Every year Twitter is kind enough to let us know what the top trending topics of the year were — because they don't want us to lose hope in humanity when we see things like "#YouKnowAFatPersonInvented" at the top of the list. It may look like a bunch of names and fragments from the year past, but the list can teach us a few things about 2011's most popular entertainment.
Top trenders are broken down into categories like "hashtags" and "television," but the one we're obviously interested in is "movies." It's not surprising that superheroes have won top spots on the list, with Thor coming in first. The film is a precursor to the long-awaited Avengers movie and bringing a popular comic character to life for the first time doesn't hurt either. The Dark Knight Rises holds the second spot. It isn't due out until July next year, but unless you've been living under a rock then you know the build up to Christopher Nolan's latest Batman movie has been immense. It would also help explain why the soon-to-be Catwoman, Anne Hathaway, is the number three trending actress on the list. X-Men: First Class holds the third spot, beating out last place's Green Hornet — which currently holds a 44% at Rotten Tomatoes. Trying to sell funnyman Seth Rogen as an action hero and a comic-book character a lot of people aren't familiar with are among a few of the reasons for its failures. Fast Five manages to be the only non-superhero flick in the group. The film did phenomenally well and Justin Lin has really brought the franchise back with a Fast Six on the way for 2013.