‘The Hunger Games: Catching Fire’ Among The Top Grossing Films Of 2013
The Hunger Games: Catching Fire is among the world’s top-grossing films of 2013.
Although the sequel to the 2012 box office hit arrived in theaters last month, this didn’t stop the flick from becoming one of the top-grossing films of the year. Catching Fire joins the ranks of such blockbuster franchises as Iron Man and Fast and the Furious.
According to the numbers posted at Box Office Mojo, The Hunger Games sequel made approximately $765 million from moviegoers around the world. Comparatively, the first installment of the series capped out at $691 million in receipts. This certainly bodes well for the remaining sequels scheduled for 2014 and 2015.
However, Comicbook.com points out that Catching Fire will likely beat Despicable Me 2 at the domestic box office this weekend. Estimates put the latest Hunger Games North American total at $371 million.
Although Catching Fire may have beaten the Despicable Me sequel domestically, it couldn’t scrape together enough business overseas to trump the animated flick worldwide. Director Pierre Coffin and Chris Renaud’s follow-up earned approximately $918 million over the course of 2013.
Despite all their success, The Hunger Games: Catching Fire and Despicable Me 2 couldn’t best director Shane Black’s Iron Man 3 at the global box office. The character’s third cinematic adventure will end the year with around $1.2 billion in ticket sales. Disney and Marvel apparently have a license to print money these days.
Universal Pictures also scored a massive hit with director Justin Lin’s high-octane sequel Fast and Furious 6. When the flick’s theatrical run finally came to a close, it had generated upwards of $788 million in receipts. The film is also reportedly doing extremely brisk business on DVD, Blu-ray, and VOD as well.
Although the top-grossing films of the year really aren’t overly surprising, one film that managed to make a significant chunk of change despite all odds was the Brad Pitt zombie outing World War Z. The movie hit numerous speed bumps on the way to the big screen, leading many to believe it would sputter out when it finally hit theaters.
However, director Marc Forster’s big-budget adaptation of author Max Brooks’ novel eventually grossed $540 million. Since the flick was an unexpected hit for Paramount Pictures, the studio decided to revisit the possibility of a sequel. Look for another installment to hit screens around the globe within the next few years.
Check out 12 of the top-grossing films of 2013 below.
1. Iron Man 3 – $1.2 billion
2. Despicable Me 2 – $918.5 million
3. Fast & Furious 6 – $788.7 million
4. The Hunger Games: Catching Fire – $765.3 million
5. Monsters University – $743.6 million
6. Man of Steel – $662.8 million
7. Gravity – $652.3 million
8. Thor: The Dark World – $627.1 million
9. The Croods – $587.2 million
10. World War Z – $540 million
11. Oz The Great and Powerful – $493.3 million
12. Star Trek Into Darkness – $467.4 million
Are you surprised that director Francis Lawrence’s The Hunger Games: Catching Fire is one of the top-grossing films of the year?
