It should be noted that we started with a bulging list of 74 titles, whittled that down to 40 and compromised, in the end, with 30. In other words, there are A LOT of movies hitting theatres in 2012 and it can get overwhelming to figure out which ones deserve your hard-earned cash - that's why we're here.
Our 2012 Movie Preview outlines which movies are coming out when, who stars in what, why you'll want to see them...and how much longer you have to wait to see the final Twilight movie.
Expect plenty of remakes, a few sequels, a decent number of three-quels, re-imagined fairytales (Hansel & Gretel, Jack the Giant Killer, etc.), more Bond, a dark knight, a hobbit, new Tarantino and one amazing Spider-Man.
Check out our 2012 Movie Preview right now!
Title: The Woman in Black
Studio: Alliance
Release date: February 3, 2012
Buzz: We're all waiting to find out how Daniel Radcliffe does in his first role sans lightning bolt scar and this gothic thriller looks to be a decidedly spooky start to his post-Potter career.
Watch the trailer now!
Title: Safe House
Studio: Universal
Release date: February 10, 2012
Buzz: Denzel Washington is the slick, smart and dangerous fugitive to Ryan Reynolds' naive young CIA agent, tasked with looking after the rogue agent and murderer when the safe house is attacked. An interesting duo to be sure and featuring supporting work from Vera Farmiga, Brendan Gleeson and Robert Patrick.
Watch the trailer now!
Title: Journey 2: The Mysterious Island
Studio: Warner Bros.
Release date: February 10, 2012
Buzz: This sequel to 2008's Journey to the Center of the Earth sees Sean Anderson (Josh Hutcherson) partnering with his mom's boyfriend (Dwayne Johnson) on a mission to find his
grandfather (Michael Caine), who is thought to be missing on a mythical island. The appeal of this one? Catch Hutcherson before his star blows up thanks to a little movie called The Hunger Games.
Title: Goon
Studio: Alliance
Release date: February 24, 2012
Buzz: A hockey movie that doesn't skimp on the guts-and-glory of our national sport, not to mention cursing and brutal on-the-ice fights courtesy of director Michael Dowse (Fubar, It's All Gone Pete Tong) and screenwriters Jay Baruchel and Evan Goldberg. Starring Seann Williams Scott, Alison Pill, Liev Schreiber and Eugene Levy.
Watch the trailer now!
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Title: Dr. Seuss' The Lorax
Studio: Universal
Release date: March 2, 2012
Buzz: For those familiar with the popular children's tale, it will come as no
surprise that the film makers have had to expand on the slim classic
story to make it more suitable for a feature film. But no worries, Seuss
purists, it looks like the essentials are all there - the Once-ler (voiced by Ed Helms) and the Lorax himself (voiced by Danny DeVito). I'd tell you more about him but this is Dr. Seuss, so you know the fun is all in the discovery!
Watch the trailer now!
Title: John Carter
Studio: Disney
Release date: March 9, 2012
Buzz: Taylor Kitsch takes a shot at leading a possible franchise with the first live-action film from Andrew Stanton (Wall-E, Finding Nemo).
Watch the trailer now!
Title: Mirror Mirror
Studio: Alliance
Release date: March 16, 2012
Buzz: Judging from the first trailer, this big-screen take on the Snow White fairytale is set to be wickedly funny and all kinds of camp. In director Tarsem Singh's take, an evil queen (Julia Roberts) steals control of a kingdom and an exiled princess (Lily Collins) enlists
the help of seven resourceful rebels to win back her birthright.
Watch the trailer now!
Title: 21 Jump Street
Studio: Sony
Release date: March 16, 2012
Buzz: Put your skepticism aside and get ready to laugh as Jonah Hill and Channing Tatum breathe new life into the TV show that launched Johnny Depp's career, who reportedly has a cameo in the R-rated laffer.
Watch the trailer now!
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Title: The Hunger Games
Studio: Alliance
Release date: March 23, 2012
Buzz: Based on the first book in Suzanne Collins’ wildly
popular trilogy, The Hunger Games follows heroine
Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence) in a desperate, dystopian future
where teens battle to the death on television. With a stellar cast
starring alongside the recent Oscar-nominee, including Stanley Tucci,
Donald Sutherland, Elizabeth Banks, Woody Harrelson, Liam Hemsworth and
Josh Hutcherson, the production is set to be one of 2012’s must-see
movies.
Watch the trailer now!
Title: Cabin in the Woods
Studio: Alliance
Release date: April 13, 2012
Buzz: This collaboration between producer/writer Joss Whedon and director Drew Goddard , a writer from Whedon's
"Buffy the Vampire Slayer" and "Angel" days, has managed to stay veiled in mystery as it
shifted studios and went back to the drawing board for the 3-D treatment. Through all of the delays, the buzz has remained and this horrific tale of five friends (including Chris Hemsworth) who encounter bad things at a remote cabin in the woods is set to be one of the sleeper hits of the first half of the year.
Watch the trailer now!
Title: The Five-Year Engagement
Studio: Universal
Release date: April 27, 2012
Buzz: Jason Segel brings his everyman charm to the romantic-comedy directed and co-written by Nicholas Stoller and Segel himself, who reunite for the first time since Forgetting Sarah Marshall for the story of a couple (Emily Blunt plays the almost-bride) whose engagement lasts, well, take a look at the title for a clue.
Watch the trailer now!
Title: The Avengers
Studio: Disney
Release date: May 4, 2012
Buzz: With a plot that includes some of the biggest comic heroes ever (Thor,
Iron Man, The Hulk, to name a few) and a cast filled to the brim with
charisma and talent (we're looking at you, Robert Downey Jr., Chris Hemsworth, Tom Hiddleston and Jeremy Renner), The Avengers is set to kick the summer movie season off with a bang. If the trailer is to be believed, RDJ and writer/director Joss Whedon's dialogue are a match made in heaven. That alone is well worth price of admission...the rest is, quite frankly, gravy.
Watch the trailer now!
Title: Dark Shadows
Studio: Warner Bros.
Release date: May 11, 2012
Buzz: Where Johnny Depp and Tim Burton tread, audiences follow and this gothic-horror tale based on the cult TV show has Depp playing undead patriarch Barnabas Collins.
Title: Men in Black III
Studio: Sony
Release date: May 25, 2012
Buzz: A long time in the making, MIB III is set to follow Agent J (Will Smith) as he travels back in time to the '60s and MIB's early years to stop an
alien from assassinating his friend Agent K (Tommy Lee Jones/Josh Brolin) and changing history. Just how this one will stack up against its predecessors has yet to be seen but odds are it will be one hell of an entertaining ride, with a few quippy one liners thrown in for good measure.
Watch the trailer now!
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Title: Snow White and the Huntsman
Studio: Universal
Release date: June 1, 2012
Buzz: Helmed by first-time feature director Rupert Sanders and scripted by, among others, Oscar-nominee Hossein Amini (Drive),
Universal's spin on the classic Brothers Grimm tale is set to be a
decidedly darker, more grisly one than the other family-friendly version
(Mirror, Mirror) headed to theatres earlier in the year. From a
battle-ready Snow White (Kristen Stewart), to an Aragorn-esque Huntsman (Chris Hemsworth) to a gorgeous yet villainous Evil Queen (Charlize Theron), this is definitely not your run-of-the-mill fairytale film.
Watch the trailer now!
Title: Rock of Ages
Studio: Warner Bros.
Release date: June 1, 2012
Buzz: Tom Cruise, rock star? Apparently so in this Adam Shankman film version of the hit musical, co-starring Julianne Hough, Alec Baldwin, Russell Brand, Paul Giamatti, Catherine Zeta-Jones and Mary J. Blige.
Watch the trailer now!
Title: Prometheus
Studio: Fox
Release date: June 8, 2012
Buzz: The plot for Ridley Scott's Prometheus remains shrouded in secrecy. Is it an Alien
prequel like many have speculated (though Scott has denied) or
something completely apart? It would seem that question can only be
truly answered once the film hits theatres June 8. From its eye-catching, out-of-this-world
visuals, to its top-drawer cast including 2011's Acting MVP Michael Fassbender, Charlize Theron, Idris Elba and Noomi Rapace, this film has 'must-see' written all over it.
Watch the trailer now!
Title: Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter
Studio: Fox
Release date: June 22, 2012
Buzz: Based on the best-selling novel by Seth Grahame-Smith, Lincoln is re-imagined as a vampire crusher who kills the blood-suckers and their slave-owning helpers. Starring Benjamin Walker, Dominic Cooper and Mary Elizabeth Winstead.
Title: The Amazing Spider-Man
Studio: Sony
Release date: July 6, 2012
Buzz: How will Spidey
stack up in a year that delivers a slew of highly-anticipated comic films - from The Dark Knight Rises to The Avengers? Our guess/hope is that it will do pretty well. The cast intrigues us (Andrew Garfield, Emma Stone, etc.), early previews have more than piqued our interest and really, July 6th can't come soon enough.
Watch the trailer now!
Title: The Dark Knight Rises
Studio: Warner Bros.
Release date: July 20, 2012
Buzz: It's still over 6 months away and yet audiences are clamouring for every additional minute, whether it's official scenes or grainy footage, from Christopher Nolan's next Batman film, featuring Christian Bale as the raspy-voiced one, Anne Hathaway as Selina Kyle, Joseph Gordon-Levitt as John Blake and Tom Hardy as Bane.
Watch the trailer now!
Title: Total Recall
Studio: Warner Bros.
Release date: August 3, 2012
Buzz: This ain't your parents Total Recall. Len Wiseman gets Blade Runner with his version of the story of a factory worker (Colin Farrell) who starts to realize he's a spy. Filmed in Toronto (!) and co-starring Jessica Biel and the always-excellent Bryan Cranston.
Title: The Bourne Legacy
Studio: Universal
Release date: August 3, 2012
Buzz: Full disclosure - Matt Damon is not in this one. But don't let that discourage you, this action thriller follows a new CIA operative (played by the fantastic Jeremy Renner) through Robert Ludlum's popular universe. Joining Renner and franchise director Tony Gilroy for the ride are acting heavyweights Edward Norton and Rachel Weisz. That's more than enough for us to check this one out on opening day.
Title: The Expendables 2
Studio: Alliance
Release date: August 17, 2012
Buzz: Sly and his rag-tag team of over-the-hill baddies prove age ain't nothing but a number as they return to battle more enemy forces. This one adds a dose of appreciated eye candy with Aussie Liam Hemsworth added to the mix.
Title: Frankenweenie
Studio: Disney
Release date: October 5, 2012
Buzz: Tim Burton is one busy man this year, bringing his fabled short film to the big screen in stop-motion animation to tell the tale of a young boy who tries to re-animate his dead dog Sparky using Frankenstein-approved wacky science.
Title: Gangster Squad
Studio: Warner Bros.
Release date: October 19, 2012
Buzz: For his new movie Ruben Fleischer makes a wise directorial move away
from action comedies and goes back to the midcentury for a hard-boiled
crime drama with a fine ensemble cast that includes Ryan Gosling, Emma Stone and Josh Brolin.
Title: Skyfall
Studio: Sony
Release date: November 9, 2012
Buzz: After a prolonged absence from the big screen due to studio machinations behind the scenes, Daniel Craig is back as everyone's favourite English spy for his latest adventure. With a stellar cast (Javier Bardem, Ralph Fiennes, Ben Whishaw, Albert Finney, Helen McCrory), a new director (Sam Mendes) and a plot that bring Judi Dench's M to the forefront, we're set to welcome 007 back with open arms.
Title: The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 2
Studio: eOne
Release date: November 16, 2012
Buzz: As if you don't already know, Bella and Edward's swan song is going to be legendary even if you're no Twi-hard. Get ready for the last chapter.
Title: Gravity
Studio: Warner Bros.
Release date: November 21, 2012
Buzz: This one is all about pedigree: directed and co-written by Alfonso Cuaron (Children of Men, Y Tu Mama Tambien) and starring George Clooney and Sandra Bullock, the sci-fi thriller finds Bullock's astronaut as the sole survivor of a mission to try and repair the Hubble telescope, trying desperately to return to Earth and her daughter.
Title: Les Miserables
Studio: Universal
Release date: December 7, 2012
Buzz: Director Tom Hooper (The King's Speech) follows up his Best Picture winner with a new cinematic take on Victor Hugo's novel. With a crazy all-star cast including Hugh Jackman, Russell Crowe, Anne Hathaway,
Helena Bonham Carter
,
Sacha Baron Cohen,
Eddie Redmayne, this one is set to be a massive contender come Oscar time in 2013.
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Title: The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
Studio: Warner Bros.
Release date: December 14, 2012
Buzz: Head back to The Shire and re-acquaint yourself
with Bilbo Baggins (Martin Freeman) and Gandalf the Grey (Sir Ian
McKellen) as they set out on their quest to the Lonely Mountain
accompanied by a group of dwarves (including a brooding Richard Armitage
as Thorin Oakenshield) to reclaim a treasure taken from them by the
dragon Smaug (voiced by Freeman's 'Sherlock' co-star, Benedict
Cumberbatch).
Watch the trailer now!
Title: World War Z
Studio: Paramount
Release date: December 21, 2012
Buzz: Really, what's not to love? You've Brad Pitt and you've got zombies, which shows that the world's love affair with the undead menaces is far from over. Based on the novel by Max Brooks, it chronicles the great zombie war and the survivors who lived to tell the tale.
Title: Django Unchained
Studio: Alliance
Release date: December 28, 2012
Buzz: Knowing that 2012 will bring us a new flick from the master of quotable dialogue, chilling violence and career resurrections is cause for excitement and the fact that it follows slave-turned-bounty hunter Django (Jamie Foxx) as he sets out to rescue his wife and stars Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Leonardo DiCaprio, Samuel L. Jackson, Sacha Baron Cohen and Christoph Waltz seems a fitting way to end the year.
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