics.

The one everyone’s talking about:  The Favourite

Rated MA15+, running time 119 minutes
Stars: Nicholas Hoult, Emma Stone, Olivia Colman, Rachel Weisz

The Favourite is billed as an eccentric, period-comedy-drama. Photo: Fox Searchlight Pictures

It’s early in the 18th century and England is at war with the French. Nevertheless, duck racing and eating then-exotic pineapples are thriving. A frail Queen Anne (Olivia Colman) occupies the throne and her close friend, Lady Sarah (Rachel Weisz), governs the country in her stead while tending to Anne’s ill health and mercurial temper.

When new servant Abigail (Emma Stone) arrives, her charm endears her to Sarah, who takes the newcomer under her wing. Abigail sees a chance at a return to her aristocratic roots.

As the politics of war become time-consuming for Sarah, Abigail steps into the breach to fill in as the Queen’s companion. Their burgeoning friendship gives her a chance to fulfil her ambitions: she will not let woman, man, politics or rabbit stand in her way.

The comedy: Holmes & Watson

Rated M, running time 90 minutes
Stars: Will Ferrell, John C Reilly

A comedic take on the classic Sherlock Holmes story is the latest flick from funny men Will Ferrell and John C Reilly. Photo: Fox Searchlight Films

The Step Brothers are reunited – this time playing the world’s greatest consulting detective and his loyal biographer – as Will Ferrell and John C Reilly star as Holmes and Watson.

The foreign flick:  The Wild Pear Tree

Rated M, running time 188 minutes, language Turkish
Stars: Aydın Doğu Demirkol, Murat Cemcir, Bennu Yıldırımlar

The Wild Pear Tree was part of the Sydney and Melbourne film festivals this year. Photo: Cannes Film Festival

Sinan (Aydin Doğu Demirkol), an aspiring writer, returns home after university, hoping to scrape together enough money to publish his first novel. He wanders the town encountering old flames and obstinate gatekeepers and finds his youthful ambition increasingly at odds with the deferred dreams of his gambling-addict father (Murat Cemcir). As his own fantasies mingle with reality, Sinan grapples with the people and the place that have made him who he is.

Following in the great tradition of family dramas like Death of a Salesman and Long Day’s Journey Into Night, The Wild Pear Tree weaves an evocative tale of creative struggle and familial responsibility with inspired performances, sumptuous imagery and surprising bursts of humour.

One of Ceylan’s most personal works to date, it’s a film as rich, layered and uncompromising as the novel its headstrong hero is working to publish.