The Hunger Games

The Hunger Games is a 2012 American science fiction adventure film directed by Gary Ross, based on the novel of the same name by Suzanne Collins. It is the first installment in The Hunger Games film series. The film was produced by Nina Jacobson and Jon Kilik, with a screenplay by Ross, Collins, and Billy Ray. It stars Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson, Liam Hemsworth, Woody Harrelson, Elizabeth Banks, Donald Sutherlandand Willow Shields, and features Lenny Kravitz and Stanley Tucci.^[5] The story takes place in a dystopian post-apocalyptic future in the nation ofPanem, where certain boys and girls between the ages of 12 and 18 must take part in the Hunger Games, a televised annual event in which the "tributes" are required to fight to the death until there is one remaining victor. Katniss Everdeen (Lawrence) volunteers to take her younger sister's place in the games. Joined by her district's male tribute Peeta Mellark (Hutcherson), Katniss travels to the Capitol to train for the Hunger Games under the guidance of former victor Haymitch Abernathy (Harrelson).

Development of The Hunger Games began in March 2009 when Lions Gate Entertainment entered into a co-production agreement with Color Force, which had acquired the rights a few weeks earlier. Collins collaborated with Ray and Ross to write the screenplay. The screenplay expanded the character of Seneca Crane to allow several developments to be shown directly to the audience and Ross added several scenes between Crane and Coriolanus Snow. The main characters were cast between March and May 2011. Principal photography began in May 2011 and ended in September 2011, and filming took place in North Carolina. The Hunger Games was shot entirely on film as opposed to digital.

The Avengers

Marvel's The Avengers^[4] (classified under the name Marvel Avengers Assemble in the UK and Ireland),^[1][5] or simply The Avengers, is a 2012 American superhero film produced by Marvel Studios and distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures,¹ based on the Marvel Comicssuperhero team of the same name. It is the sixth installment in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The film is scripted and directed by Joss Whedon and features an ensemble cast that includes Robert Downey, Jr., Chris Evans, Mark Ruffalo, Chris Hemsworth, Scarlett Johansson, Jeremy Renner, Tom Hiddleston, Clark Gregg, Cobie Smulders, Stellan Skarsgård and Samuel L. Jackson. In the film, Nick Fury, director of the peacekeeping organization S.H.I.E.L.D., recruits Iron Man, Captain America, the Hulk, and Thor to form a team that must stop Thor's adoptive brother Loki from subjugating Earth.

The film's development began when Marvel Studios received a loan from Merrill Lynch in April 2005. After the success of the film Iron Man in May 2008, Marvel announced that The Avengers would be released in July 2011. With the signing of Johansson in March 2009, the film was pushed back for a 2012 release. Whedon was brought on board in April 2010 and rewrote the screenplay originally written by Zak Penn. Production began in April 2011 in Albuquerque, New Mexico, before moving to Cleveland, Ohio, in August and New York City in September. The film was converted to 3D in post-production.

The Avengers premiered on April 11, 2012, at Hollywood's El Capitan Theatre and was released theatrically in the United States on May 4, 2012. The film received positive reviews from most film critics and set or tied numerous box office records, including the biggest opening weekend in North America and the fastest film to gross $1 billion. The Avengers grossed $1.51 billion worldwide, and became the third highest-grossing film of all time. The film was released on Blu-ray Disc and DVD on September 25, 2012. A sequel to be written and directed by Whedon is scheduled for release on May 1, 2015.

Olympus Has Fallen

Olympus Has Fallen is a 2013 American action-thriller^[4] film. This film was directed by Antoine Fuqua, director of Training Day. It stars Gerard Butler, Aaron Eckhart, and Morgan Freeman.^[5] The film depicts a North Korean-led guerilla assault on the White House, and focuses on a formerSecret Service agent who tries to stop them. Olympus Has Fallen received mixed critical reception but earned over $132 million against a $70 million production budget.

Dead Man Down

Dead Man Down is a 2013 American neo-noir thriller crime film written by J.H. Wyman and directed by Danish director Niels Arden Oplev. The film stars Colin Farrell, Noomi Rapace, Dominic Cooper, and Terrence Howard. This is Oplev's first film since The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, also starring Rapace and scored by Jacob Groth. It was released on March 8, 2013.^[3][4][5][6]

The Croods

The Croods is a 2013 American 3D computer-animated adventure comedy film produced by DreamWorks Animation and distributed by 20th Century Fox. It features the voices of Nicolas Cage, Emma Stone, Ryan Reynolds, Catherine Keener, Clark Duke, and Cloris Leachman. The film is set in a fictional prehistoric Pliocene era known as The Croodaceous, a period which contains fantastical creatures, when a man's position as a "Leader of the Hunt" is threatened by the arrival of a prehistoric genius who comes up with revolutionary new inventions, like fire, as they trek through a dangerous but exotic land in search of a new home.

The Croods was written and directed by Kirk DeMicco and Chris Sanders, and produced by Kristine Belson and Jane Hartwell.^[7] The film premiered at the 63rd Berlin International Film Festival on February 15, 2013,^[8] and was released in the United States on March 22, 2013.^[9] As part of thedistribution deal, this became the first film from DreamWorks Animation to be distributed by 20th Century Fox, since the end of their distribution deal with Paramount Pictures.^[3]

The Croods received generally positive reviews, and proved to be a box office success, earning more than $550 million on a budget of $135 million,^[5]and launching a new franchise, with a sequel and TV series already put in development.^[10]

Pain & Gain

Pain & Gain is a 2013 American crime film directed by Michael Bay and starring Mark Wahlberg, Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson and Anthony Mackie. The film is based on a story published in a 1999 series of Miami New Times articles written by Pete Collins and compiled in Collins' 2013 book Pain & Gain – This is a True Story, which details the kidnapping, extortion, torture, and murder of several victims by an organized group of criminals thatincluded a number of bodybuilders affiliated with Sun Gym.^[4][5]

Ice Age: Continental Drift

Ice Age: Continental Drift (or Ice Age 4: Continental Drift or simply Ice Age 4) is a 2012 American 3D computer-animated comedy adventure filmdirected by Steve Martino and Mike Thurmeier. It was written by Jason Fuchs and Michael Berg, and features the voices of Ray Romano, John Leguizamo, Denis Leary, Wanda Sykes, Queen Latifah and Jennifer Lopez.

It is the fourth installment of the Ice Age series, produced by Blue Sky Studios and distributed by 20th Century Fox. It is the first sequel in the series not directed by Carlos Saldanha,^[4] and the second Ice Age installment that utilises Digital 3D. It was released in the US on July 13, 2012, three to six years after its predecessors The Meltdown and Dawn of the Dinosaurs, and ten years after the release of the original Ice Age. This was the firstIce Age film to be presented in the 2.39:1 aspect ratio.

Despite receiving mixed reviews from critics, the film became a huge box office success, with a worldwide gross of over $877 million, marking it the highest grossing animated film of 2012.

Iron Man 3

Iron Man 3 (stylized onscreen as Iron Man Three) is a 2013 American superhero film featuring the Marvel Comics character Iron Man, produced byKevin Feige of Marvel Studios and distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures.¹ It is the sequel to 2008's Iron Man and 2010's Iron Man 2, and the seventh installment in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, being the first major release in the franchise since the crossover film The Avengers.Shane Black directed a screenplay he co-wrote with Drew Pearce and which uses concepts from the "Extremis" story arc by Warren Ellis. Robert Downey, Jr. reprises his role as the title character, with Gwyneth Paltrow and Don Cheadle reprising their roles as Pepper Potts and James Rhodes, respectively. Jon Favreau, who directed the first two films, serves as an executive producer and reprises his role as Happy Hogan. Guy Pearce,Rebecca Hall, Stephanie Szostak, James Badge Dale, and Ben Kingsley round out the film's principal cast.

After the release of Iron Man 2 in May 2010, Favreau decided not to return as director, and in February 2011 Black was hired to rewrite and direct the film. Throughout April and May 2012, the film's supporting cast was filled out, with Kingsley, Pearce, and Hall brought in to portray key roles. Filming began on May 23, 2012 in Wilmington, North Carolina. The film was shot primarily in North Carolina, with additional shooting in Florida, China andLos Angeles. The film's visual effects were handled by 17 companies, including Scanline VFX, Digital Domain, and Weta Digital.

Iron Man 3 was converted to 3D in post-production.^[7] The film premiered at the Grand Rex in Paris on April 14, 2013.^[3] It was internationally released on April 25, 2013 in IMAX^[8] and was released on May 3, 2013 in the United States.

The film was both critically and commercially successful. As of May 2013, it has grossed over $1.1 billion worldwide, becoming the 16th film to gross over $1 billion. It currently ranks as the seventh highest-grossing film of all time and the highest-grossing 2013 film.

Snitch

Snitch is an American crime drama film directed by Ric Roman Waugh and starring Dwayne Johnson. The film was released in the United States onFebruary 22, 2013. The film also stars Barry Pepper, Susan Sarandon, Jon Bernthal, Benjamin Bratt and Michael Kenneth Williams.

G.I. Joe - Retalation

G.I. Joe: Retaliation is a 2013 American science fiction action film directed by Jon M. Chu, based on Hasbro's G.I. Joe toy, comic and media franchises. It is a sequel to 2009's G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra.^[7][8] The film was written by Zombieland writers Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick. G.I. Joe: Retaliation features an ensemble cast, starring Bruce Willis and Dwayne Johnson, with Channing Tatum, Arnold Vosloo, Ray Park, Jonathan Pryce, and Byung-hun Lee reprising their roles from the first film. The film was released in North America on March 28, 2013.

The Expendables

The Expendables is a 2010 American ensemble action film written by David Callaham and Sylvester Stallone, and directed by Stallone. Filming began on March 28, 2009, in Rio de Janeiro, New Orleans, and Los Angeles, and the film was released in theaters on August 13, 2010 in North America. It is the first installment in the Expendables film series.

The film is about a group of elite mercenaries tasked with a mission to overthrow a Latin American dictator whom they soon discover to be a mere puppet controlled by a ruthless ex-CIA officer. It pays tribute to the blockbuster action films of the 1980s and early 1990s, and stars an array of action veterans from those decades, including Stallone, Eric Roberts, Dolph Lundgren, Jet Li, Mickey Rourke, Gary Daniels, Bruce Willis and Arnold Schwarzenegger (Schwarzenegger in a cameo role), as well as more recent stars such as Randy Couture, Jason Statham, Terry Crews, and Steve Austin. It was distributed by Lionsgate.

The Expendables received mixed reviews but was commercially successful, opening at number one at the box office in the United States,^[2] theUnited Kingdom,^[3] China^[4] and India.^[5] A sequel was released on August 17, 2012.

Fast & Furious 6

 

Fast & Furious 6 (alternatively known as Fast Six or Furious Six)^[5] is a 2013 action film written by Chris Morgan and directed by Justin Lin. It is the sixth installment in the Fast and the Furious film series. The film stars Vin Diesel, Paul Walker, Dwayne Johnson, Jordana Brewster, Tyrese Gibson,Michelle Rodriguez, Sung Kang, Chris Bridges, Luke Evans, Gina Carano, and John Ortiz. Fast & Furious 6 follows a professional criminal gang led by Dominic Toretto (Diesel) who have retired following their successful heist in Fast Five (2011), but remain wanted fugitives. U.S. Diplomatic Security Service (DSS) agent Luke Hobbs (Johnson) offers to clear the group's criminal records and allow them to return home in exchange for helping him to take down a skilled mercenary organization led by Owen Shaw (Evans) and his second in command, Dominic's presumed-dead lover Letty Ortiz (Rodriguez).

Fast & Furious 6 was in development by February 2010 as the first film in the series to move away from the underground car-racing theme of the series' previous films which was considered to have placed a barrier on audience numbers. Pre-production had begun by April 2011, and principal photography began in London, England in July 2012. Filming locations also included the Canary Islands, Glasgow, and Los Angeles. The film was first released in the United Kingdom on May 17, 2013, followed by an international release on May 24, 2013. A sequel is scheduled to begin filming in August 2013.