Steve’s Box Office Report: May 2013
Top 10 Films for the Month of May:
1. Iron Man 3 – $409,013,994
2. Fast and Furious 6 – $238,679,850
3. Star Trek Into Darkness – $228,778,661
4. The Great Gatsby – $144,840,419
5. Now You See Me – $117,723,989
6. The Hangover Part III – $112,200,072
7. Epic – $107,518,682
8. After Earth – $60,522,097
9. Peeples – $9,177,065
10. Before Midnight – $8,144,627
Honorable Mentions:
1. Frances Ha – $4,069,826
May Winners: Iron Man 3, Fast and Furious 6, Star Trek Into Darkness, the Great Gatsby, and Now You See Me
We continue on through the year of 2013 and we hit the summer as even though the year has been somewhat of a mixed bag, this May looked to be really loaded with some huge films and there was a little bit of something for everyone. This month in particular was considerably loaded with blockbusters which you usually don’t always get every May, and it was now going to be a question of which ones would pull away from the pack and have a great run. The first film from this month that makes it into this category is Iron Man 3, the third in the Iron Man trilogy where Tony Stark copes with the events from “The Avengers” while dealing with a mysterious terrorist called the Mandarin. The film would receive positive reviews from critics who felt it was a step up from the second film though not as fresh as the first film, and the film would finish with over $409 million which I will delve into further later in the recap. The next film from this month that makes it into this category is the 6th edition in the Fast and Furious series, and this film sees Dominic Toretto and his family assist DSS agent Luke Hobbs stop a mercenary organization. The film would receive positive reviews from critics who felt this film built off the previous film very well, and it would finish with over $238 million which put it as the highest grossing film in the series and assured that it would continue. The next film from this month that makes it into this category is the sci-fi film Star Trek Into Darkness, the sequel to the first Star Trek where Kirk and his crew are tasked with capturing a former Starfleet member who became a terrorist. The film would receive positive reviews from critics who felt it was a solid sequel though there were some criticism towards the portrayal of Khan, and it would finish with over $228 million which puts it slightly behind the first one though assures that it would continue as a trilogy. The next film from this month is the romantic drama film the Great Gatsby, based on the novel of the same name of a man who becomes friends with the mysterious Gatsby and tries to help him reconnect with an old lover. The film would receive mixed reviews from critics who praised the visuals though felt it didn’t fully honor the source material, and it would finish with over $144 million which was a major win given the films it was up against. The fifth and final film from this month that makes it into this category is the heist film Now You See Me, a film about a group of magicians who take part in elaborate robberies using magic while being pursued by the FBI. The film would receive mixed reviews from critics who felt the premises was unique though left a lot of questions unanswered, but the audience would be drawn to it as it finished with over $117 million which I will delve into later in the recap. These five films did an amazing job in making a lot of money despite having to basically fight for the audience, and coupled with some other strong performances and the month of May is looking like one of the best of the year.
May Losers: After Earth
With this many blockbusters coming out in a single month, you knew it was inevitable that at least one of them would be lost in the shuffle and end up flopping, but the one thing that we didn’t want is for more than one film to fail because that would drag the month down. Thankfully, there was only one film that failed in this month and that was the sci-fi action film After Earth, a film about a father and son who crash land onto a post-apocalyptic Earth and the son must survive in the wilderness to save his father. The film would receive negative reviews from critics who considered it one of the worst of the year and another disappointment for director M. Night Shyamalan, and it would finish with over $60 million as it was quickly crushed under the weight of the other big films that came out this month. Given how strong the winners did this month, this one loser is swallowed up by that and the month of May continues to perform very strongly.
The Surprise/Story of May 2013: Phase 2 of the MCU blasts off as Iron Man 3 easily takes the top spot of May 2013
5 years ago in 2008, the Marvel Cinematic Universe kicked off with the first Iron Man which was part of what was called Phase 1, and last year that phase concluded with “The Avengers” which was a massive success and broke several records. This year, the MCU kicked off Phase 2 with Iron Man 3 and coming off the goodwill that the Avengers had, this film had all the makings to continue the hot streak and it easily does even despite the reviews not being as good as the previous two Iron Man films. It would end up being the highest grossing of the Iron Man films and was looked at as a good sendoff for Tony Stark in his own solo films, and coupled with very strong performances from other films this month and the summer of 2013 is off to a rocking start and we have to see how it continues throughout the summer.
Overachiever of May 2013: Now You See Me
With Now You See Me coming out at the end of the month, this film was in an interesting position in that it was having to deal with the big films that came out the previous Memorial Day weekend, and it was also going to deal with the big films coming out in June. The film would also go up against After Earth which had a bit more hype behind it and it looked like the film was going to be lost in the shuffle, and the film was getting mixed reviews from critics and that just seemed like another strike against it. However, the film would be well-received by audiences and served as perfect counterprogramming to the huge films that were coming out, and the unique premises and fairly loaded cast also helped bring in audiences as it would finish with over $117 million which was a huge win for the film. As a result, it wouldn’t be completely surprising if a sequel was made and it seemed more obvious given the ending of the film, and as a result the film easily deserves the title of the overachiever of the month.
Underachiever of May 2013: The Hangover Part III
Back in 2009, the first Hangover was released and would become an unexpected smash hit as it was the go-to comedy of the year and took the top spot for June of that year, and then in 2011 the second Hangover came out and despite being more of the same, it did even better than the first one and became at the time the highest-grossing “R” rated comedy in history. As a result, we now get the completed trilogy with “The Hangover Part III” which sees the Wolfpack try to save Doug from a gangster who wants them to help him get revenge on his old partner Leslie Chow. The film would receive negative reviews from critics who felt that even though it was different from the previous two, it was far inferior to the other two and it would finish with over $112 million which was far below the previous two. It is unfortunate that the series ended the way it given how extremely successful the first two were and it served as a launching pad for its stars, but sadly the trilogy ends up with a thud and this film ends up being the underachiever of the month.
May 2013 Awards Watch: Iron Man 3, Star Trek Into Darkness, the Great Gatsby, the Hangover Part III, After Earth, and Frances Ha
As we head into the summer, this is as usual when the award contenders start to come out though the month of May can fluctuate between having a lot of contenders to having no contenders at all. This year, we do have some contenders as we have a total of 6 films that make it into this category which is pretty good for this month. The first film from this month that makes it into this category is Iron Man 3 which was nominated for one Academy Award (Best Visual Effects) which it wouldn’t win though it was common for a Marvel film to get that nod. The next film from this month that makes it into this category is Star Trek Into Darkness which was nominated for one Academy Award (Best Visual Effects) which it wouldn’t win, and it was a good nod for the film despite the mixed reviews. The next film from this month that makes it into this category is the Great Gatsby which would win 2 Academy Awards (Best Production Design and Best Costume Design), and it was a great win for the film to not only get the nods, but actually win the awards as well. The next film from this month that makes it into this category is the Hangover Part III which would be nominated for one Golden Raspberry Award (Worst Prequel, Remake, Ripoff, or Sequel) though it wouldn’t win, but it just proved that the franchise was dead at this point and needed to end. The next film from this month that makes it into this category is After Earth which would win 3 Golden Raspberry Awards (Worst Actor, Worst Supporting Actor, and Worst On-Screen Combo) while being nominated for 3 more (Worst Film, Worst Director, and Worst Screenplay), and this would solidify the film as being one of the worst of the year. The last film from this month that makes it into this category is the comedy-drama film Frances Ha, a film about a dancer who struggles to succeed while helping her friends with their problems. The film would receive positive reviews from critics who considered it one of the best of the year and it would finish with just over $4 million, and it would be nominated for one Golden Globe Award (Best Actress – Comedy or Musical) which it wouldn’t win. There was a good mix of films that got nods at least though a few of them did pick up some wins as well, and we will see how the rest of the summer fares in this category.
Overall Thoughts of May 2013:
Overall, the month of May 2013 might go down as one of the best Mays in recent history and to this point, it is easily the best month of the year and it’s not even close. The year started off fairly weak and had a bit of a bump in March, but now the box office gains a lot of momentum coming out of this month and going into the rest of the summer. In what has to be a first, we have 7 films from one month make over $100 million with two going over $200 million and one clearing $400 million, and the other films from this month were low key enough that they didn’t drag the month down. 2013 has been an interesting year thus far as it started weak like I said, got a slight bump in the month of March, but now the box office comes alive and we will see how the rest of the summer plays out. As for the month of May 2013, it is the best month of the year thus far and one of the best Mays since I started doing these recaps.
Final Grade: A+
