1. 'Broken City' (Jan. 18)

No, the Hughes brothers -- the dynamic filmmaking twins whose 1993 classic, Menace II Society, celebrates its 20th anniversary in May -- are not "broken up." It was always the plan for Allen and Albert to step out as solo directors, Allen has said. And he's done just that with Broken City, a gritty, urban political drama written by 20-something African-American newcomer Brian Tucker. Set in New York, the film stars Russell Crowe, Mark Wahlberg, Catherine Zeta-Jones and Jeffrey Wright, who plays police commissioner Carl Fairbanks, a ruthless mofo who Wright told EW empowers "himself through his own wiles and instincts."

2. 'Olympus Has Fallen' (March 22)

OK, there have been some low points for Training Day director Antoine Fuqua, who has to count American Gangster as the one that got away. But Olympus Has Fallen may prove to be another surefire hit that secures his place in the top tier of black directors. The film stars Gerard Butler as a Secret Service agent who tries to foil a terrorist plot against the White House. Aaron Eckhart plays the president, Angela Bassett portrays the Secret Service director and Morgan Freeman also stars.

3. '42' (April 12)

The story of late Brooklyn Dodger star Jackie Robinson gets the big-screen treatment in 42. (Catch the awesome trailer featuring Jay-Z's "Brooklyn Go Hard.") Chad Bozeman, who some might know from the TV shows Lincoln Heights and Persons Unknown, plays the baseball great and civil rights trailblazer. Harrison Ford stars as Branch Rickey, the exec who broke the sport's color line when he signed Robinson in 1945. But let's hope that this Hollywood film doesn't misconstrue who the true hero is.

4. 'We the Peeples' (May 10)

We the Peeples might be a Tyler Perry production, but Tina Gordon Chism, whose writing credits include ATL and Drumline, actually wrote and makes her directorial debut in it. The film stars The Office's Craig Robinson as an average-Joe type who crashes his girlfriend's (Scandal-icious Kerry Washington) seditty family reunion. David Alan Grier, Melvin Van Peeples, Diahann Carroll and S. Epatha Merkerson round out the cast. So this just might un-cringe the many Madea naysayers.

5. 'After Earth' (June 7)

Can the Smiths rescue onetime hot director M. Night Shyamalan's career? This summer we will find out as daddy Will and son Jaden star in sci-fi thriller After Earth, about a father and son stranded on an abandoned Earth. Sophie Okonedo and Zoe Kravitz also star.

6. 'White House Down' (June 28)

Despite greatly echoing Olympus Has Fallen, White House Down has an important game changer in Jamie Foxx, who goes from playing a freed slave with a gun in Django Unchained to a role as a black U.S. president. Channing Tatum plays the Secret Service agent whose duty is to protect him as a terrorist plot threatens the White House. Maggie Gyllenhaal also stars.

7. 'Pacific Rim' (July 12)

The long-awaited Pacific Rim, from Hellboy director Guillermo del Toro, is finally coming, and Idris Elba has top billing. In a role reportedly intended for Tom Cruise, Elba (Luther, The Wire) is thick in the battle in which soldiers pilot giant robots against giant monsters who have risen from beneath the Pacific Ocean.

8. 'The Best Man 2' (Nov. 15)

It may have been a long time coming, but fans can perhaps breathe a big sigh of relief now that Universal has reportedly greenlit The Best Man 2. Even better, its entire first team is rumored to all be down, so it will be interesting to see what's transpired since the original's 1999 release.

9. '12 Years a Slave' (TBA)

Never mind that it took the star power of Brad Pitt to bring Solomon Northup's gripping memoir about a free man kidnapped and sold into slavery before the Civil War to the big screen. Directed by black Brit Steve McQueen, who wrote the script with John Ridley, the film promises to put the inconvenient history of American slavery back at the center of public discourse. It stars Chiwetel Ejiofor, Beasts of the Southern Wild's Oscar-nominated Quvenzhané Wallis, Alfre Woodard and, of course, Pitt.

10. 'Nina' (TBA)

Will Zoe Saldana quiet her critics and wow audiences through her portrayal of legendary songstress Nina Simone? Given the shocking makeup job seen in earlier photos from the movie set, it's easy to see why Saldana and director Cynthia Mort had fans upset. (Many accused her of being way too light to play the singer.) When the film Nina -- which Mort claims is not a conventional biopic -- is released, that pressing question will finally be answered.

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