2012 is set to be one of the best years for first-run movies in years. An incredible lineup of movies spanning every genre is hitting big screens over the next 12 months. Superheroes and villains abound along with great comedies, action thrillers, and wonderful kids movies. If you can’t find a reason to visit the movies this year, chances are you never will.

Among the film releases in February, the 3D premiere of “Star Wars Episode 1: The Phantom Menace”. The story of a yuppie addicted to sex, “Shame” It will be released the same day. “My Week with Marilyn” it follows shortly after with Michelle Williams playing the title role of blonde bombshell Monroe. Tom Hanks and Sandra Bullock team up on “Extremely loud and incredibly close”, the story of a boy grieving the loss of his father following the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Center.

“Elite murderer” will finally have its day in Australian cinemas after releases in late 2011 in other parts of the world. Robert De Niro and Jason Statham star with Clive Owen in this action thriller filmed (in part) in Melbourne. Owen plays an SAS agent with a passion for the story of the killers De Niro and Statham.

March brings us “Hansel and Gretel witch hunters”. Jeremy Renner and Gemma Arteton play grown-up bounty hunters of fairy tale characters. Nicholas Cage returns in the second installment of “Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance”. This time he has to prevent the Devil from taking human form in a race against time through Eastern Europe.

For the ladies, Johnny Depp appears in “The Rum Diary”. Depp plays a game of alcoholics based in Puerto Rico. In another facility, “American Pie: Reunion” It comes out in March too. It arrives some 13 years after the release of the original. Teenagers are randomly chosen to fight to the death in an arena to maintain population levels in a fantasy thriller. “The Hunger Games”, starring Jennifer Lawrence (Winter’s Bone). Lenny Kravitz also appears.

Sam Worthington returns to the screen as Perseus in “Clash of titans” continuation, “Wrath of the Titans”. Set 10 years after the first adventure, this installment stars Rosamund Pike as a new version of Andromeda.

3D re-releases seem to be the order of the day with Titanic 3D launch in early April. The long-awaited Farrelly brothers take over the broadcast of “The Three Stooges” soon after with Moe, Larry and Curly signed up for a reality TV show. What has been tagged transformers at sea, “Battleship” with Liam Neeson in the lead in a blockbuster Alien vs Navy. Romantic comedy stalwart Jennifer Anniston joins Paul Rudd for “Travelling passion”, released on ANZAC day in Australia.

May starts off with a bang as Sylvester Stalone and Jason Momoa play a cop and hit man who join forces in “Bullet in the head”. Tim Burton, Johnny Depp and Helen Bonham Carter meet in a peculiar adaptation of the television series of the 60 “Dark shadows”. Newly crowned romantic comedy page Jason Segel delivers more hilarious moments in “The fifth year of commitment”.

The long-awaited third edition of “Men in Black” sees Will Smith return as Agent J, traveling back in time to team up with a younger version of Agent K (played by Josh Brolin). The final release for May is “Rock of Ages” which delivers Tom Cruise as idle ’80s glam-rock. Also starring Russell Brand, Catherine Zeta-Jones and Alec Baldwin. This has to be worth seeing.

June sees Ridley Scott return to the sci-fi genre with “Prometheus”. The Prometheus crew responds to a cryptic intergalactic message that leads them to a planet where they are exposed to a new alien race. Stars include Charlize Theron, Michael Fassbender and dragon tattoo girl Noomi Rapace. “The dictator” also releases in early June and sees Sasha Baron Cohen return to a comedy role. Cohen portrays a heroic dictator who challenges the evil forces of democracy.

In “Jack the Giant Slayer” Nicholaus Hoult sets out on a fantasy adventure in a hidden land of giants to rescue a princess. Adding to June’s laughter party is Adam Sandler’s film “I Hate You, Dad.” Pixar’s latest offering is “Bravo”, a Scottish-themed girl power film with voice contributions from Kevin McKidd and Kelly Macdonald.

Novelist Seth Graeme-Smiths sucks blood contribution to American history “Abraham Lincoln Vampire Hunter” It comes out in June too. the ever popular “Ice Age” the franchise continues with part 4, “Ice Age: Continental Drift”. fairy tale epic “Snow White and the Huntsman” sees Charize Theron rack up another winner as the evil queen who consumes young women to maintain her own youthful beauty.

Batman returns to the big screen in July with “The Dark Knight Rises”, the third (and supposedly last) installment from director Christopher Nolan. There has already been a lot of hype about this movie and from the initial clip releases they seem justified. Batman (Christian Bale) faces a new nemesis in the form of Bane (Tom Hardy). Bruce Wayne and Gotham City are targeted for total annihilation. Can the dark night save the day?

July will be seen as the slowest month of 2012 with only two more deals of note. “The amazing Spider Man” is the first starring Andrew Garfield in a new web adventure. The promo clips look amazing (pardon the pun)! Family Guy’s Seth McFarlane Releases His Live-Action Feature Debut With“ted.” Starting off, a boy’s wish comes true and his teddy bear comes to life. The plot quickly changes to the couple as adults. Stars Mark Wahlberg and Mila Kunis.

August releases include the second installment of “G.I. Joe”, noble “GI Joe: Retaliation”. Channing Tatum’s (Joe) American military hero joins Dwayne (The Rock) Johnson and Bruce Willis. This time, Joe faces the master of disguise, Zartan. Watch out for Jonathon Levine in the zombie love story “Warm bodies”. Highly anticipated Bourne No.4, “The Bourne Legacy” also launches in August. Jeremy Renner replaces Matt Damon with support from Edward Norton and Rachel Weisz.

There has been a lot of talk about the remake of “Full recall.” This time, Colin Farrell plays the hero Quaid. Early reports suggest a different version of the original Verhoeven. The second installation of “The Mercenaries” (No.2) sees the entire cast return, including Sly Stallone, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Bruce Willis, Jet Li, Dolph Lundgren, and Jason Statham. Chuck Norris joins in for some extra star power. August’s final turnout is a supernatural thriller “Sinister”, starring Ethan Hawke.

“Premium Precipitation”kicks off the September action with Joseph Gordon-Levitt playing a bike messenger on the run from a corrupt cop. Follow more action in 3D with CG animation “Hotel Transylvania”. Adam Sandler’s Dracula is upset by his daughter’s (Mylie Cyris) choice to flirt with a human. The final mention for September is “Wild”, an Oliver Stone film starring Aaron Johnson and Taylor Kitsch. A pair of marijuana growers take on a Mexican cartel. It also stars Benicio Del Toro, John Travolter and Uma Thurman.

The first of October is part 2 of “Drink”. Liam Neeson appears again as former CIA agent Bryan Mills. In this turn, Mills ends up being targeted by the father of one of his previous victims.. “Resident Bad 5” continue the zombie video game franchise. Milla Jovovich and Michelle Rodriguez star. “argo”, Directed by Ben Affleck and produced by George Clooney, it tells the true story of a CIA hostage extraction from Iran during the 1979 crisis.

Ryan Gosling and Sean Penn team up for “Gangster Squad” is scheduled for release in early November. The latest installment in the “Twilight” teen vampire franchise will be screened in mid-November. “Dawn Part 2” it will provide closure to the story for millions upon thousands of teenagers. In “47 Ronins” Keeanu Reeves leads a band of warriors seeking revenge after the murder of their master.

Other feature 3D, CGI“foot life” tells the story of a boy trapped in a lifeboat with a zebra, a tiger, a hyena and an orangutan. This adaptation of Yann Martel’s book will be released during the school holidays a week before Christmas. An ensemble cast including Hugh Jackman, Russell Crow, Anne Hathaway and Helena Bonham Carter star in Victor Hugo’s “The Miserables” which will come out on Boxing Day.

The final release of 2012 is the long-awaited adaptation of Tolkein’s “The Hobbit”. Peter Jackson returns to Middle-earth to direct with Martin Freeman playing the Hobbit hero Bilbo.

If nothing else comes out of 2012, we can certainly look back on this particular year as a ‘year of big movie releases’. Movie fans will want to start stocking up now if they want to see their full list of favorites in the largest format. Maybe it’s time to visit the bank and open that ‘movie savings account’ today.