Tony Stark did more than save the world in Iron Man 3. He helped deliver a record summer in theaters and carry Hollywood to a new high for all of 2013.
With two days left, U.S. and Canadian cinemas are certain to pass last years record $10.8 billion in ticket sales by about 1 percent, researcher Rentrak Corp. (RENT) said yesterday in a statement. Studios spaced out their biggest films to avoid head-to-head competition, and produced more releases with domestic revenue of $200 million-plus, often with exhibitors charging extra for larger screens, plush seats and better sound.
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Walt Disney Co. (DIS)s Iron Man 3, topping the U.S. box office with $409 million in sales, underscored Hollywoods success revisiting hits, leading the industry to a second-straight annual record after drops the prior two years. Eight of the top 10 films were sequels or revivals of action, fantasy, animation or sci-fi hits, according to Box Office Mojo. Two of those, The Hunger Games and The Hobbit, return with new episodes in 2014.
The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug, the second of three new films from the work of J.R.R. Tolkien, led U.S. sales for a third-straight weekend, even with fresh competition from Martin Scorseses The Wolf of Wall Street. The Hobbit has taken in $190.3 million domestically since its Dec. 13 debut and $614.1 million worldwide for Time Warner Inc. (TWX)s Warner Bros., the 2013 box-office leader, according to Box Office Mojo.
The years winners were accompanied by a few duds. The Lone Ranger, from Disney, lost $160 million to $190 million, according to an August conference call transcript.
Sony Corp.s film studio stumbled in the summer box-office season that runs from May to early September. Big-budget tentpoles After Earth, with Will Smith, and White House Down, with Channing Tatum and Jamie Foxx, failed to connect with audiences.
Studios avoided bloody box-office battles by putting some time between their biggest pictures, Pyykkonen said.
Iron Man 3, released May 3, racked up 85 percent of its total domestic sales in three weeks. The latest installment in the story of billionaire inventor Tony Stark faced serious competition only by its third weekend, when Viacom Inc. (VIAB)s Paramount Pictures opened Star Trek Into Darkness.
With fewer releases bunched together, at least 12 films exceeded $200 million in U.S. ticket sales this year, compared with 11 in 2012 and seven in 2011, according to Box Office Mojo. That helped the industry beat last years total even though only Iron Man 3 topped $400 million domestically this year, compared with three in the previous 12 months.
The less competitive calendar also allowed some sleeper hits to emerge. Gravity, the 3-D space adventure featuring Sandra Bullock and George Clooney, opened in early October and generated $254.6 million in domestic revenue for Warner Bros.
Gravity was the No. 2 film of the year for the studio, behind Man of Steel, and helped cement Warner Bros. industry-leading $1.81 billion in domestic sales as of Dec. 26, according to Box Office Mojo.
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