20: WORLD WAR Z (June 21)
Zombies are everywhere nowadays, both on TV and in movies. But this looks like it could be the zombie flick to end all zombie flicks. Brad Pitt stars as a family man called into service in the global battle against the immense throngs of walking – or in this case, running – dead. The worldwide scale of this looks epic, though director Marc Foster’s last big-budget outing was the underwhelming “Quantum of Solace.”
19: A GOOD DAY TO DIE HARD (February 14)
After “The Expendables 2,” we’ll be seeing a lot of ‘80s stars getting back in action in 2013. There’s Schwarzenegger in “The Last Stand,” Stallone in “Bullet to the Head,” Stallone AND Schwarzenegger in “The Tomb.” And 25 years after the first “Die Hard” made him a superstar, Bruce Willis is back as John McClane for the fifth time. After a pair of critical successes last year with “Moonrise Kingdom” and “Looper,” Willis returns to busting heads and cracking wise, this time in Russia with his CIA agent son (Jai Courtney of TV’s “Spartacus”).
18: BEAUTIFUL CREATURES (February 13)
Obviously there’s a market for movie adaptations of highly successful young adult books about the supernatural. There are several in store for 2013, ranging from tales of zombies (“Warm Bodies”) to demons (“The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones”) to Greek gods (“Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters”). One that stands out, though, is “Beautiful Creatures.” It’s about a girl in a small Southern town who is destined to possess either light or dark magic, and the boy who captures her heart. It’s got the romance YA fans swoon over, along with Oscar-caliber actors Emma Thompson, Jeremy Irons and Viola Davis.
17: WHITE HOUSE DOWN (June 28)
Channing Tatum owned 2012, with a successful comedy (“21 Jump Street”), romance (“The Vow”) and drama (“Magic Mike”). In 2013 he’s stretching again with a psychological thriller (“Side Effects”), a big-budget sequel (the aforementioned “G.I. Joe”), and this action nail-biter. In it, Tatum plays a cop caught in the middle when a terrorist group attacks the White House. He steps up to protect the President, played by Jamie Foxx. It’s from “Independence Day” director Roland Emmerich, and you know he has some experience when it comes to blowing up the White House.
16. THE WOLVERINE (July 26)
Sure, it was good to see Hugh Jackman belting out tunes and emoting up a storm in “Les Miserables.” But we like him best when the claws come out. So we’re ready to see him back again as Logan, aka Wolverine. Jackman’s fifth go-around as the muscled Marvel mutant takes him to Japan in a story inspired by one of the all-time classic runs of the comic-book series.