The Best Movies of 2012
by giveaway | created - 24 Dec 2012 | updated - 27 Apr 2020 | Public- Instant Watch Options
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1. Cloud Atlas (2012)
R | 172 min | Drama, Mystery, Sci-Fi
An exploration of how the actions of individual lives impact one another in the past, present and future, as one soul is shaped from a killer into a hero, and an act of kindness ripples across centuries to inspire a revolution.
Directors: Tom Tykwer, Lana Wachowski, Lilly Wachowski | Stars: Tom Hanks, Halle Berry, Hugh Grant, Hugo Weaving
Votes: 373,767 | Gross: $27.11M
2. Life of Pi (2012)
PG | 127 min | Adventure, Drama, Fantasy
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.
Director: Ang Lee | Stars: Suraj Sharma, Irrfan Khan, Adil Hussain, Tabu
Votes: 665,130 | Gross: $124.99M
3. Lincoln (2012)
PG-13 | 150 min | Biography, Drama, History
As the Civil War rages on, U.S President Abraham Lincoln struggles with continuing carnage on the battlefield as he fights with many inside his own cabinet on his decision to emancipate the slaves.
Director: Steven Spielberg | Stars: Daniel Day-Lewis, Sally Field, David Strathairn, Joseph Gordon-Levitt
Votes: 272,088 | Gross: $182.21M
4. Samsara (I) (2011)
PG-13 | 102 min | Documentary, Music
Filmed over nearly five years in twenty-five countries on five continents, and shot on seventy-millimetre film, Samsara transports us to the varied worlds of sacred grounds, disaster zones, industrial complexes, and natural wonders.
Director: Ron Fricke | Stars: Balinese Tari Legong Dancers, Ni Made Megahadi Pratiwi, Puti Sri Candra Dewi, Putu Dinda Pratika
Votes: 37,928 | Gross: $2.67M
5. Argo (2012)
R | 120 min | Biography, Drama, Thriller
Acting under the cover of a Hollywood producer scouting a location for a science fiction film, a CIA agent launches a dangerous operation to rescue six Americans in Tehran during the U.S. hostage crisis in Iran in 1979.
Director: Ben Affleck | Stars: Ben Affleck, Bryan Cranston, John Goodman, Alan Arkin
Votes: 637,918 | Gross: $136.03M
6. Les Misérables (2012)
PG-13 | 158 min | Drama, Musical, Romance
In 19th-century France, Jean Valjean, who for decades has been hunted by the ruthless policeman Javert after breaking parole, agrees to care for a factory worker's daughter. The decision changes their lives forever.
Director: Tom Hooper | Stars: Hugh Jackman, Russell Crowe, Anne Hathaway, Amanda Seyfried
Votes: 345,307 | Gross: $148.81M
7. Beasts of the Southern Wild (2012)
PG-13 | 93 min | Adventure, Drama, Fantasy
Faced with both her hot-tempered father's fading health and melting ice-caps that flood her ramshackle bayou community and unleash ancient aurochs, six-year-old Hushpuppy must learn the ways of courage and love.
Director: Benh Zeitlin | Stars: Quvenzhané Wallis, Dwight Henry, Levy Easterly, Lowell Landes
Votes: 84,988 | Gross: $12.80M
8. Stories We Tell (2012)
PG-13 | 108 min | Documentary
A film that excavates layers of myth and memory to find the elusive truth at the core of a family of storytellers.
Director: Sarah Polley | Stars: Michael Polley, John Buchan, Mark Polley, Joanna Polley
Votes: 14,088 | Gross: $1.60M
9. The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (2012)
PG-13 | 169 min | Adventure, Fantasy
A reluctant Hobbit, Bilbo Baggins, sets out to the Lonely Mountain with a spirited group of dwarves to reclaim their mountain home, and the gold within it from the dragon Smaug.
Director: Peter Jackson | Stars: Martin Freeman, Ian McKellen, Richard Armitage, Andy Serkis
Votes: 870,476 | Gross: $303.00M
10. Moonrise Kingdom (2012)
PG-13 | 94 min | Adventure, Comedy, Drama
Two 12-year-olds, who live on an island, fall in love with each other and elope into the wilderness. While people set out on a search mission, a violent storm approaching them catches their attention.
Director: Wes Anderson | Stars: Jared Gilman, Kara Hayward, Bruce Willis, Bill Murray
Votes: 366,150 | Gross: $45.51M
11. The Body (2012)
Not Rated | 112 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
A detective searches for the body of a femme fatale which has gone missing from a morgue.
Director: Oriol Paulo | Stars: Jose Coronado, Hugo Silva, Belén Rueda, Aura Garrido
Votes: 72,218
12. Amour (2012)
PG-13 | 127 min | Drama
Georges and Anne are an octogenarian couple. They are cultivated, retired music teachers. Their daughter, also a musician, lives in Britain with her family. One day, Anne has a stroke, and the couple's bond of love is severely tested.
Director: Michael Haneke | Stars: Jean-Louis Trintignant, Emmanuelle Riva, Isabelle Huppert, Alexandre Tharaud
Votes: 105,413 | Gross: $6.74M
13. Wadjda (2012)
PG | 98 min | Comedy, Drama
An enterprising Saudi girl signs on for her school's Koran recitation competition as a way to raise the remaining funds she needs in order to buy the green bicycle that has captured her interest.
Director: Haifaa Al-Mansour | Stars: Waad Mohammed, Reem Abdullah, Abdullrahman Al Gohani, Ahd
Votes: 21,433 | Gross: $1.35M
14. The Dark Knight Rises (2012)
PG-13 | 164 min | Action, Drama, Thriller
Eight years after the Joker's reign of chaos, Batman is coerced out of exile with the assistance of the mysterious Selina Kyle in order to defend Gotham City from the vicious guerrilla terrorist Bane.
Director: Christopher Nolan | Stars: Christian Bale, Tom Hardy, Anne Hathaway, Gary Oldman
Votes: 1,820,280 | Gross: $448.14M
15. Silver Linings Playbook (2012)
R | 122 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
After a stint in a mental institution, former teacher Pat Solitano moves back in with his parents and tries to reconcile with his ex-wife. Things get more challenging when Pat meets Tiffany, a mysterious girl with problems of her own.
Director: David O. Russell | Stars: Bradley Cooper, Jennifer Lawrence, Robert De Niro, Jacki Weaver
Votes: 741,088 | Gross: $132.09M
16. The Hunger Games (2012)
PG-13 | 142 min | Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi
Katniss Everdeen voluntarily takes her younger sister's place in the Hunger Games: a televised competition in which two teenagers from each of the twelve Districts of Panem are chosen at random to fight to the death.
Director: Gary Ross | Stars: Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson, Liam Hemsworth, Stanley Tucci
Votes: 1,000,229 | Gross: $408.01M
17. The Perks of Being a Wallflower (2012)
PG-13 | 103 min | Drama
Charlie, a 15-year-old introvert, enters high school and is nervous about his new life. When he befriends his seniors, he learns to cope with his friend's suicide and his tumultuous past.
Director: Stephen Chbosky | Stars: Logan Lerman, Emma Watson, Ezra Miller, Paul Rudd
Votes: 546,251 | Gross: $17.74M
18. Ernest & Celestine (2012)
PG | 80 min | Animation, Adventure, Comedy
The story of an unlikely friendship between a bear, Ernest, and a young mouse named Celestine.
Directors: Stéphane Aubier, Vincent Patar, Benjamin Renner | Stars: Lambert Wilson, Pauline Brunner, Anne-Marie Loop, Patrice Melennec
Votes: 22,191 | Gross: $0.29M
19. The Avengers (2012)
PG-13 | 143 min | Action, Sci-Fi
Earth's mightiest heroes must come together and learn to fight as a team if they are going to stop the mischievous Loki and his alien army from enslaving humanity.
Director: Joss Whedon | Stars: Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Scarlett Johansson, Jeremy Renner
Votes: 1,455,928 | Gross: $623.28M
20. Skyfall (2012)
PG-13 | 143 min | Action, Adventure, Thriller
James Bond's loyalty to M is tested when her past comes back to haunt her. When MI6 comes under attack, 007 must track down and destroy the threat, no matter how personal the cost.
Director: Sam Mendes | Stars: Daniel Craig, Javier Bardem, Naomie Harris, Judi Dench
Votes: 729,537 | Gross: $304.36M
21. Prometheus (I) (2012)
R | 124 min | Adventure, Mystery, Sci-Fi
Following clues to the origin of mankind, a team finds a structure on a distant moon, but they soon realize they are not alone.
Director: Ridley Scott | Stars: Noomi Rapace, Logan Marshall-Green, Michael Fassbender, Charlize Theron
Votes: 642,294 | Gross: $126.48M
22. The Impossible (2012)
PG-13 | 114 min | Drama, History, Thriller
The story of a tourist family in Thailand caught in the destruction and chaotic aftermath of the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami.
Director: J.A. Bayona | Stars: Naomi Watts, Ewan McGregor, Tom Holland, Oaklee Pendergast
Votes: 243,107 | Gross: $19.02M
23. The Sessions (2012)
R | 95 min | Biography, Comedy, Drama
A man in an iron lung who wishes to lose his virginity contacts a professional sex surrogate with the help of his therapist and priest.
Director: Ben Lewin | Stars: John Hawkes, Helen Hunt, William H. Macy, Moon Bloodgood
Votes: 43,948 | Gross: $6.00M
24. The Impossible (2012)
PG-13 | 114 min | Drama, History, Thriller
The story of a tourist family in Thailand caught in the destruction and chaotic aftermath of the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami.
Director: J.A. Bayona | Stars: Naomi Watts, Ewan McGregor, Tom Holland, Oaklee Pendergast
Votes: 243,107 | Gross: $19.02M
25. Take This Waltz (2011)
R | 116 min | Comedy, Drama
A happily married woman falls for the artist who lives across the street.
Director: Sarah Polley | Stars: Michelle Williams, Seth Rogen, Sarah Silverman, Aaron Abrams
Votes: 30,239 | Gross: $1.24M
26. Django Unchained (2012)
R | 165 min | Drama, Western
With the help of a German bounty-hunter, a freed slave sets out to rescue his wife from a brutal plantation owner in Mississippi.
Director: Quentin Tarantino | Stars: Jamie Foxx, Christoph Waltz, Leonardo DiCaprio, Kerry Washington
Votes: 1,686,707 | Gross: $162.81M
27. Zero Dark Thirty (2012)
R | 157 min | Drama, History, Thriller
A chronicle of the decade-long hunt for al-Qaeda terrorist leader Osama bin Laden after the September 2001 attacks, and his death at the hands of the Navy S.E.A.L.s Team 6 in May 2011.
Director: Kathryn Bigelow | Stars: Jessica Chastain, Joel Edgerton, Chris Pratt, Mark Strong
Votes: 318,144 | Gross: $95.72M
28. Salmon Fishing in the Yemen (2011)
PG-13 | 107 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
A fisheries expert is approached by a consultant to help realize a sheik's vision of bringing the sport of fly-fishing to the desert and embarks on an upstream journey of faith and fish to prove the impossible possible.
Director: Lasse Hallström | Stars: Ewan McGregor, Emily Blunt, Amr Waked, Kristin Scott Thomas
Votes: 67,024 | Gross: $9.03M
29. Bernie (2011)
PG-13 | 104 min | Biography, Comedy, Crime
In small-town Texas, an affable mortician strikes up a friendship with a wealthy widow, though when she starts to become controlling, he goes to great lengths to separate himself from her grasp.
Director: Richard Linklater | Stars: Jack Black, Shirley MacLaine, Matthew McConaughey, Brady Coleman
Votes: 63,249 | Gross: $9.20M
30. Rust and Bone (2012)
R | 120 min | Drama, Romance
Put in charge of his young son, Alain leaves Belgium for Antibes to live with his sister and her husband as a family. Alain's bond with Stephanie, a killer whale trainer, grows deeper after Stephanie suffers a horrible accident.
Director: Jacques Audiard | Stars: Marion Cotillard, Matthias Schoenaerts, Armand Verdure, Céline Sallette
Votes: 70,176 | Gross: $2.06M
31. Pitch Perfect (2012)
PG-13 | 112 min | Comedy, Music, Romance
Beca, a freshman at Barden University, is cajoled into joining The Bellas, her school's all-girls singing group. Injecting some much needed energy into their repertoire, The Bellas take on their male rivals in a campus competition.
Director: Jason Moore | Stars: Anna Kendrick, Brittany Snow, Rebel Wilson, Anna Camp
Votes: 329,770 | Gross: $65.00M
32. Laurence Anyways (2012)
Not Rated | 168 min | Drama, Romance
A drama that charts ten years in a transgender woman's relationship with her lover.
Director: Xavier Dolan | Stars: Melvil Poupaud, Emmanuel Schwartz, Suzanne Clément, Nathalie Baye
Votes: 22,140
33. The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel (2011)
PG-13 | 124 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
British retirees travel to India to take up residence in what they believe is a newly restored hotel. Less luxurious than advertised, the Marigold Hotel nevertheless slowly begins to charm in unexpected ways.
Director: John Madden | Stars: Judi Dench, Bill Nighy, Maggie Smith, Tom Wilkinson
Votes: 99,247 | Gross: $46.41M
34. Hitchcock (2012)
PG-13 | 98 min | Biography, Drama, Romance
The relationship between Alfred Hitchcock and his wife Alma Reville during the filming of Psycho (1960) in 1959 is explored.
Director: Sacha Gervasi | Stars: Anthony Hopkins, Helen Mirren, Scarlett Johansson, Danny Huston
Votes: 79,104 | Gross: $6.01M
35. Blancanieves (2012)
PG-13 | 104 min | Drama, Fantasy
A twist on the Snow White fairy tale that is set in 1920s Seville and centered on a female bullfighter.
Director: Pablo Berger | Stars: Maribel Verdú, Emilio Gavira, Daniel Giménez Cacho, Ángela Molina
Votes: 11,608 | Gross: $0.28M
36. Anna Karenina (I) (2012)
R | 129 min | Drama, Romance
In late-19th-century Russian high society, St. Petersburg aristocrat Anna Karenina enters into a life-changing affair with the dashing Count Alexei Vronsky.
Director: Joe Wright | Stars: Keira Knightley, Jude Law, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Matthew Macfadyen
Votes: 106,261 | Gross: $12.82M
37. The First Time (I) (2012)
PG-13 | 95 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
A shy senior and a down-to-earth junior fall in love over one weekend.
Director: Jonathan Kasdan | Stars: Dylan O'Brien, Britt Robertson, Victoria Justice, James Frecheville
Votes: 73,538 | Gross: $0.02M
38. Your Sister's Sister (2011)
R | 90 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
Iris invites her friend Jack to stay at her family's island getaway after his brother's death. Jack's drunken encounter with Iris' sister Hannah at their remote cabin kicks off a revealing stretch of days.
Director: Lynn Shelton | Stars: Mark Duplass, Emily Blunt, Rosemarie DeWitt, Mike Birbiglia
Votes: 28,385 | Gross: $1.57M
39. What's in a Name? (2012)
PG | 109 min | Comedy, Drama
Vincent is about to become a father. At a meeting with childhood friends he announces the name for his future son. The scandalous name ignites a discussion which surfaces unpleasant matters from the past of the group.
Directors: Alexandre de La Patellière, Matthieu Delaporte | Stars: Patrick Bruel, Valérie Benguigui, Charles Berling, Guillaume de Tonquédec
Votes: 18,222
40. Ruby Sparks (2012)
R | 104 min | Comedy, Drama, Fantasy
A novelist struggling with writer's block finds romance in a most unusual way: by creating a female character he thinks will love him, then willing her into existence.
Directors: Jonathan Dayton, Valerie Faris | Stars: Paul Dano, Zoe Kazan, Annette Bening, Antonio Banderas
Votes: 105,277 | Gross: $2.54M
41. Two Lives (2012)
Unrated | 97 min | Drama, Thriller
As the Berlin Wall crumbles, Katrine, the daughter of a Norwegian woman and a German occupation soldier, finds her idyllic life disrupted as she refuses to testify a trial against the Norwegian state on behalf of her fellow "war children."
Directors: Georg Maas, Judith Kaufmann | Stars: Juliane Köhler, Liv Ullmann, Sven Nordin, Ken Duken
Votes: 3,250 | Gross: $0.00M
42. The Act of Killing (2012)
Not Rated | 117 min | Documentary, Biography, Crime
A documentary which challenges former Indonesian death-squad leaders to reenact their mass-killings in whichever cinematic genres they wish, including classic Hollywood crime scenarios and lavish musical numbers.
Directors: Joshua Oppenheimer, Anonymous, Christine Cynn | Stars: Anwar Congo, Herman Koto, Syamsul Arifin, Ibrahim Sinik
Votes: 40,690 | Gross: $0.49M
43. Liberal Arts (2012)
PG-13 | 97 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
When 30-something Jesse returns to his alma mater for a professor's retirement party, he falls for Zibby, a college student, and is faced with a powerful attraction that springs up between them.
Director: Josh Radnor | Stars: Josh Radnor, Elizabeth Olsen, Zac Efron, Elizabeth Reaser
Votes: 40,196 | Gross: $0.32M
44. Quartet (2012)
PG-13 | 98 min | Comedy, Drama, Music
At a home for retired musicians, the annual concert to celebrate Composer Giuseppe Verdi's birthday is disrupted by the arrival of Jean (Dame Maggie Smith), an eternal diva and the former wife of one of the residents.
Director: Dustin Hoffman | Stars: Maggie Smith, Michael Gambon, Billy Connolly, Tom Courtenay
Votes: 21,162 | Gross: $18.39M
45. Seeking a Friend for the End of the World (2012)
R | 101 min | Adventure, Comedy, Drama
As an asteroid nears Earth, a man finds himself alone after his wife leaves in a panic. He decides to take a road trip to reunite with his high school sweetheart. Accompanying him is a neighbor who inadvertently puts a wrench in his plan.
Director: Lorene Scafaria | Stars: Steve Carell, Keira Knightley, Melanie Lynskey, Patton Oswalt
Votes: 118,607 | Gross: $6.62M
46. A Late Quartet (2012)
R | 105 min | Drama, Music
Members of a world-renowned string quartet struggle to stay together in the face of death, competing egos, and insuppressible lust.
Director: Yaron Zilberman | Stars: Philip Seymour Hoffman, Christopher Walken, Catherine Keener, Mark Ivanir
Votes: 15,306 | Gross: $1.56M
47. What Maisie Knew (2012)
R | 99 min | Drama
In New York City, a young girl is caught in the middle of her parents' bitter custody battle.
Directors: Scott McGehee, David Siegel | Stars: Julianne Moore, Alexander Skarsgård, Steve Coogan, Joanna Vanderham
Votes: 28,587 | Gross: $1.07M
48. The Place Beyond the Pines (2012)
R | 140 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller
A motorcycle stunt rider turns to robbing banks as a way to provide for his ex and their newborn, a decision that sets him on a collision course with an ambitious rookie cop navigating a department ruled by a corrupt detective.
Director: Derek Cianfrance | Stars: Ryan Gosling, Bradley Cooper, Eva Mendes, Craig Van Hook
Votes: 289,433 | Gross: $21.38M
49. Haute Cuisine (2012)
PG-13 | 95 min | Biography, Comedy
The story of Danièle Delpeuch and how she was appointed as the private chef for François Mitterrand.
Director: Christian Vincent | Stars: Catherine Frot, Arthur Dupont, Jean d'Ormesson, Hippolyte Girardot
Votes: 6,849 | Gross: $0.21M
50. A Royal Affair (2012)
R | 137 min | Biography, Drama, History
A young queen, who is married to an insane king, falls secretly in love with her physician - and together they start a revolution that changes a nation forever.
Director: Nikolaj Arcel | Stars: Alicia Vikander, Mads Mikkelsen, Mikkel Boe Følsgaard, Trine Dyrholm
Votes: 50,577 | Gross: $1.55M
51. Barbara (I) (2012)
PG-13 | 105 min | Drama
A doctor working in 1980s East Germany finds herself banished to a small country hospital.
Director: Christian Petzold | Stars: Nina Hoss, Ronald Zehrfeld, Rainer Bock, Christina Hecke
Votes: 15,889
52. No (I) (2012)
R | 118 min | Drama, History
An advertising executive comes up with a campaign to defeat Augusto Pinochet in Chile's 1988 referendum.
Director: Pablo Larraín | Stars: Gael García Bernal, Alfredo Castro, Antonia Zegers, Luis Gnecco
Votes: 26,179 | Gross: $2.34M
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