Iron Man 3

Iron Man 3

Summer 2013 has been a great time for blockbuster films, not only have we been treated to some crackers but they have also brought in the money at the box office.

We have seen franchises launch with Man of Steel while highly anticipated sequel such as Iron Man 3 and Monsters University have thrilled audiences of all ages.

Now the blockbuster season is over we take a look at the movies that been the big performers.

Iron Man 3 - $1.2 billion

Iron Man 3 is not only the biggest grossing movie of the summer, but the biggest grossing movie of 2013 so far.

The movie saw Robert Downey Jr return to the title character as the movie kicked off Marvel's Phase Two of films - a phase that will culminate with the release of The Avengers: Age of Ultron in the summer of 2015.

Gwyneth Paltrow, Don Cheadle and Jon Favreau were back on the cast list while Guy Pearce, Rebecca Hall, Be Kingsley and James Badge Dale were all new additions.

Iron Man 3 stormed to the top of the box office around the world; at the end of its theatrical run it was the fifth highest grossing movie of all time.

Despicable Me 2 - $822 million

It was back in 2010 that we were introduced to Gru and the Minions for the first time; three years on and they made a return to the big screen.

Steve Carell was on hand to voice the character of Gru once again, while Pierre Coffin, Chris Renaud were back in the director's chair.

But this time around Gru is a force for good as he is hired to bring down a new super-villain.

Despicable Me 2 was both a critical and commercial hit and has gone on to become one of the biggest animation movies of all time.

Fast & Furious 6 - $787 million

It is hard to believe but it was 2001 when the Fast and the Furious franchise hit the big screen for the first time.

This summer saw Vin Diesel and Paul Walker reprise the role of Dominic Toretto and Brian O'Conner in the sixth film in the franchise.

Fast Five only hit the big screen two years ago - it went on to be the most successful film in the franchise to date.

But it seems that the Fast & Furious movies are getting more successful with each one that is release as Fast & Furious 6 has eclipsed the fifth film by taking over $787 million at the global box office.

A seventh film is scheduled to hit the big screen next year with James Wan taking over the director's chair from Justin Lin.

Monsters University - $714 million

No summer is complete without a Pixar movie hitting the big screen... and this summer saw Mike & Sulley return in Monsters University.

It was 2002 when we were introduced to these characters for the first time, and now we go back to their university days.

Monsters Inc is one of my favourite Pixar films of all time and I was delighted to see that they kept the spirit and the magic of this first film in this sequel.

Critics and audiences loved the movie and it went on to make over $714 million at the box office; eclipsing the $562 million made by the first time.

Man of Steel - $657 million

One of the most anticipated films of the summer came in form of Man of Steel, as Superman returned to the big screen for the first time since 2006.

Zack Snyder was in the director's chair while Henry Cavill took on the role of Superman; this was the biggest role of his career to date.

This was an origins story that rebooted the franchise as we glimpsed moments of Clark's childhood through to understand how to effectively use his powers.

Amy Adams, Michael Shannon, Russell Crowe, Kevin Costner and Diane Lane were all on the cast list - it really was one of the most impressive line-ups of the summer.

A sequel is already in the pipeline and it will be a film that will see Superman go head to head with Batman.

World War Z - $531 million

One of the movies that I really did enjoy this summer was World War Z, as Max Brooks' novel of the same name was adapted for the big screen.

A zombie blockbuster is perhaps not the type of movie that we are use to seeing Brad Pitt star in but he really embraced this role in what is an exciting film.

World War Z saw Marc Forster return to the director's chair, while Mireille Enos and James Badge Dale were also on the cast list.

The movie followed Gerry Lane, played by Pitt, as he travels the globe trying to end a zombie pandemic.


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