10 Movies That Best Summed Up 2012

cloud atlas trailer 2012 was a great year for movies. There are plenty of "best of" lists at this time of year, but this isn't one of them. This is a list of movies that best sum up, or say something about film in 2012. We saw stars soar to new heights (Jennifer Lawrence, Channing Tatum). We also watched as a few of our old favorites struggled (Tom Hanks, Reese Witherspoon). Some big movies, weren't as big as many expected (MIB III, Prometheus) and some formulas that worked before, aren't catching fire anymore (That's My Boy, The Watch). If you love animation you had Chico and Rita and Hotel Transylvania. Romance fans had plenty to love in The Vow and Twilight: Breaking Dawn Part 2. In short, there was a little something for everyone. Here are the 10 Movies That Summed Up 2012...

10. The Hunger Games

hunger-games-600x300 The Hunger Games cemented Jennifer Lawrence as a star - a HUGE one. She's already an Oscar nominated actress, but with this film she moved into the big league of mainstream cinema. The movie made tons of money and broke all sorts of records, but the biggest news is that it played well to diverse audiences. Initially acquired by Lionsgate before the book sold millions of copies; the film was to be a mid-budget actioner for its core young-adult demo (LA Times). Instead, Lionsgate upped the budget and made sure that this was a film on everyone€™s list. That this film worked for audiences of all ages bodes well for possibly seeing more movies with young, strong, female leads. At the very least, we€™ll definitely be seeing more of Jennifer Lawrence.

9. Think Like a Man

Think-Like-a-Man_10-600x399 For the most part, most major media outlets ignored Think Like a Man in the weeks prior to its release. The movie opened the same weekend as Zac Efron€™s more buzzed about The Lucky One, but came in at No. 1 and stayed there the next week. It eventually topped out at close to $100 million to the surprise of many. Though it didn€™t play well internationally; on a budget of $12 million, it is one of the biggest successes of the year. Think Like a Man should be a reminder to Hollywood that Tyler Perry isn€™t the only one who can make mainstream African-American projects. And another thing€we€™re all waiting to see what Kevin Hart does with his new star power.
 
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Professor. Filmmaker. Writer. AFI grad - Producer of @punannydiaries - Prof. of English & Film Studies @_HamptonU - contributor to @ForColoredBoys