This has been a defining year in pop culture. Twerking teddy bears, the Harlem Shake and an unexpected album that took the world by storm has set 2013 apart from all the others. Movies this year have been no different. Big blockbuster sequels dominated this year which led 2013 to be the highest grossing year at the box office of all time. So sit back and grab some popcorn as we countdown the biggest movies of 2013.
5. MONSTERS UNIVERSITY
Stars: John Goodman, Billy Crystal, Steve Buscemi
Gross: $268 million
Everyone between the ages of 18-24 was kicked hard in the childhood when Pixar followed up with ‘Monsters University‘. They cleverly set the film in college, which is where most of the original audience for 2001’s ‘Monsters Inc’ is now. It worked and translated into huge box office success. The film out grossed its predecessor by almost $200 million worldwide and solidified it as one of the biggest films of the year.
4. MAN OF STEEL
Stars: Henry Cavill, Amy Adams, Russell Crowe
Gross: $291 million
Another summer, another superhero reboot. This time it was for the man of steel himself. Warner Bros. answer to Marvel’s ‘Avengers’ domination fared well at the box office. The film debuted at #1 and pulled in a whopping $116 million its opening weekend. It also sparked rumors of a Superfriends movie spinoff. The rumors were partly true as the sequel to ‘Man of Steel’ will feature the caped crusader himself, Batman and Wonder Woman. Your move Marvel.
3. DESPICABLE ME 2
Stars: Steve Carell, Kristen Wiig, Russell Brand
Gross: $367 million
America loves their Minions. The yellow gibberish speaking aliens have burrowed their way into peoples hearts and wallets. ‘Despicable Me 2’ out grossed its counterpart and was actually the second highest grossing film until ‘Catching Fire’ was released. But Gru and his minions don’t have to worry as there is already a minion movie spinoff and ‘Despicable Me 3’ already in the works. Its safe to say they will have the last laugh.
2. THE HUNGER GAMES: CATCHING FIRE
Stars: Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson, Liam Hemsworth
Gross: $390 million
To no surprise to anyone, ‘The Hunger Games: Catching Fire’ is one of the highest grossing films this year. No other film had as much hype surrounding it as ‘Catching Fire’ did. People just love Katniss fighting for her life while trying to sort out her feelings for two boys. Scandalous. The film out grossed the first’s entire run within four short weeks. I would expect part one of the finale movie ‘Mockingjay’ to blow that out of the water in 2014.
1. IRON MAN 3
Stars: Robert Downey Jr., Gwyneth Paltrow, Don Cheadle
Gross: $409 million
Marvel has produced the top grossing film for the second year in a row. Audiences couldn’t resist the charisma and bloated ego of Tony Stark over the summer. The only film to gross $1 billion worldwide this year, ‘Iron Man 3’ dominated the box office for two weeks with an astounding debut weekend of $174 million. The film holds the title of the second biggest opening weekend EVER, only behind its parent film ‘The Avengers’. With ‘Avengers: Age of Ultron’ on the way and Downey Jr. signing a 7 picture Iron Man deal, expect to see a lot more of Mr. Stark on top of each list each year.
