2007'S MOST POPULAR: JOHNNY DEPP

When Johnny Depp sailed into the sunset at the end of Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End, the quirky heartthrob capped one of the most lucrative trilogies in movie history. Hollywood enthusiastically surrendered, handing him the lead role in Tim Burton's big-screen musical adaptation of Sweeney Todd without hearing him sing a note. Risky, dark, kooky: music to our ears. —Jeff Labreque

JOHNNY DEPP'S 2007

Jan. 9
Depp thanks voters for ''keeping me employed'' after winning three People's Choice Awards, including Favorite Male Movie Star for Dead Man's Chest.

Jan. 28
Depp jams with his old band, the Kids, at the Sheila Witkin Memorial Reunion Concert in Pompano Beach, Fla., near his old stomping grounds.

Feb. 5
Depp and Tim Burton begin their sixth film together as Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street goes before the cameras in London.

May 25
Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End sails into theaters with a $115 million opening weekend. Despite cool critical response, the third Pirates film goes on to gross $961 million worldwide.

June 3
With Pirates cleaning up in theaters, Depp makes a surprise appearance at the MTV Movie Awards, accepting trophies for Best Performance and Best Movie. ''I'd like to thank [Jerry Bruckheimer] and Disney for not firing me,'' Depp says, recalling their initial reaction to his character.

Oct. 29
Sixteen years after costarring in the band's ''Into the Great Wide Open'' video, Depp resurfaces in Peter Bogdanovich's four-hour rock doc, Runnin' Down a Dream: Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, premiering on the Sundance Channel. Four days later, he champions another rock idol in Julien Temple's Joe Strummer: The Future Is Unwritten, in select theaters.

Dec. 21
Depp will wield the deadly blade of the wronged barber in the cinematic adaptation of Sweeney Todd when it opens nationwide.

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