Most popular movie stories of 2012

With another year chalked off, it’s time for reflection.  Some people re-examine their relationships or career, maybe ask ‘where is my life going?’. For us, it means re-reading through stories about bloated ex-child stars, ninja turtles and Oscar dresses.

[Related story: The strangest movie stories of 2012]
[Related story: Most profitable films of 2012]

Yes, it’s the ‘Most Popular Stories of Yahoo! Movies’, 2012 edition, voted for by you, the humble reader (indirectly, obviously). Millions of you clicked and shared this stuff, but which is the one story to rule them all? Find out below…

10 - The Sixth Sense kid all grown up

The first child star story on our list, and it’s the adorable tyke from ‘The Sixth Sense’ and ‘A.I. Artificial Intelligence’. We spotted him, now aged 23, in a trailer for indie flick ‘Sissy Pants’. He played the young gay lover of Diedrich Bader, and sported tattoos, piercings and a dodgy vest. A bit weird.

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9 – Star Wars is back

This huge story caught everyone by surprise. George Lucas flogged the rights to the ‘Star Wars’ empire to Disney, who immediately greenlit a seventh installment. The jaw-dropping news split fans down the middle – some celebrated Lucas’ departure from the tarnished franchise, others worried Disney would prostitute the brand even more. We shall see…

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8 - Back To The Future hoax

On a heady day in June, the internet briefly thought Marty McFly was coming back to the future after a screengrab from ‘Part II' showing the date Marty and Doc visit in their DeLorean went viral. As any real fans knew, the date it showed - 'June 27 2012' - was wrong (it’s 21 October 2015), but that didn’t stop thousands sharing the pic, including several celebs (such as Joseph Gordon-Levitt). The hoax was the work of a social media company called Simply Tap.

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7 – Kate Winslet’s Titanic screentest

A Yahoo! Movies exclusive came in number seven. We got our grubby paws on Kate Winslet’s first screentest for ‘Titanic’. She was acting opposite Jeremy Sisto rather than Leonardo DiCaprio, as the eventual Jack Dawson hadn’t been cast yet.  Cameron said that as soon as Winslet appeared on screen he knew she was perfect for the role.

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6 – The real cost of being Batman

Thousands of you shared this super-smart infographic from Moneysupermarket.com. Their boffins worked out how much it cost Bruce Wayne to become the caped crusader, factoring costs such as Alfred’s salary, his elbow pads and building the Bat-tumbler. The final total? $682,451,350.

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5 – Michael Bay meddles with Turtles

We didn’t realise how strongly you lot felt about the Ninja Turtles. It was announced back in March that Michael Bay would change the origin story of the Heroes in a Half Shell for the new live-action film, from ooze-mutants to aliens. To put it mildly, fans were miffed and we’re now not sure whether the film - supposed to come out next year - will even be made at all.

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4  – Angelina’s right leg goes viral

It seemed Sacha Baron Cohen’s antics on the red carpet, when he spilt ‘Kim Jong-il’s ashes’ on Ryan Seacrest, would be this year’s big Oscar story. Then Angelina stuck her right leg out of her dress, and a new internet meme was born.  

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3- Bollywood actress beheaded

One of the darkest stories of the year. Up-and-coming Bollywood actress Meenakshi Thapar was kidnapped by jealous co-stars Amit Jaiswal and his girlfriend Preeti Surin after they heard her boasting of her wealth on the set of film ‘Heroine’. They demanded a ransom of 1.5 million Rupees (£18,000) for Thapar, some of which her mother paid. They killed her anyway, beheading the actress and hacking her body to pieces. The duo later confessed to the grisly crime after cops caught them with Thapar’s sim card. Horrific.

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2 – Real Harry Potter kids found

Almost taking top spot was this bizarre real-life school photo showing a trio of students who looked rather like Harry Potter, Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger. The plot thickened when several readers commented that the fake Ron was singer-songwriter Ed Sheeran, and the picture was taken at Thomas Mills High School. We never found out for sure, but this story clogged up the internet for weeks.

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1- Macaulay Culkin looking rough

There’s nothing more interesting than a photo of an ex-child star looking incredibly bad, apparently. This snap of ‘Home Alone’ star Macaulay Culkin made headlines around the world and sparked health concerns for the 31-year-old actor. His rep reassured fans though, saying: "Macaulay Culkin is in perfectly good health.”

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