It’s January 1, 2013, which means that 2012 is now officially in the rear-view mirror.  Quality-wise, it was a stellar year in film, and with over a month to go before the Oscars there’s still an exciting air of unpredictability surrounding the awards contenders.  2012 wasn’t so shabby box office-wise either, and we thought today would be a nice time to take a look back at the year’s highest grossing films, lowest grossing films, and everything in between.  This year saw a few comedy surprises, the highest grossing Steven Spielberg drama in a long time, a couple of superhero megahits, and the glorious disaster that was Oogieloves.  Hit the jump to take a look at 2012’s Box Office in Review.

This week on Blu-ray Bourne comes home, a Judd Apatow-produced 90s favorite gets an update, and Family Guy creator Seth MacFarlane’s big-screen debut hits home video.  Briefly:

• The Bourne Legacy (Two-Disc Combo Pack: Blu-ray + DVD + Digital Copy + UltraViolet) – $19.99 (43% off)
• Dick Tracy (Blu-ray + Digital Copy) – $18.99 (28% off)
• Following (Criterion Collection) [Blu-ray] – $20.99 (47% off)
• Futurama: Volume 7 [Blu-ray]- $19.99 (50% off)
• Girls: The Complete First Season (Blu-ray/DVD Combo + Digital Copy) – $22.99 (54% off)
• Heavyweights [Blu-ray] – $17.28 (14% off)
• Ice Age: Continental Drift (3D Combo Pack) [Blu-ray] – $24.99 (50% off)
• Ice Age: Continental Drift [Blu-ray] – $21.99 (45% off)
• Les Miserables [Blu-ray] – $14.99 (25% off)
• Ted (Two-Disc Combo Pack: Blu-ray + DVD + Digital Copy + UltraViolet) – $19.99 (43% off)

Hit the jump for all the details.

With the number of Academy screenings picking up and the holiday season fast approaching, we’re starting to get into the thick of awards season.  A full list of the animated films submitted for the Best Animated Feature Oscar consideration has now been unveiled, and it looks like we’ll see 21 films vie for the coveted trophy.  The films include the big studio releases like Brave, Frankenweenie, and Madagascar 3: Europe’s Most Wanted, as well as Studio Ghibli’s From Up on Poppy Hill and the adult-oriented A Liar’s Autobiography: The Untrue Story of Monty Python’s Graham Chapman.

It’s been a strong year for animated features, and Pixar is in no way a lock to take home the trophy for Brave given the film’s fairly lukewarm reception. It’s probably safe to assume that Brave will be still be nominated, and I’d venture to say ParaNorman and the upcoming Wreck-It Ralph and Rise of the Guardians are also pretty good bets as well.  Hit the jump to check out the full list of animated films under Academy consideration, and be sure to leave your thoughts on the Best Animated Feature race in the comments.  Nominations for the 85th Academy Awards will be announced on January 10th.

The Expendables 2 was the easy winner this weekend with an estimated $28.7 million – though that figure fell short of its pre-release expectations. Sparkle and ParaNorman also came in a bit under projections but, overall, the box office managed to stay ahead of 2011’s totals… exactly the kind of exciting end-of-summer we were all imagining, right?

With Ice Age: Continental Drift the only wide release of the weekend, any wonder it’s number one? The fourth installment in Fox’s decade-old animated franchise took in an estimated $46 million from 3,881 locations. That’s a bit below the average debut of the first three Ice Age films and noticeably lower than this year’s other animated hits; but with international numbers steering the sequel past $300 million global by Sunday, no one at Fox is sweating the small stuff.

Only one major new release entered theatres this weekend, no doubt to leave room for a certain Dark Knight’s rise next Friday. Ice Age: Continental Drift opened in 3,880 locations (70% in 3D) on Friday and earned an estimated $16.5 million. Considering that Continental Drift is the fourth entry in Fox’s ten year-old Ice Age franchise, that’s a solid opening that promises to build to approximately $45 million by Sunday. That would be higher than the studio’s initial projection for Ice Age 4 and higher than their previous installment, Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs, managed back in 2009. That third feature (the first to feature 3D) went on to make just under $200 million in the US and a record-breaking $690 million on its international run. So far, Ice Age 4 has also been burning up the foreign charts, grossing a reported $238 million internationally in the past two weeks. We’ll have more details and analysis tomorrow.

A few fleeting seconds from The Simpsons 3D short The Longest Daycare arrived on the web today. Debuting in advance of Ice Age: Continental Drift on July 13, the dialogue-free 4 and a half-minute adventure will follow Maggie Simpson as she returns to the “Ayn Rand School for Tots.” Upon entry, our pint-sized hero is pegged as “Nothing Special” by a security/potential scan. Keeping with their pre-established motto of “Helping is futile,” she’s left to fend for herself in the school’s least savory wing; here she must truly develop the bottle within to survive a confrontation with arch nemesis Gerald (aka that baby with the unibrow). Hit the jump for a super-quick preview of The Longest Daycare…and seriously, try not to blink.

The second full trailer for Ice Age: Continental Drift has been released.  The fourth installment in the Ice Age franchise finds the kooky characters attempting to survive the breakup of Pangea, when Earth’s supercontinent begins to rift.  Though I’m not the biggest fan of the series, there are more than a few laughs to be found in this latest trailer.  The MVP of the franchise has always been John Leguizamo’s Sid the Sloth, and he shines in this latest clip.  We also get a glimpse of the film’s antagonists, a gang of pirates led by a prehistoric orangutan voiced by Peter Dinklage.

Hit the jump to watch the trailer.  The voice-cast includes Ray Romano, Queen Latifah, Denis Leary, Jennifer Lopez, Chris Wedge, John Leguizamo, Aziz Ansari, Nick Frost, Joy Behar, JB Smoove, Alan Tudyk, Heather Morris, Josh Gad, Kunal Nayyar, Alain Chabat, and hip/hop artist Nicki Minaj. Ice Age: Continental Drift opens in 3D on July 13th.

20th Century Fox is planning to get the buzz out on director Ang Lee’s 3D adaptation of Life of Pi in grand fashion.  Uncut scenes from the film will play exclusively in 3D in front of Prometheus, Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter and Ice Age: Continental Drift, well ahead of its November 21st release.  Apparently the scenes will not be released online, as these clips will only be viewable in 3D in front of the aforementioned Fox films.  It’s an interesting strategy, but given the wildly enthusiastic reaction to 3D footage shown at CinemaCon, Fox is taking precious care of how Life of Pi is released.  Hit the jump for more, including the importance of the theater-going experience.

Do you hear that?  That’s the sound of new images from four 20th Century Fox movies:

• Neighborhood Watch – Ben Stiller, Vince Vaughn, Jonah Hill, and Richard Ayoade star in the alien invasion comedy.
• Life of Pi – Ang Lee is directing the adaptation of Yann Martel‘s fantasy adventure novel with Suraj Sharma in the lead.
• Ice Age: Continental Drift – Ray Romano, John Leguizamo, Denis Leary, and Queen Latifah reprise their characters in the fourth entry in the animated series.
• Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days – Zachary Gordon, Steve Zahn, and Robert Capron are back to depict more of the awkward adventures of middle schooler Greg Heffley

Images after the break.

We’ve got a few new images to share with you today.  Briefly:

• Moonrise Kingdom – Edward Norton, Bruce Willis, Tilda Swinton and Bill Murray star in writer-director Wes Anderson’s latest film.  The story centers on two 12-year-olds who fall in love at summer camp in 1965 and run away together.  The film opens on May 25th.
• Ice Age: Continental Drift – The fourth film in the Ice Age franchise follows the prehistoric characters during the breakup of Pangea and the splitting of the continents.  The film opens in 3D on July 13th.
• Great Hope Springs – Meryl Streep and Tommy Lee Jones star as a married couple seeking a weekend of counseling from a therapist played by Steve Carell.  The film opens on August 10th.
• Ruby Sparks – Directors Valerie Faris and Jonathan Dayton’s long-awaited follow-up to Little Miss Sunshine stars Paul Dano as a creatively blocked, once-great novelist who writes his dream girl (Zoe Kazan) who then comes to life.  The film opens on July 25th.

Hit the jump to check out the new images.

A new trailer for the fourth installment in the Ice Age franchise, Ice Age: Continental Drift, has gone online. In this adventure, Scrat accidentally triggers the breakup of Pangea and thus the splitting of the continents while pursuing that ever-elusive acorn (seriously, there are other acorns in the world, Scrat). This trailer highlights this entry’s newest inhabitants: the Gigantopithecus (an extinct genus of ape). I’m not the biggest fan of the series, but kids seem to love it and the movies make a great deal of money at the box office so I guess there’s an audience for the fourth entry.

Hit the jump to watch the trailer. The voice-cast includes Ray Romano, Queen Latifah, Denis Leary, Jennifer Lopez, Chris Wedge, John Leguizamo, Aziz Ansari, Nick Frost, Joy Behar, JB Smoove, Alan Tudyk, Heather Morris, Josh Gad, Kunal Nayyar, Alain Chabat, and hip/hop artist Nicki Minaj. Ice Age: Continental Drift opens in 3D on July 13th.

Since The Artist is lined-up to win big at the Academy Awards on Sunday, Fox has piggybacked off the silent film to create a parody trailer for their upcoming film Ice Age: Continental Drift.  Like every Ice Age film, the teasers are all based around Scrat trying to get an acorn but being thwarted in his attempts.  It’s very Looney Tunes, and they’re far better than the full-length films, which feature uninteresting characters and flat jokes.  Scrat sells the movie, but the movies barely features Scrat.  It’s a constant bait-and-switch.  However, the franchise has been ridiculous successful and that’s why the fourth film is on the way this summer.

To see Scrat in The Artist-form, check out the trailer after the jump.  The celebrity-packed voice cast includes Ray Romano, Queen Latifah, Denis Leary, Jennifer Lopez, Chris Wedge, John Leguizamo, and Aziz Ansari, Nick Frost, Joy Behar, JB Smoove, Alan Tudyk, Heather Morris, Josh Gad, Kunal Nayyar, Alain Chabat, and hip/hop artist Nicki Minaj.  Ice Age: Continental Drift opens in 3D on July 13th.  A non-parody trailer is due out on March 5th.

We’ve got a couple of new posters to share with you today. First up is an adorably cute one sheet for Ice Age: Continental Drift. The flick is the fourth entry in the Ice Age franchise, and it appears that it may be a sea-set adventure. Steve Martino and Mike Thurmeier are directing the film, which features a voice-cast that includes Ray Romano, Jeremy Renner, Queen Latifah, Denis Leary, Jennifer Lopez, Nick Frost, Josh Gad, John Leguizamo, Aziz Ansari, and many, many others. Ice Age: Continental Drift opens in 3D on July 13th, 2012.

Switching mediums, we’ve also got a poster for the upcoming second season of AMC’s The Walking Dead. For some reason Rick is alone, and running towards a farmhouse, so one can safely assume that things are not well. The series has gone through some very public troubles, with showrunner Frank Darabont being forced out of the show halfway through production on season two. A 90-minute premiere is set for October 16th, but the season is being cut in half with the final six episodes of the 12-episode season set to air starting February 12th. So I guess we’ll call the first half “Frank Darabont’s The Walking Dead” and the back half “Not Frank Darabont’s The Walking Dead.” Anywho, hit the jump to check out the posters.

Actress Rebel Wilson, who was great in Bridesmaids as Kristin Wiig’s roommate, has landed a trio of gigs in the wake of the female-driven comedy’s wild success. THR reports that Wilson has joined the all-star indie comedy Bachelorette, which Will Ferrell and Adam McKay are producing. The film centers on three best friends who are invited to the wedding of a girl they called “Pigface” in high school. Wilson replaces Casey Wilson in the “Pigface” role after scheduling issues forced the latter out. The cast includes Isla Fischer, Kirsten Dunst and Lizzy Caplan as the three girls, as well as scene-stealer Adam Scott. Bachelorette is currently shooting in New York.

Additionally, Wilson is the first person cast in Avenue Q director Jason Moore’s adaptation of the nonfiction book Pitch Perfect. She’ll play a member of a female a capella group named Fat Amy who goes head-to-head against a counterpart from a rival a capella goup (sing-fighting!). Filming is set to get underway this fall in New Orleans. Finally, Wilson is the latest to join the insanely large voice-cast of Ice Age: Continental Drift. The film opens July 13, 2012. Hit the jump for a synopsis of Pitch Perfect.