Right now, the biggest-anticipated movie of 2013 is superhero threequel Iron Man 3. Robert Downey Jr. and Gwyneth Paltrow return to the franchise that's easily been the biggest highlights of their career. The first two Iron Man movies are the biggest-grossing Marvel movies to date (not counting the first three Spider-Man movies, which are by a different distributor), at $318 million and $312 million. With the trailer picking up nearly 50 million views on YouTube, anticipation is already very high. The only difference from the previous two, is that it isn't being directed by Jon Favreau. That won't affect things too much though. Opening on May 3 is key, especially when there will be almost no competition. Iron Man 2 opened to $128 million in 2010, and it wouldn't be surprising if this installment matched or even surpassed that number on its' opening weekend. But as for long-term prospects, it will have stiff competition with three other anticipated films opening in May hoping to steal its' audience. With that in mind, it may end up falling short of its' predecessors' final grosses, but it should still wind up with around $300 million stateside.Memorial Day Weekend 2013 is a weekend that's going to have two major movies going head-to-head, and unfortunately, they both will probably wind up behind their predecessors because of it. Out of both though, it looks like The Hangover: Part III has the upfront advantage (Fast and the Furious 6 is the other one, but it isn't considered a heavy-hitter since its' predecessor barely went past $200 million domestically). Its' predecessor broke the M-Day weekend record at $135 million in five days (though it would fall just shy of the first Hangover in the long run). Part III has yet to debut any marketing, but that will likely change by the beginning of the year. The lack of R-rated comedies on the marketplace will guarantee at least $75 million over the three-day weekend, and a final gross north of $250 million.
Even though its' superhero has had a plagued box office history, Superman adaptation Man of Steel is already showing signs of being a blockbuster. Directed by Zack Snyder (300, Legend of the Guardians, Watchmen) and produced by Christopher Nolan (Dark Knight trilogy), the movie's trailer has already gotten close to 25 million viewers on YouTube. The cast is also top-notch, with Henry Cavill, Amy Adams, Diane Lane, Kevin Costner, Laurence Fishburne and Russell Crowe starring. Opening in mid-June is a good release plan (since Iron Man 3 will be starting to leave theaters by that point), and if it can succeed, the movie may very well start a new franchise. Its' too early to do a prediction, but at least $200 million stateside is guaranteed (but if it were to only gross that, it would be a disappointment).
Yes, its' animated. But its' tough to not include Pixar in the heavy-hitters list, as for the third time in their near-impeccable history, they revisit one of their most-beloved franchises. And for a first, they're doing a prequel with Monsters University. Arriving 11 and a half years after Monsters, Inc. grossed over $250 million domestically, the teaser trailer (which debuted with Brave) has been well-received. While not their most popular film, Monsters Inc. still has a fanbase and they will likely show up for this. Obviously, don't expect an opening anywhere near Toy Story 3, but an opening higher than the mid-60's millions Pixar usually gets should be expected. I will explain more about this later on in an Animation section of the 2013 preview.
Skipping forward to November, last year, The Hunger Games was a massive hit at over $400 million domestically. This year, already in production, The Hunger Games: Catching Fire is hoping to build on that films' success. Releasing on the typical weekend Twilight and Harry Potter movies used to dominate, its' likely that this movie will catch onto that same tradition. I don't know if it will match its' predecessors' final gross since that movie didn't have a lot of competition to deal with until The Avengers, and sequels usually have a tough time living up to their predecessor (especially when they're released at a different time of year, Twilight being a notable exception). Catching Fire is guaranteed at least $350 million in its' entire run, and it may be able to benefit from overseas gross to come out ahead of its' predecessor worldwide.
Finally, The Hobbit: Desolation of Smaug is hoping to carry out the same way The Lord of the Rings movies did, improving after each movie. An Unexpected Journey is slightly underwhelming at the box office, and unless if it pulls a few more visual tricks, it may not win more attention for the franchise. Nonetheless though, $250 million in the U.S. at least is guaranteed.
