Since motion pictures were created more than a century ago, people around the world have remained captivated by the technology’s ability to entertain, inform, and allow us to exercise unparalleled creativity. To be sure, with around five months still remaining in 2013, audiences have spent more than $6.4 billion at the box office so far this year.
Let’s grab a ridiculously expensive bucket of popcorn and take a look at the biggest blockbusters — and the company’s behind them — so far in 2013.
| Rank | Title | Company / Distributor | Worldwide Gross (Millions) | Domestic Gross (Millions) | Production Budget (Millions) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Iron Man 3 | The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS) / Buena Vista | $1,211.7 | $407.1 | $200 |
| 2 | Fast & Furious 6 | Comcast Corporation (NASDAQ:CMCSA) / Universal Studios | $712.7 | $237.3 | $160 |
| 3 | Man of Steel | Time Warner Inc (NYSE:TWX) / Warner Brothers | $635.8 | $285.8 | $225 |
| 4 | Despicable Me 2 | Comcast Corporation (NASDAQ:CMCSA) / Universal Studios | $595.6 | $287.2 | $76 |
| 5 | The Croods | Dreamworks Animation Skg Inc (NASDAQ:DWA) / 20th Century Fox | $582.4 | $186.2 | $135 |
| 6 | Monsters University | The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS) / Buena Vista | $535.7 | $251.8 | $200* |
| 7 | Oz the Great and Powerful | The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS) / Buena Vista | $491.9 | $234.9 | $215 |
| 8 | World War Z | Viacom, Inc. (NASDAQ:VIAB) / Paramount | $458.7 | $189.2 | $190 |
| 9 | Star Trek Into Darkness | Viacom, Inc. (NASDAQ:VIAB) / Paramount | $448.8 | $225.3 | $190 |
| 10 | G.I. Joe: Retaliation | Viacom, Inc. (NASDAQ:VIAB) / Paramount | $371.9 | $122.5 | $130 |
Source: boxofficemojo.com, numbers as of July 25, 2013.
*Estimated (Disney has not disclosed the budget for Monsters University).
Perhaps unsurprisingly, The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS)’s Iron Man 3 easily tops the list as the only company to surpass the $1 billion mark, exceeding the second-place $713 million take of Fast & Furious 6 by a whopping 70%.
Curiously enough, Iron Man 3 is also the only movie so far this year to crack the top 10 in the list of highest worldwide grossing films of all time, coming in at No. 5 behind the likes of Avatar, Titanic, Marvel’s The Avengers, and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2.
That said, am I the only one surprised at the global success of Fast & Furious 6? Perhaps it’s just that Comcast Corporation (NASDAQ:CMCSA) ‘s racing flick currently stands at only fifth on the domestic ticket sales front, but apparently international audiences in particular have really resonated with the film, making up 66.7% of the total.
The same goes for Dreamworks Animation Skg Inc (NASDAQ:DWA)’ surprisingly popular hit The Croods, which currently stands at ninth place in the U.S. for the year. The Croods’ international audiences, however, made up more than any other movie in this list, at 68% of its box office total.
Of course, I would have been shocked if Time Warner Inc (NYSE:TWX)’s Man of Steel hadn’t made the top three, and remember this Superman reboot has been in theaters for roughly only six weeks. In addition, the world was pleasantly surprised when Time Warner Inc (NYSE:TWX) subsequently gave DC Comics fans reason to rejoice by announcing that Batman will join the title character in a sequel planned for a 2015 release.
