One of the things I haven't seen much with the apocalypse genre - with few exceptions - is a structural change.

The apocalypse is usually the beginning of Act 3, I would like to see it as the beginning of Act 2, and the rest of the film being about survival past that date.

That's just a thought.

In response to your thought on obsession with end times...

I think AMERICA is obsessed with end times because of Revelations, but look at 2012. The Mayans were as adamant about the end of time as they were about ritualistic human sacrifice. I think every "civilization" that's been given the convenience of being able to develop philosophy has an "end times" theory. Even the scientific community has spent billions of dollars and hours on figuring out what the next celestial collision will be. When will earth go extinct again?

It's more a fascination with death than end times, I think. Besides, for believers, Revelation means going home, so it isn't always negative.