Club 50 Wrap Up: 2012

Years Completed:
2003 | 2010 | 2012 | 2013

This is the fourth year now that I've completed for my Club 50 Project. I was able to finish 2012 pretty quickly for the same reasons 2013 went so fast. I'd like to complete something in the 90s or 80s next. We'll see though.

While 2013 felt too recent, 2012 is long enough ago to have several sequels come out already. It's basically a whole cycle ago in Hollywood and I can have more of an outside perspective on it. It was a good year of both blockbusters and prestige. Seven of the nine Oscar nominees for best picture were comfortably in the top 50 with six of those making >$100 million (Lincoln, Django Unchained, Les Miserables, Argo, Silver Linings Playbook, Life of Pi). Sequels were still present, but not as strong as some years with only 15 of the top 50 being sequels. That's partly because at least 10 other movies were either made with the intention of being franchises or have had sequels made already. Animation didn't dominate like some years with nothing in the top 5, two movies barely in the top 10 (Brave, Madagascar 3), and seven total in the top 50. While the superhero movies weren't everywhere, the few that came out were huge. The Avengers and The Dark Knight Rises alone were nearly 10% of the box office gross that year. 2012 will be remembered by some as the year that Taylor Kitsch failed to become a movie star with the dual bombs Battleship and John Cater (the latter being a bad situation, not a bad movie). For me, the most interesting thing about the year is how much I liked in it that did so well. The list of risky movies that did well goes on and on from Pitch Perfect to Looper to Magic Mike to Silver Linings Playbook, 21 Jump Street, Lincoln, and Ted. Sure, some of these look like guarantees now. At the time, they weren't. Remember, history is written by the winners, so context matters.

To wind down each year as I complete them, I'm going to hand out a few superlatives or anecdotal awards to highlight some of the highs and lows of the year's top 50 box office earners.

First Seen: 21 Jump Street

You'll be seeing this one a few times. It took a while before I moved on from the Oscar players. It wasn't until March that I saw anything in theaters that made the top 50. This was a good start.

Last Seen: Rise of the Guardians

I didn't see the appeal at the time. It still made over $100 million in the box office, but it sort of marked the beginning of Dreamworks Animations' slide down from box office behemoth that it was in the Shrek days.

Happiest Surprise: 21 Jump Street

I strongly considered putting another Channing Tatum movie here: The Vow. That was a fairly standard romance movie that somehow felt fresh. Perhaps it was the lack of Nicholas Sparks to it. No, there's only one logical choice here. 21 Jump Street shouldn't've worked. It was another reboot of a happily dead franchise. Thanks to surprisingly great casting (this was sort of a comic coming-out party for Channing Tatum), a smart script, and loose direction, this came out of nowhere to be a big hit.

Biggest Disappointment: The Amazing Spider-Man

Sure, it already did feel too soon to be rebooting the franchise, but after Spider-Man 3, I was ready to start over. Andrew Garfield had potential to be a good Spider-Man and the movie had Emma Stone, who is impossible for me to hate. It's a shame that nearly every bit of plotting turned me off and the dialogue was as strained and uncomfortable as I've seen in a superhero movie.

Looked Better Then: The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey

I'm not going to pretend we all walked into this open arms, but there was curiosity. It was an entertaining enough beginning. The problem is that the payoff of the trilogy was so underwhelming that I can no longer forgive such sleepy start.

Looks Better Now: Pitch Perfect

This was a word of mouth success that slowly built a decent box office haul. Since then, that cup song took over, a complete Rebel Wilson hype-cycle has already run its course, and the sequel tripled the first in the box office.

Favorite: Looper

It blew me away the first time I saw it. It still impresses me. This is the most Bruce Willis has tried in at least a decade and probably the closest a movie has gotten to explaining why I like Joseph Gordon Levitt so much.

2nd Favorite: 21 Jump Street

This movie had no business being this funny. Jonah Hill guides the whole damn thing. Tatum revealed his comedic chops. It's the first time Ice Cube has successfully used his NWA persona in
 a comedy. Nick Offerman's cameo is great. The movie introduced me to Brie Larson and for that, I'm eternally grateful. So much works in movie.

3rd Favorite: The Dark Knight Rises

It was never going to be The Dark Knight, especially with the ghost of Heath Leger hanging over it. It's still an excellent conclusion to Christopher Nolan's epic trilogy. Other people can keep their mixed opinions about it. I loved it.

Honorable Mention:

Pitch Perfect

Where did this movie come from? I still don't know. It cemented Anna Kendrick as a star, brought Brittany Snow back from wherever she was hiding, and formally introduced the world to Rebel Wilson.

This Is 40

I'm a sucker for a Judd Apatow movie. The things that other people hated about it (too long, meandering story, weak conflict) I loved. It's a simple movie about specific problems and isn't in a hurry to get to the point. And you can always rely on Apatow to put together a stellar cast.

Marvel's The Avengers

There's no way this movie could work. Marvel played the long-con and it worked in every way. The success of this has had a dramatic effect on Hollywood, for better or worse, that we're still only beginning to understand.

Argo

One of the best examples winning an Oscar for simply being a good movie. I can't tell you what it did that was so great. It was damn enjoyable. That's all I've got.

Least Favorite: The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 2

There's a number of movies that disappointed me. Sequels especially didn't fair well. MIB 3, Taken 2, and The Bourne Legacy proved that there wasn't a need to keep those franchises going. Act of Valor was a Marine recruitment video that happened to make $70 million on hoo-rah! alone. I have to go with the end of the Twilight Saga. It's not a franchise that I ever enjoyed. Something about the dream battle-sequence in this one especially rubbed me the wrong way. These weren't good movies. I'm not going to get any deeper than that.