Top Movie Box Office Earners for May 2013
There was a time when June was thought to be the opening of the summer movie season, when studios would unleash their biggest films for all to see.
In recent years, May has unofficially become the start of summer, with high-budget spectacles like "The Avengers" being released in early May 2012.
In 2013, that trend continues with several potential blockbusters being unleashed by the studios in May.
Here are the biggest of all of those big films for the month, many of which might go on to see even bigger tallies before all is said and done.
Without a doubt, "Iron Man 3" is the biggest earner at the box office for all of May, and it isn't even close.
The Marvel Studios film grossed an impressive $174,144,585 during its first week of release alone across the globe, which broke several box office records.
Since its May 4 opening, it has amassed a gargantuan $372,775,931 tally while still playing at over 4,000 theaters a full three weeks after its bow, which is almost unheard of.
The film stars Robert Downey, Jr.
in his fourth film as Tony Stark, the genius billionaire playboy philanthropist who dons an iron suit in order to save lives.
Downey has hinted he might not suit up again as Iron Man since his contract is now up.
With these numbers, it's hard to believe that Marvel Studios won't pony up the big bucks to keep Downey for future installments in the superhero franchise.
Coming in second for the month with less than half of the intake of "Iron Man 3" is "Star Trek Into Darkness," director J.
J.
Abrams' second film in the newly-rebooted space franchise.
The film grossed $70,165,559 in its first weekend alone, which was only slightly lower than the amount earned by the first movie in the new series, 2009's "Star Trek.
" Released on May 16, the movie would go on to gross $156,013,879 with three days still to go in the month.
Paramount has already expressed interest in a third installment, but the franchise might have to move on without director Abrams, who's now focused on his new Star Wars film for Disney.
After several years in preproduction, director Baz Luhrmann's epic take on "The Great Gatsby" was unleashed in theaters on May 10.
In its crucial opening weekend, the film, starring Leonardo DiCaprio in the title role, took in $50,085,185 at the box office.
The oft-delayed film has so far amassed $117,754,209 in ticket sales and is still playing at over 3,500 screens nationwide, proving it has some real staying power.
The movie was originally set to be released last fall in hopes it would compete for awards such as Golden Globe and Oscars.
It was pushed back to May in order to allow Luhrmann more time to tinker with the 3-D effects and to polish the soundtrack, which features superstars like Beyonce, Jay-Z, and Florence + The Machine.
"Fast & Furious 6" is proving that moviegoers still have a taste for speed, even after the sixth film in the franchise.
It earned a whopping $97,375,245 during the long Memorial Day weekend, its first in release.
That's nearly twice as much as any other film over the weekend, with no one able to predict exactly how much more the film might earn before its theatrical run ends.
It's so successful the studio has already given the green light to a seventh film they hope to release by 2015.
No details are available yet about the seventh film, but it's likely a safe bet stars like Paul Walker and Vin Diesel will be back.
Another franchise film, " The Hangover Part III," made lots of dough at the box office, raking in $41,671,198 during its opening weekend.
The film, which director Todd Phillips says is the final chapter of the series, has so far earned $62,051,829 in theaters after a May 23 release.
That total is expected to go up quite in the coming weeks since the film has only been in theaters for a few days.
The movie brings back all the originals from the first two films, including Bradley Cooper, Ed Helms, Justin Bartha, and Zach Galifianakis.
Another film that will probably have a much higher box office total when its run concludes is "Epic," which has a worldwide total of $85,720,971 so far after a May 24 release.
The animated film features the voices of Beyonce, Colin Farrell, Josh Hutcherson, and Amanda Seyfried and was released by Fox Animation.
In recent years, May has unofficially become the start of summer, with high-budget spectacles like "The Avengers" being released in early May 2012.
In 2013, that trend continues with several potential blockbusters being unleashed by the studios in May.
Here are the biggest of all of those big films for the month, many of which might go on to see even bigger tallies before all is said and done.
Without a doubt, "Iron Man 3" is the biggest earner at the box office for all of May, and it isn't even close.
The Marvel Studios film grossed an impressive $174,144,585 during its first week of release alone across the globe, which broke several box office records.
Since its May 4 opening, it has amassed a gargantuan $372,775,931 tally while still playing at over 4,000 theaters a full three weeks after its bow, which is almost unheard of.
The film stars Robert Downey, Jr.
in his fourth film as Tony Stark, the genius billionaire playboy philanthropist who dons an iron suit in order to save lives.
Downey has hinted he might not suit up again as Iron Man since his contract is now up.
With these numbers, it's hard to believe that Marvel Studios won't pony up the big bucks to keep Downey for future installments in the superhero franchise.
Coming in second for the month with less than half of the intake of "Iron Man 3" is "Star Trek Into Darkness," director J.
J.
Abrams' second film in the newly-rebooted space franchise.
The film grossed $70,165,559 in its first weekend alone, which was only slightly lower than the amount earned by the first movie in the new series, 2009's "Star Trek.
" Released on May 16, the movie would go on to gross $156,013,879 with three days still to go in the month.
Paramount has already expressed interest in a third installment, but the franchise might have to move on without director Abrams, who's now focused on his new Star Wars film for Disney.
After several years in preproduction, director Baz Luhrmann's epic take on "The Great Gatsby" was unleashed in theaters on May 10.
In its crucial opening weekend, the film, starring Leonardo DiCaprio in the title role, took in $50,085,185 at the box office.
The oft-delayed film has so far amassed $117,754,209 in ticket sales and is still playing at over 3,500 screens nationwide, proving it has some real staying power.
The movie was originally set to be released last fall in hopes it would compete for awards such as Golden Globe and Oscars.
It was pushed back to May in order to allow Luhrmann more time to tinker with the 3-D effects and to polish the soundtrack, which features superstars like Beyonce, Jay-Z, and Florence + The Machine.
"Fast & Furious 6" is proving that moviegoers still have a taste for speed, even after the sixth film in the franchise.
It earned a whopping $97,375,245 during the long Memorial Day weekend, its first in release.
That's nearly twice as much as any other film over the weekend, with no one able to predict exactly how much more the film might earn before its theatrical run ends.
It's so successful the studio has already given the green light to a seventh film they hope to release by 2015.
No details are available yet about the seventh film, but it's likely a safe bet stars like Paul Walker and Vin Diesel will be back.
Another franchise film, " The Hangover Part III," made lots of dough at the box office, raking in $41,671,198 during its opening weekend.
The film, which director Todd Phillips says is the final chapter of the series, has so far earned $62,051,829 in theaters after a May 23 release.
That total is expected to go up quite in the coming weeks since the film has only been in theaters for a few days.
The movie brings back all the originals from the first two films, including Bradley Cooper, Ed Helms, Justin Bartha, and Zach Galifianakis.
Another film that will probably have a much higher box office total when its run concludes is "Epic," which has a worldwide total of $85,720,971 so far after a May 24 release.
The animated film features the voices of Beyonce, Colin Farrell, Josh Hutcherson, and Amanda Seyfried and was released by Fox Animation.
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