{"id":81565,"date":"2025-10-15T06:10:08","date_gmt":"2025-10-15T06:10:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/81565\/"},"modified":"2025-10-15T06:10:08","modified_gmt":"2025-10-15T06:10:08","slug":"underrated-sci-fi-disaster-epic-that-made-790-million-globally-is-a-streaming-hit-in-america","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/81565\/","title":{"rendered":"Underrated Sci-fi Disaster Epic that Made $790 Million Globally Is a Streaming Hit in America"},"content":{"rendered":"

In the late aughts, when conspiracy theories about the end of the world were everywhere, Master of Disaster Roland Emmerich<\/a> couldn\u2019t resist dramatizing one of the wildest of them all. Drawing inspiration from the ancient Mayan prophecy that predicted the world would end in 2012, he made 2012<\/a>. Released in 2009, the movie, filled with jaw-dropping CGI destruction, wasn\u2019t exactly a critical darling in the U.S., and its reception fell short of Emmerich\u2019s earlier hits like Independence Day<\/a>. But overseas, 2012 was a smash hit, grossing more than $790 million globally to become Emmerich\u2019s second-highest-earning film<\/a>. Now, over a decade later, the once-polarizing disaster epic is finally finding new life and new fans on streaming in the U.S.<\/p>\n

2012 unfolds like a quintessential doomsday blockbuster<\/a>. When scientists discover that a series of massive solar flares are heating the Earth\u2019s core and triggering apocalyptic natural disasters, world governments secretly begin constructing enormous high-tech arks designed to preserve a fraction of humanity. As continents crumble and chaos erupts, struggling novelist Jackson Curtis (John Cusack<\/a>) stumbles upon the truth and will stop at nothing to save his family and secure a spot aboard humanity\u2019s last refuge.<\/p>\n

The film was an incredibly star-studded affair, featuring Amanda Peet<\/a> as Jackson\u2019s ex-wife, Chiwetel Ejiofor as the moral geologist Adrian Helmsley, and Danny Glover as the U.S. President, as well as Oliver Platt as his chief of staff. Rounding out the ensemble lineup are Thandiwe Newton and Woody Harrelson<\/a>, who delivered some of the movie’s memorable scenes as a conspiracy theorist broadcasting the end of days from his mountaintop radio shack.<\/p>\n

‘2012’ Was Dismissed As “Popcorn Entertainment”<\/p>\n

2012\u2019s high-profile ensemble couldn\u2019t entirely redeem the film\u2019s perceived shortcomings. Reviews were mixed, with some critics impressed by its visual scope, while others found its script too thin to match its ambition. On Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds a 40% critics’ score, with the site\u2019s consensus noting that \u201cRoland Emmerich\u2019s 2012 provides plenty of visual thrills, but lacks a strong enough script to support its massive scope and inflated length.\u201d However, others begged to differ, including USA Today, which hailed it as \u201cthe mother of all disaster movies.\u201d<\/p>\n

And now, it seems American audiences are finally siding with the latter view as 2012 is currently climbing Hulu\u2019s movie charts, outperforming popular titles like the Twilight films<\/a> and Blade. The movie was co-written by Emmerich and his longtime collaborator Harald Kloser, who has also composed the score for all of Emmerich\u2019s projects since 2004. The duo most recently reunited for 2022\u2019s Moonfall<\/a>, another starry, effects-driven sci-fi disaster romp starring Halle Berry, Patrick Wilson, and John Bradley.<\/p>\n

You can stream 2012 now on Hulu.<\/p>\n

\"2012-official-movie-poster.jpg\"<\/p>\n

Release Date<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tOctober 10, 2009<\/p>\n

Runtime<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t158minutes<\/p>\n

Director<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tRoland Emmerich<\/p>\n

Writers<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tRoland Emmerich, Harald Kloser<\/p>\n


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