It’s not often we almost completely forget about a movie that made nearly $800 million at the box office, but that is what happens when a film tackles a topic that only made sense for a specific period in time. Back in 2009, Roland Emmerich released a disaster movie that depicted not just the end of the world, but a version of the end of the world that was taken from ancient calendars and conspiracy theories, and used the pop culture hype to deliver an enormous blockbuster. Its events didn’t actually come to pass but it made a to of money at the box office, and now it’s available to stream for free on Tubi.
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If you haven’t been able to guess yet, the film in question is none other than 2012, which starred John Cusack, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Thandiwe Newton, and Woody Harrelson. The film was added to Tubi’s streaming lineup at the start of November, making it completely free for everyone to watch.
Confusingly, the movie 2012 was actually released in 2009, right around the time the craze surrounding the 2012 conspiracy theories was gaining a lot of steam. Long story short: the Mayan calendar pointed to the end of a 5,000+ year cycle on December 21, 2012, and a bunch of other belief systems had some vague evidence that could be used to try and back that date up.
That obviously didn’t end up happening, but Emmerich’s movie benefited from the theories. The marketing for the film even latched onto the craze, releasing a functioning website full of “evidence” collected by a character in the movie, and launching a lottery website where people could try and win tickets to safety from the global apocalypse. It sounds wild but it clearly worked. 2012 made just over $791 million at the box office and was the fifth-highest grossing movie of 2009.
So if you watch 2012 on Tubi and don’t have a lot of memory about how the phenomenon unfolded 16 years ago, the movie gives you an idea of what kind of catastrophic events were predicted at the time.
New Movies Streaming Free on Tubi
2012 is one of dozens of movies that were added to Tubi’s free streaming roster this month. That lineup of new arrivals included Face/Off, How the Grinch Stole Christmas, Spider-Man: Homecoming, The Godfather, and a bunch of others.
You can check out the full list of Tubi’s November additions here, but we’ve also collected a handful of the highlights below.
After Yang
American Made
Are We There Yet?
Black Hawk Down
Broken City
Carrie
Child’s Play
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
The Day the Earth Stood Still
Dinner for Schmucks
Face/Off
Free Fire
G.I. Joe: Retaliation
G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra
Gladiator
The Godfather
Godzilla: King of the Monsters
The Hateful Eight
Hot Tub Time Machine
How the Grinch Stole Christmas
The Long Kiss Goodnight
No Country for Old Men
The Punisher
The Punisher: War Zone
Shrek Forever After
Sisu
Snow Dogs
Space Jam
Spider-Man: Homecoming
Super 8
Swiss Army Man
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre
True Grit
When You Finish Saving the World
You Got Served
Zola
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Image courtesy of Monolith Productions, Nightdive Studios, Warner Bros. Games, and Atari
