Past performance is the best indicator of future results. This old human resources saying could well be applied to how movies fare at the box office.
So before Life! peers into the murky depths of the crystal ball to pick the top-grossing films of 2012, it would be instructive to take a quick look at the box-office champs for last year.
Film franchises overwhelmingly dominated the top 10 list with sequels and prequels taking up nine of the 10 spots, including champ Transformers: Dark Of The Moon.
Mr Rudy Marianto, vice-president of film marketing at Shaw Organisation, notes: “When the first instalment performs well at the box office, there will be this certain level of expectation created and the audience will definitely look forward to the subsequent films.”
This bodes well for the latest entries of popular franchises including The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 2, the new James Bond movie Skyfall, The Dark Knight Rises and Wrath Of The Titans.
Superhero films had a strong showing with X-Men: First Class, Thor and Captain America: The First Avenger. This makes Marvel’s The Avengers a no-brainer pick for the 2012 hit list, given that its super cast includes Thor, Captain America and Iron Man, from other successful movie franchises.
No Asian film cracked the overall top 10, although in past years, there has usually been an entry or two. In 2010, the period action flick Ip Man 2 made it to No. 6, while in 2008, Jack Neo’s Money No Enough 2 was No. 4 and Stephen Chow’s comic fantasy CJ7 was at No. 10.
Considering the strong hold that the supernatural continues to have in Singapore – three of the top 10 grossing Asian films last year had ghostly themes – a dark horse contender for the 2012 chart would be Sadako 3-D, featuring the creepy long-haired character from the Japanese horror classic The Ring (1998).
While The Hunger Games and The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey are not sequels, neither are they unknown entities as both are based on popular novels. In addition, The Hobbit is a return to the realm of Middle Earth that was the setting for the massively popular The Lord Of The Rings film adaptations.

THE HUNGER GAMES
When: March 22
Who: Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson
What: This is the film adaptation of the popular 2008 young adult adventure sci-fi novel of the same name by Suzanne Collins. In a post-apocalyptic world, 16-year-old Katniss Everdeen (Lawrence) is forced to take part in a nationally televised tournament in which life and death are the stakes.
Why:
According to a poll by MTV’s Nextmovie.com, The Hunger Games is the most anticipated movie of 2012. Here in Singapore, the book emerged as the winner in the Senior category of the 2010 inaugural Red Dot Awards organised by the International Schools’ Librarians Network.
So while it might not be a franchise yet – there are two more novels in the trilogy – there is plenty of awareness and anticipation for the movie.

WRATH OF THE TITANS
When: March 29
Who: Sam Worthington, Liam Neeson
What: Demigod Perseus (Worthington) has to journey to the underworld to save his father Zeus (Neeson) from the clutches of the Titans.
Why:
Despite being lambasted for its 3-D conversion which was done after filming was completed, the remake of the cheesy 1981 flick of gods and monsters was still a big hit in Singapore. It earned $5.29 million and was the third highest-grossing movie for 2010.
Clash memorably featured the Kraken sea creature and the immortal line “Release the Kraken!”. The law of sequels dictates that Wrath will have to feature a meaner and more awesome monster.

MARVEL’S THE AVENGERS
When: May 1
Who: Robert Downey Jr, Chris Evans, Scarlett Johansson, Chris Hemsworth
What: It takes a team of superheroes – Iron Man (Downey), Captain America (Evans), Black Widow (Johansson), Thor (Hemsworth), Hulk (Mark Ruffalo) – to save the world when an unexpected enemy threatens global security.
Why:
Iron Man is already a successful franchise in its own right. Iron Man 2 was the top-grossing film here in 2010, while Iron Man was the No. 2 movie for 2008. In addition, both Captain America and Thor can also lay claim to having their own hit movies.
The macho posturing of the cocky superheroes should be fun to watch while Johansson injects some womanly wiles into the testosterone-heavy project.

MADAGASCAR 3: EUROPE’S MOST WANTED
When: June 7
Who: Voices of Ben Stiller, Chris Rock, David Schwimmer, Jada Pinkett Smith
What: Alex the Lion (Stiller), Marty the Zebra (Rock), Melman the Giraffe (Schwimmer) and Gloria the Hippopotamus (Pinkett Smith) set out to return to New York from Africa by way of a circus travelling through Europe.
Why:
In the battle of the animated sequels – Madagascar 3 versus Ice Age 4 – the zoo animals might just edge out the prehistoric ones. Madagascar: Escape To Africa was 2008’s No. 5 movie while Ice Age 3: Dawn Of The Dinosaurs was 2009’s No. 7 movie.
Besides, a longer absence could well make the heart grow fonder.

THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN
When: July 3
Who: Andrew Garfield, Emma Stone
What: It is the fourth Columbia Pictures film about the web-slinging hero and the first one with Garfield stepping into the shoes Tobey Maguire had previously filled. Instead of the familiar Mary Jane Watson, the reboot has Stone in the love interest role of high school classmate Gwen Stacy.
Why:
The earlier three Spider-Man films (2002, 2004, 2007) only made about US$2.5 billion (S$3.2 billion) worldwide. Spider-Man 3 grossed an impressive $7.82 million to top the box office charts here in 2007.
The brand of the series is so strong that the new movie will survive the change of lead actor. Whether it can scale new heights at the box office will be the bigger question.

THE DARK KNIGHT RISES
When: July 19
Who: Christian Bale, Anne Hathaway, Tom Hardy
What: Eight years after the events of The Dark Knight (2008), Bruce Wayne/Batman returns to Gotham to face down Selina Kyle (Hathaway) and Bane (Hardy) – two villains from the Batman mythology.
Why:
This is the concluding chapter to Christopher Nolan’s acclaimed take on Batman. Batman Begins was the No. 8 movie in Singapore in 2005 and its sequel, The Dark Knight, moved up to the No. 3 position in 2008.
The poster is clever and the trailer promises awe-inducing action and destruction as well as Hathaway whispering that “there’s a storm coming”.

SADAKO 3-D
When: Aug
Who: Satomi Ishihara, Koji Seto
What: The Japanese horror classic The Ring (1998) was based on the 1991 novel of the same name by Koji Suzuki. He has reportedly scripted a completely new story for Sadako, who is the creepy long-haired character who appeared in The Ring.
Why:
The scene of Sadako crawling out of a television remains indelibly etched in the minds of those who saw The Ring. Now imagine this in 3-D. Just the thought is enough to induce goosebumps.
The story of a cursed videotape proved irresistible and it led to two Japanese sequels as well as American and Korean remakes.

SKYFALL
When: Nov 1
Who: Daniel Craig, Javier Bardem
What: Superspy James Bond’s (Craig) loyalty to M (Judi Dench) is tested as her past comes back to haunt her. Bardem plays the baddie.
Why:
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy with Gary Oldman might get more critical acclaim but this action-packed spy thriller is likely to accomplish the mission at the box office. The last Bond outing, Quantum Of Solace, was No. 8 on the 2008 box office chart here.
Skyfall is the 23rd James Bond film and Craig is back for his third outing as the suave spy. Naomie Harris and Berenice Marlohe are the latest in a long line of sexy Bond girls.

THE TWILIGHT SAGA: BREAKING DAWN - PART 2
When: Nov 22
Who: Robert Pattinson, Kristen Stewart, Taylor Lautner
What: The conclusion to the romantic fantasy films based on Stephenie Meyer’s novels as vampire Edward (Pattinson) and human Bella’s (Stewart) child threatens both the werewolf pack and the vampire coven.
Why:
While Part 1 did not crack the top 10 list in Singapore last year 2011, Part 2 might given that it is the concluding chapter to a popular series, and it is the last chance for Team Edward and Team Jacob (Lautner plays the werewolf Jacob) to show their love.
After all, Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows: Part 2, the final salvo in that wizarding fantasy, was the third highest-grossing film for 2011.

THE HOBBIT: AN UNEXPECTED JOURNEY
When: Dec 13
Who: Martin Freeman, Ian McKellen
What: The Hobbit Bilbo Baggins (Freeman) is approached by the wizard Gandalf the Grey (McKellen) to reclaim a lost treasure from the fearsome dragon Smaug.
Why:
J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord Of The Rings trilogy was turned into a critical and popular hit by Peter Jackson. The Lord Of The Rings: The Return Of The King won 11 Oscars including for Best Picture and Best Director in 2004. It was also the top-grossing film in Singapore in 2003.
The Hobbit is also set in the universe of Middle Earth and helmed by Jackson. This is as sure a bet for box-office gold as one can imagine, short of a superhero sequel.
(ST)