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.

We’re continuing on with our weeklong preview of the upcoming 85th Academy Awards, and after running down both acting categories it’s time to take look at some of the other races.  Today we’ll be looking at the Best Animated Feature, Best Adapted Screenplay, and Best Original Screenplay categories in depth, and I’ll also make some way-too-early quick picks in the technical categories.  The fun begins after the jump.

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.

This week on Blu-ray, Wes Anderson’s latest comes to home video, the highest grossing film of all time gets a non-exclusive 3D release, and the Christmas season officially begins with a holiday favorite Blu-ray upgrade.  Here’s a brief look at this week’s offerings:

• Avatar (3D Blu-ray + Blu-ray/ DVD Combo Pack) – 24.99 (38% off)
• Chernobyl Diaries (Blu-ray/DVD Combo + UltraViolet Digital Copy) - $19.96 (45% off)
• A League of Their Own [Blu-ray] – $13.99 (30% off)
• Looney Tunes Platinum Collection: Volume Two [Blu-ray] – $30.99 (31% off)
• Mad Men: Season Five [Blu-ray] – $29.99 (40% off)
• Madagascar 3: Europe’s Most Wanted (Three-Disc Blu-ray 3D / Blu-ray / DVD Combo + Digital Copy + UltraViolet) – $27.99 (49% off)
• Moonrise Kingdom (Two-Disc Combo Pack: Blu-ray + DVD + Digital Copy + UltraViolet) – $19.99 (43% off)
• Pete’s Dragon: 35th Anniversary Edition [Blu-ray] – $17.99 (40% off)
• Santa Clause [Blu-ray] – $14.85 (26% off)
• That’s My Boy [Blu-ray] – $19.96 (45% off)

Hit the jump for all the details.

Not even close. For the second weekend in a row, DreamWorks Animation’s Madagascar 3: Europe’s Most Wanted is America’s number one attraction; down just 41% with an estimate of $35.5 million. Though down a much more substantial 60%, Fox’s Prometheus managed to hold on to second place thanks to two widely underperforming debuts. Those would be Rock of Ages and That’s My Boy which, even when combined, couldn’t come close to challenging for first place.

After one week of positive box office performance with the debuts of Madagascar 3 and Prometheus, things have gone back to bleak. That’s because each of this weekend’s new titles stumbled badly on their first day in theatres. Neither Rock of Ages, the PG-13 musical starring Tom Cruise, nor That’s My Boy, the R-rated comedy starring Adam Sandler, managed to shine: Rock of Ages earned an estimated $5.3 million from 3,470 locations while That’s My Boy took in just $4.6 million from 3,030. To illustrate how bad those numbers are for a summer movie, The Three Stooges earned more ($5.6 million) on its first Friday… in April. Granted, mid-June is not exactly a box office hot spot but even Mr. Popper’s Penguins managed a $6.3 million debut at this time last year. So, instead of the $25 to $30 million that these titles were aiming for, they will now be lucky to see their weekend totals rise above the mid-teens. Of course, this is great news for Madagascar 3, which will continue to hold the top spot on the weekend chart for a second week in a row.  Full details and analysis tomorrow.

After winning Friday by a nose, Fox’s Prometheus slipped into second this weekend with an estimated $50 million from 3,396 locations. That gives Madagascar 3: Europe’s Most Wanted the win with a reported $60.3 million from 4,258 dates and puts overall box office receipts more than 30% ahead of 2011.

Estimates are in for this weekend’s two new wide releases and, for the moment, they have Fox’s R-rated Prometheus slightly ahead with $21.4 million compared to the $20.4 million of Dreamworks Animation’s Madagascar 3: Europe’s Most Wanted. This is great news for Prometheus which is now all but guaranteed to gross over $50 million through Sunday; this despite the fact that Fox had been hinting that $40 million would be a stretch. Why the low expectations? To begin with, Madagascar 3 had a screen count advantage: launching in 4,258 locations to Prometheus’ 3,396. Then there’s that R-rating, which is commonly held to be the harbinger of middling grosses. Instead, Ridley Scott’s Alien prequel took in $3.5 million from its midnight premieres alone – double that of last weekend’s Snow White and the Huntsman. Of course, if Friday’s estimates are good news for Prometheus they are even better for Madagascar 3. Because of the film’s screen count and more-accessible PG-rating, Dreamworks’ latest is expected to take the weekend with around $60 million.  We’ll have full details and analysis tomorrow.

We’ve got a bunch of new posters for you on this fine Friday morning.  After the jump, you can find international posters for Rock of Ages, Men in Black 3, Iron Sky, Chernobyl Diaries, Ted, and domestic posters for Ted and Madagascar 3: Europe’s Most Wanted.

Hit the jump to check out the posters and for each film’s release date and synopsis.

The Cannes Film Festival is about to get underway, and studios are rolling out their promotional material to make sure that those attending screenings of the festival’s films don’t forget about the studio releases that are still to come later this year.  Our correspondent Magdalena (who you can follow on twitter) walked around the area of the festival earlier today and snapped some photos of the posters and billboards that are on display.  In addition to a really cool banner for Quentin Tarantino’s Django Unchained, she also brought us our first look at the Tom Cruise thriller One Shot, based on the popular Jack Reacher character book series from author Lee Child.  Moreover, there’s a pretty great set-up for the Sacha Baron Cohen comedy The Dictator outside one of the Carlton hotel.

Hit the jump to check out posters and billboards for The Amazing Spider-Man, Madagascar 3: Europe’s Most Wanted, G.I. Joe: Retaliation, and more.

Last night at CinemaCon 2012, Paramount and DreamWorks Animation showed off footage from their upcoming 2012 movies including director Christopher McQuarrie‘s One Shot (starring Tom Cruise), Sacha Baron Cohen‘s The Dictator, Madagascar 3: Europe’s Most Wanted, Rise of the Guardians, and G.I. Joe: Retaliation.

In addition to the footage, if you’re a fan of J.J. Abrams Star Trek and anxiously awaiting the sequel, during a tribute to a retiring Paramount executive, Abrams was interviewed on set wearing a very cool Star Trek 2 crew hat.  While he was only on screen for a few seconds, it was clear he was on the deck of the Enterprise, the hat had a number 2 in the front, and I immediately wanted to own one.  Hit the jump for more.

A new trailer and poster for Madagascar 3: Europe’s Most Wanted have gone online.  The Madagascar movies aren’t going to redefine animation or family films, but I still giggled thoughtout this trailer.  I found the first movie surprisingly enjoyable, but the sequel was a letdown.  Judging by the trailer, Europe’s Most Wanted looks like a bit of silly fun, and I’m absolutely fine with that.

Hit the jump to watch the trailer and check out the poster. The film features the voices of Ben Stiller, David Schwimmer, Chris Rock, Jada Pinkett Smith, Sacha Baron Cohen, Frances McDormand, Bryan Cranston, Jessica Chastain and Martin Short. Madagascar 3: Europe’s Most Wanted opens on June 8th.

After years of playing little sister to Pixar, Dreamworks Animation has finally come out on top, securing Oscar nominations for both Puss and Boots and Kung Fu Panda 2 in 2011. Riding high on the financial and critical success of these films, the studio invited press to the Director’s Guild of America the other day for a preview of their 2012 slate.

During the presentation, we saw about 25 minutes of the anthropomorphized crime caper, Madagascar 3: Europe’s Most Wanted and the premiere of the first footage from Rise of the Guardians, an epic new William Joyce (Meet the Robinsons) adaptation that focuses on the battle between holiday figureheads and the boogieman.  Hit the jump for a breakdown of the footage and some thoughts.

2012 has begun and that means fresh optimism!  Fresh movies!  Fresh images from those movies!  After the jump you’ll find 21 new images from upcoming movies like  The Hunger Games, Men in Black 3, Rock of Ages, The Five-Year Engagement, The Gangster Squad, and plenty more (for our purposes, plenty =  16).

We’ve got a couple of casting stories to bring you this afternoon. First up, Jessica Chastain, Bryan Cranston, and Martin Short have been added to the voice cast of DreamWorks Animation’s Madagascar 3: Europe’s Most Wanted. It’s a curious bit of news, as the film hits theaters in a matter of months and a full trailer has already been released, but I’m assuming the three are up for minor roles. Heat Vision’s report doesn’t specify what characters Chastain, Cranston, and Short will be lending their voices to, but Ben Stiller, Chris Rock, David Schwimmer, Jada Pinkett Smith, and Sacha Baron Cohen are all reprising their roles from the first two films.

The plot finds the zoo animals yet again trying to make their way back to New York City, but this time they find themselves on the wrong side of the law in Europe. Frances McDormand voices the villain in the pic, which hits theaters June 8th. Hit the jump for casting news regarding Ben Stiller’s directorial project The Secret Life of Walter Mitty.