 FACT: A segment in the opening credits states that the Mayans  believed the world would end on December 23, 2012, while in the  film, Danny Hustons character reads that the Mayans believed that  the world would end on December 12, 2012. In actuality, the Mayans  did not believe the world would end in December 2012; they believed  a new world would be created. (The date of this is still widely  disputed as well, with some sources placing the date as December 21,  2012.)