With the end of the year upon us, most are formulating their best of 2011 lists. For me, I’m looking forward to 2012! After all, it’s going to be a year of big sci-fi/fantasy/horror movies! For the past several months I’ve covered a lot of news regarding films that will be released next year and it looks like we’ll have a bumper crop to choose from.

Now you may be wondering why I only chose to cover 5. That’s because 10 would be too easy. I decided to base my list on which movie would I absolutely be willing to pay the extra money to watch in 3D or IMAX and/or pay full ticket price (none of this Costco discount movie ticket option for these movies!).  In addition, I asked my fellow writers and editors what movies were on their list of must see (but in all honesty, it didn’t affect what I put on my list).

So without further ado, here are my top 5 sci-fi movies to watch in 2012 (in the order they will be released next year):

‘The Hunger Games’

Based on the first of a great trilogy of books with a score by Danny Elfman, how can this not be on your must see list? The subtext of reality shows gone extreme, the fight for survival and the underdog coming out on top is always a must see. The trailer seems to give the indication that the movie will pretty much follow the book and with the book being such a great read, this is definitely high on my list. (And there is a girly girl part of me that will probably go watch the movie with the lastest Hunger Games nail polish on!)

Staff Picks: Great to know that our writer Michelle Ealey has this movie on her list too!

‘The Hunger Games’ begin on March 23, 2012.

‘The Avengers’

What can I say? Gather a group of unlikely superheroes together in one movie and watch the sparks fly. The leaked photos and videos already sold me on the movie as well as the fact that I love Joss Whedon’s work. I do have to say, however, I’ll probably not see it in 3D as the post conversion process doesn’t excite me too much.

Staff Picks: This seems to hit a chord with my fellow writers as ‘The Avengers’ was also on the list for Jeremy Wade, Jessica Naki, Matt Delman, Jason Bowles and our editor Zezura Ruddell.

‘The Avengers’ assemble into action on May 4, 2012.

‘Prometheus’

I loved the movie ‘Alien’ and next to Jaws, it was one of the first movies I saw that really scared me when I was little. I even really enjoyed ‘Aliens’ but after that I refused to see any more of the franchise until now. ‘Prometheus’ shows promise and from what Ridley Scott has said in interviews, it seems like he’s gone back to that suspenseful thriller that made the first one so iconic. And despite what anyone else says, I still think it’s a prequel!

Staff Picks: ‘Prometheus’ is also on our resident film critic, Dave Taylor’s, list for movies to see next year!

‘Prometheus’ will debut on June 8, 2012.

‘G.I. Joe: Retaliation’

Now before you start throwing the popcorn at me, this movie made my list because it looks like it’s just plain fun. It seems to have that ‘Raiders of the Lost Ark’ feel – the kind you get just by watching a movie that allows you to escape for a couple hours. And with Bruce Willis and Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson in it, you know there will be lots of one liners that will be repeated as you walk out of the theater.

Staff Picks: Good to know my editors have my back on this one! ‘G.I. Joe: Retailiation’ is on the must see list from Scott West and Zezura Rudell!

‘G.I. Joe: Retaliation’ is set to hit theaters on June 29, 2012.

‘The Amazing Spider-Man’

I’m probably going to get fired over this decision but, yes, ‘The Amazing Spider-Man’ made the list and not ‘The Dark Knight Rises’. Why? Because I’m intrigued with the retelling of the Spider-Man tale (which is also the reason I’ll probably have ‘Man of Steel’ on my list for 2013). It just seems to be more original than watching whether or not Bane is going to break Batman’s back. I wasn’t too impressed with the trailer for ‘TDKR’ and if I had to choose between the two, I can honestly wait until ‘TDKR’ is out a few weeks while I would probably see ‘The Amazing Spider-Man’ in the first week it comes out. Also the image of being able to fly through the skies of New York with Spidey in IMAX 3D sounds fun!

Staff Picks: Okay, this decision brought about many back and forth comments. In the end, ‘The Amazing Spiderman’ was only on Scott West, Zezura Rudell, and Jason Bowles’ must see list with almost everyone else (including the latter two) picking ‘The Dark Knight Rises’ as one of their top choices. But you know what? I’m not going to give in to peer pressure and am keeping ‘The Amazing Spiderman’ on this list!

‘The Amazing Spiderman’ swings into theaters on July 3, 2012.

So there you have it – my top 5 list. What’s on your must see movie list for next year? Comment below! And if you need help deciding which movies to place on your must see list, below are some of the ones we’ve covered to help you out: