Without a doubt, this summer has brought with it an unrelenting stream of huge movie releases for the theater-going masses to enjoy. In fact, with one full month still left in the season, audiences have poured a record $3.74 billion of their summer spending money into the big screen, easily exceeding last summer’s old high mark by nearly $400 million so far.
As we enter August, and with the sunny season close to halfway through, it’s time to check out the biggest box-office hits — and the companies behind them — in the summer of 2013 to date.
| Rank | Title | Company / Distributor | Worldwide Gross (Millions) | Domestic Gross (Millions) | Production Budget (Millions) | Domestic Opening Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Iron Man 3 | The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS) / Buena Vista | $866.6 | $407.4 | $200 | 5/3/13* |
| 2 | Fast & Furious 6 | Comcast Corporation (NASDAQ:CMCSA) / Universal Studios | $741.2 | $237.7 | $160 | 5/24/13 |
| 3 | Despicable Me 2 | Comcast / Universal Studios | $668.5 | $314.0 | $76 | 7/3/13 |
| 4 | Man of Steel | / Warner Brothers | $644.2 | $287.1 | $225 | 6/14/13 |
| 5 | Monsters University | Disney / Buena Vista | $578.4 | $256.8 | $200** | 6/21/13 |
| 6 | World War Z | Viacom, Inc. (NASDAQ:VIAB) / Paramount | $474.2 | $193.8 | $190 | 6/21/13 |
| 7 | Star Trek Into Darkness | Viacom / Paramount | $450.3 | $225.7 | $190 | 5/16/13 |
| 8 | The Hangover Part III | Time Warner Inc (NYSE:TWX) / Warner Brothers | $350.9 | $112.1 | $103 | 5/23/13 |
| 9 | The Great Gatsby (2013) | Time Warner / Warner Brothers | $330.5 | $144.3 | $105 | 5/10/13 |
| 10 | Epic | News Corp. / 20th Century Fox | $244.7 | $106.4 | $100 | 5/24/13 |
Source: boxofficemojo.com; data shown from May 3, 2013 through July 25, 2013.
*Iron Man launched Internationally on April 24, 2013, domestically on May 3, 2013.
**Estimated (The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS) has not disclosed the budget for Monsters University).
Remember, last weekend I compiled a list of the highest-grossing movies of 2013 year to date, and with an extra week in the bag, these summer-only numbers highlight a few points worth noting.
First, The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS)’s Iron Man 3 predictably still holds the top spot, and not just because the Marvel film was the earliest movie in the list to launch in the U.S. during the summer season. In fact, to put Iron Man 3‘s dominance in perspective, its worldwide summer gross doesn’t even include the $345.4 million it brought in overseas between April 24 and May 2.
Next, Comcast Corporation (NASDAQ:CMCSA)’s Fast & Furious 6 remains in second place thanks to its incredible showing with audiences abroad, and Despicable Me 2 — which has the lowest production budget of any film on the list by a wide margin — blew by Time Warner Inc (NYSE:TWX)’s Man of Steel over the past week to snag the third-place spot both on the summer and overall 2013 lists to date.
Image source: Official Despicable Me 2 Instagram page
Where it really gets interesting, however, is near the bottom of list, which shows international audiences apparently loved The Hangover Part III as well, with its overseas total making up more than any other movie on the list at 68.1% of sales.
