‘Gangster Squad’
<strong>Release Date:</strong> 01/11/2013 <strong>What It’s About:</strong> From director Ruben Fleischer (“Zombieland”), “Gangster Squad” follows a group of 1940s rouge cops (Ryan Gosling, Josh Brolin) who will stop at nothing to catch L.A.’s most wanted criminal (Sean Penn).
‘Movie 43’
<strong>Release Date:</strong> 01/25/2013 <strong>What It’s About:</strong> Starring 28 (!) celebrities, directors ranging from Peter Farrelly to James Gunn to Brett Ratner plumb the depths of the “ensemble comedy” to bring you just pure and total insanity. There’s bathroom humor galore, leprechauns, sexually transmitted diseases — a regular cornucopia of comedy.
‘Identity Thief’
<strong>Release Date:</strong> 02/08/2013 <strong>What It’s About:</strong> From “Horrible Bosses” director, Seth Gordon, Jason Bateman plays a man whose identity has been stolen by a frosted-hair shop-a-holic, played by Melissa McCarthy.
‘A Good Day to Die Hard’
<strong>Release Date:</strong> 02/14/2013 <strong>What It’s About:</strong> John McClane is heading to Russia, with his son, played by Jai Courtney, and soon finds himself amid something familiar: terrorist hijinks.
‘Oz: The Great and Powerful’
<strong>Release Date:</strong> 03/08/2013 <strong>What It’s About:</strong> James Franco stars as Oscar Diggs, a conniving magician who has his own black-and-white tornado-of-sorts and ends up in the world of Oz and attempts to become the great wizard of his dreams.
‘Pain and Gain’
<strong>Release Date:</strong> 04/26/2013 <strong>What It’s About:</strong> Based on Pete Collins’s Miami New Times series, “Pain & Gain,” Bay’s professed “dark comedy,” follows a pair of Floridian musclemen (Mark Wahlberg and Dwayne Johnson) who get mixed up in a doomed kidnapping.
‘Iron Man 3’
<strong>Release Date:</strong> 05/03/2013 <strong>What It’s About:</strong> Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) returns in this third installment of “Iron Man.” This time around, he’s facing off against his most powerful enemy yet: the Mandarin (Ben Kingsley).
‘The Great Gatsby’
<strong>Release Date:</strong> 05/10/2013 <strong>What It’s About:</strong> Baz Lurhmann’s much-anticipated adaptation stars (swoon) Leonardo DiCaprio as the eponymous Gatsby, Tobey Maguire as Nick Carraway and Carey Mulligan as Daisy Buchanan. Also: Jay-Z on the soundtrack.
‘Star Trek Into Darkness’
<strong>Release Date:</strong> 05/17/2013 <strong>What It’s About:</strong> Kirk, Spock and the rest of the gang are back for J.J. Abrams’s intergalactic sequel. Here, our heroes return home to “find an unstoppable force of terror,” as they go up against villain John Harrison (Benedict Cumberbatch).
‘The Hangover Part III’
<strong>Release Date:</strong> 05/24/2013 <strong>What It’s About:</strong> According to Zach Galifianakis (Alan), the third film in the “Hangover” series will ditch the same wedding shenanigans format of the first two in the film. Though plot details are sparse, director Todd Philips <a href=”http://www.ew.com/ew/gallery/0,,20385926_20456486,00.html#21253658″>told EW that</a> “The Hangover Part III is Alan’s story. He’s going through a crisis after the death of his father. The Wolfpack is all he has.”
‘Man of Steel’
<strong>Release Date:</strong> 06/14/2013 <strong>What It’s About:</strong> From Zack Snyder (“300”) “Man of Steel” follows Clark Kent (Henry Cavill) who is struggling on whether to suppress his superpowers or embrace them to become the invincible dreamboat we all know and love.
‘Monsters University’
<strong>Release Date:</strong> 06/21/2013 <strong>What It’s About:</strong> Mike (Billy Crystal) and Sulley (John Goodman) are back in this long-awaited prequel. Set 10 years before the events of “Monsters Inc,” this story focuses on the duo as they become best friends while attending college.
‘World War Z’
<strong>Release Date:</strong> 06/21/2013 <strong>What It’s About:</strong> The adaptation of Max Brooks’s novel imagines quick-footed zombies taking over the world. The only man for the job? Family man — and we’re assuming some one-time decorated solider? — Brad Pitt.
‘The Lone Ranger’
<strong>Release Date:</strong> 07/03/2013 <strong>What It’s About:</strong> The most-recent revamp of the Americana classic stars the caroonishly handsome Armie Hammer as the masked crusader and a very made-up Johnny Depp as his trusty companion, Tonto.
‘Pacific Rim’
<strong>Release Date:</strong> 07/12/2013 <strong>What It’s About:</strong> From director Guillermo del Toro, the film follows a group of soldiers who look to take on monsters that popped up through a portal in the Pacific Ocean. The only way to fight them? With massive robots.
‘The Wolverine’
<strong>Release Date:</strong> 07/26/2013 <strong>What It’s About:</strong> Hugh Jackman returns as the titular X-Men character, as he travels to Japan to meet a samurai warrior, Shingen Yashida.
‘Elysium’
<strong>Release Date:</strong> 08/09/2013 <strong>What It’s About:</strong> Neil Blomkamp’s follow-up to his enormously popular 2009 sci-fi flick “District 9.” Set in 2159, the film follows Max (Matt Damon), a man who attempts to bring harmony to a world that has been split into two, with the wealthy living on a space station and the rest of the population on a ruined Earth.
‘Rush’
<strong>Release Date:</strong> 09/20/2013 <strong>What It’s About:</strong> From director Ron Howard comes the true story of Formula 1 champion driver Niki Lauda, played by Chris Hemsworth. The film focuses on Lauda’s 1976 crash.
‘Sin City: A Dame to Kill For’
<strong>Release Date:</strong> 10/04/2013 <strong>What It’s About:</strong> The long-awaited sequel to Frank Miller and Robert Rodriguez’s masterful 2005 flick will see the return of Mickey Rourke (Marv), Jessica Alba (Nancy Callahan) and Rosario Dawson (Gail).
‘Ender’s Game’
<strong>Release Date:</strong> 11/01/2013 <strong>What It’s About:</strong> Based on the popular novel by Orson Scott Card, the film follows the story of Ender Wiggin (Asa Butterfield), a gifted child who ends up at a military school in space to prepare for an invasion from the Formics. Harrison Ford stars as Commander Hyrum Graff.
‘Thor: The Dark World’
<strong>Release Date:</strong> 11/08/2013 <strong>What It’s About:</strong> Chris Hemsworth is back as the prince of Asgard, as he faces off against an ancient race led by the evil Malekith. Also returning will be Natalie Portman as Jane Foster and the always entertaining Tom Hiddleston as Loki.
‘The Hunger Games: Catching Fire’
<strong>Release Date:</strong> 11/22/2013 <strong>What It’s About:</strong> The sequel to Suzanne Collins’s gangbuster hit, “Catching Fire” reunites Katniss (Jennifer Lawrence) Peeta (Josh Hutcherson) and the rest of the gang in another epic test of survival.
‘The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug’
<strong>Release Date:</strong> 12/13/2013 <strong>What It’s About:</strong> The story of J.R.R. Tolkien’s “Hobbit” continues in the second of three prequel films from director Peter Jackson. The film, like its predecessor, will adapt tales form both “The Hobbit” and Tolkien’s other works, including “The Silmarillion”
‘Saving Mr.Banks’
<strong>Release Date:</strong> 12/20/2013 <strong>What It’s About:</strong> The true story of author P.L. Travers traveling from London to Hollywood to meet with Walt Disney, as his company plans on adapting her book “Mary Poppins” for the big screen. Travers will be played by Emma Thompson, and the part of Disney will go to Tom Hanks. Early Oscar favorite, anyone?
‘Anchorman: The Legend Continues’
<strong>Release Date:</strong> 12/20/2013 <strong>What It’s About:</strong> Ron Burgundy is back, in this highly-anticipated sequel, the details of which have yet to be released in full. The only thing we know, per director Adam McKay, is that there will be some type of custody battle. Get excited!
