2012 (film)

2012 is a 2009 American epic science fiction disaster film directed by Roland Emmerich and starring John Cusack, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Amanda Peet, Oliver Platt, Thandie Newton, Danny Glover and Woody Harrelson. The film was produced by Centropolis Entertainment and distributed by Columbia Pictures.

Filming, originally planned for Los Angeles, began in Vancouver in August 2008. The plot follows novelist Jackson Curtis as he attempts to bring his family to safety amid a worldwide geological disaster. The film refers to Mayanism and the 2012 phenomenon in its portrayal of cataclysmic events.

After a lengthy advertising campaign which included the creation of a website from its main character's point of view and a viral marketing website on which filmgoers could register for a lottery number to save them from the ensuing disaster, 2012 was released internationally on November 13, 2009. Critics gave the film mixed reviews, praising its special effects and dark tone relative to Emmerich's other work and criticizing its screenplay and length. It was a commercial success and one of 2009's highest-grossing films.