Monday, August 26, 2013

The 16 Biggest Summer Movie Surprises, Both Good And Bad

Iron Man 3 , Fast & Furious 6 , and Man of Steel were always going to be hits, and no one thought R.I.P.D. was going to do well — but sometimes the summer movie season can truly surprise you.


World War Z


World War Z


Opening weekend: $66.4 million

Total U.S. gross*: $198.9 million

Total global gross*: $526.1 million


Brad Pitt's globe-trotting zombie thriller was supposed to be an unmitigated disaster. Instead, it was one of the most solid performers of the summer, especially overseas, and the most successful movie that wasn't a foregone conclusion (i.e. a sequel and/or superhero movie and/or animated family film) so far this year.


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Now You See Me


Now You See Me


Opening weekend: $29.4 million

Total U.S. gross*: $116.5 million

Total global gross*: $293 million


When all the box office receipts are counted, this magician caper will have out grossed the likes of Johnny Depp, Will Smith, and Matt Damon with little more than a great cast and a slight-of-hand, mobius-strip plot that makes absolutely no sense.


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Despicable Me 2


Despicable Me 2


Opening weekend: $83.5 million

Total U.S. gross*: $350.7 million

Total global gross*: $805.8 million


Certainly people expected this sequel to the 2010 animated hit to do well, but this thing is a monster, besting the first Despicable Me by almost $100 million (and counting) in the U.S., and $280 million globally — thanks especially to those need-no-translation Minions, who will be getting their own spin-off movie next year.


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Blue Jasmine


Blue Jasmine


Opening weekend: $4.3 million (in wide release)

Total U.S. gross*: $14.8 million

Total global gross*: N/A


When Woody Allen's latest opened in July in six theaters, it averaged a record-setting $102,000 per location average and some of Allen's best reviews in years (especially for star Cate Blanchett). The film is well on its way to approaching Allen's best-ever box office, Midnight in Paris' $56.8 million, and with a much meatier dramatic storyline than the latter film's fizzy time-traveling escapades. (The road is much longer, however, when adjusting for inflation.)


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