The year 2012 was pretty big with everything, including movies. We put together a list of our top 10 movies of the year to help bring the year to a close.
1. "The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 2"
The epic finale of Stephanie Meyer's bestselling books into film adaptions came to a close on Nov. 16, 2012. Fans waited outside movie theaters to see the premiere and had the option to watch all five movies in a row with the "Twilight Saga" marathon. Director Bill Condon and main characters Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson, and Taylor Lautner surprised fans with a new ending that shocked fans worldwide.
For the extended Thanksgiving Holiday Weekend of Nov. 21-25, the epic finale totaled $64 million in ticket sales, according to The Sacromento Bee, which was 25 percent of the total revenue for the biggest Hollywood holiday weekend on record.
Alt Film Guide reported that after 8-9 days out, the $120 million-budgeted film grossed an estimated $577.75 million worldwide: $226.95m in the US/Canada and $350.8m internationally.
"Breaking Dawn Part 2" leads the way to be the "Twilight" franchise's biggest second weekend ever: $41.3 million, according to E! Online.
According to Box Office Mojo, the popular film ranked number 5 with $286,130,000 total gross for 2012 Domestic Grosses.
2. "Skyfall"
Released on Nov. 9, 2012 in the U.S., James Bond returned for another hit movie. This time, Bond's loyalty to M is tested as her past comes back to haunt her, bringing MI6 under attack, described by IMDb. Starring Daniel Craig, "Skyfall" is the first 007 film to cross the box-office mark, according to E! Online. It officially grossed over $1 billion worldwide as of Sunday. It's record tally comes from $289 million worth of domestic ticket sales combined with $710 million worldwide after just two months in the theaters.
"Skyfall" is officially the third-highest grossing film of 2012 behind "The Avengers" and "The Dark Knight Rises."
3. "The Avengers"
This film directed by Joss Whedon was the highest grossing film in 2012. Starring Robert Downey Jr. (Iron Man), Chris Evans (Captain America), Mark Ruffalo (The Hulk), Chris Hemsworth (Thor), Natasha Romanoff (Black Widow), and Clint Bartson (Hawkseye) as the main characters, fans went crazy to go see the movie. Ranked number 1 on Box Office Mojo 2012 Domestic Gross list, it combed in $623,357,910 since it opened on May 4, 2012.
4. "The Dark Knight Rises"
The epic finale of the Batman series is the second-highest grossing film in 2012. Released on July 20, 2012, fans poured in to watch Christian Bale play Bruce Wayne for the last time. The movie also starred Tomy Hardy as the infamous Bane, Joseph Gordon-Levitt as Blake, Michael Caine as Alfred, and Gary Oldman as Commissioner Gordon.
Events turned tragic when gunman James Holmes opened fire at a midnight screening of "The Dark Knight Rises" in Aurora, Colorado. He killed 12 people and injured 58 others.
According to Access Hollywood, Bale visited survivors of the horrific shooting with little advance and also stopped by a makeshift memorial to victims near the movie theater. Many visitors didn't realize who he was or chose to leave him alone.
5. "The Hunger Games"
Based off of Suzanne Collins' bestselling movie, "The Hunger Games" has a crazy fan base similar to that of "Twilight." Starring Jennifer Lawrence (Katniss Everdeen), Stanley Tucci (Caesar Flickerman), Wes Bentley (Seneca Crane), Liam Hemsworth (Gale Hawthorne), and Josh Hutcherson (Peeta Mellark), the movie landed on a lot of top movie lists for 2012. The film was released on March 23, 2012. "Katniss Everdeen voluntarily takes her younger sister's place in the Hunger Games, a televised fight to the death in which two teenagers from each of the twelve Districts of Panem are chosen at random to compete," described by IMBb. It ranked number 3 with $408,010,692 on Box Office Mojo's 2012 Domestic Grosses list.
6. "The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey"
This film was highly anticipated for a while. All the "Lord of the Rings" fans rejoiced and still are lining up in the movie theaters. Described by IMDb, "A younger and more reluctant Hobbit, Bilbo Baggins, sets out on a "unexpected journey" to the Lonely Mountain with a spirited group of Dwarves to reclaim a their stolen mountain home from a dragon named Smaug."
Released on Dec. 14, 2012, "The Hobbit" landed at the number 8 spot on Box Office Mojo's 2012 Domestic Grosses list with $222,703,000 in 4,100 theaters.
7. "Life of Pi"
Directed by Ang Lee and based off a popular novel written by Yann Martel, "Life of Pi" was released on Nov. 21, 2012 in the U.S. "A young man who survives a disaster at sea is hurtled into an epic journey of adventure and discovery. "While cast away, he forms an unexpected connection with another survivor ... a fearsome Bengal tiger," described by IMDb. From India, the family decided to move to Canada. But a shipwreck leaves him all alone on a boat with several animals, and ultimately a 450-pound Bengal tiger named Richard Parker. Some of the scenes are different from the book and some things were added in, like Pi's girlfriend. The cast members include Suraj Sharma (Pi Patel), Irrfan Khan (Adult Pi Patel), and Rafe Spall (Writer).
8. "The Perks of Being a Wallflower"
This movie also based a novel written by Stephen Chbosky, also directed by the writer himself. Chbosky also wrote the screenplay. Starring Logan Lerman, Emma Watson, and Ezra Miller, the story is about "15-year-old Charlie (Lerman), an endearing and naive outsider, coping with first love (Emma Watson), the suicide of his best friend, and his own mental illness while struggling to find a group of people with whom he belongs. The introvert freshman is taken under the wings of two seniors, Sam and Patrick, who welcome him to the real world." It was a pretty big deal because during the time going up to the movie release date (Oct. 12, 2012), Watson was the talk of town, especially about rumors that she would be playing Anastasia Steele in the upcoming "Fifty Shades of Grey" movie.
9. "Argo"
Ben Affleck's movie "Argo," based on a true story, landed on a lot of top movie 2012 lists. It got 247 reviews about the film that critics raved about. It placed second on Rotten Tomatoes list with the most number of reviews, behind "The Dark Knight Rises." Directed by Affleck himself, the film also stars Byran Cranston, Alan Arkin, John Goodman, Victor Garber, Tate Donovan, and Clea DuVall. Placed in 1979, "Argo" is "a dramatization of the 1980 joint CIA-Canadian secret operation to extract six fugitive American diplomatic personnel out of revolutionary Iran." They all pose a production crew creating a phony Canadian film project that has to shoot in Iran. "Argo" was released on Oct. 12, 2012.
10. "Les Miserables"
This highly anticipated movie is also a drama, musical, and romance all in one. The main characters include Hugh Jackson (Jean Valjean), Russell Crowe (Javert), Anne Hathaway (Fantine), Amanda Seyfried (Cosette), and Eddie Redmayne (Marius), this film is based on the popular novel. It is about Jean Valjean, who is being hunted by policeman Javert, makes a change in his life after making the decision to care for factory worker Fantine's daughter, Cossette, who falls in love with Marius. The time is set in post-revolutionary France. The film was very emotional (even if you aren't an emotional person). "Les Miserables" was released on Dec. 25, 2012.
Is there a movie you would of liked on our top 10 list? Sound off below!
