Warner Bros. wins 2013 box-office crown, bares 2014 slate

MANILA, Philippines - In a record-breaking year, Warner Bros. Pictures emerged as the top-grossing studio for 2013, ranking No. 1 in domestic, international and worldwide market shares. The studio took in an estimated combined global box-office gross of $5.035B, setting a new Warner Bros. benchmark and becoming only the second studio ever to cross the $5B threshold. It also marked the fifth consecutive year Warner Bros. has surpassed $4B worldwide, which is an industry record.

Globally, the studio has now ranked No. 1 or No. 2 in nine of the past 10 years, also an industry record.

Warner Bros. has crossed the $1B mark, both domestically and internationally, 13 years in a row, another industry record. The studio took in an estimated $1.895B at the domestic box office, with eight films crossing $100M, including three that went on to gross more than $200M. At the international box office, Warner Bros. set a new studio record of $3.14B, marking the fourth consecutive year — and the sixth year overall — that it has earned more than $2B. Ten Warner Bros. releases earned more than $100M internationally, of which seven grossed more than $200M — both unprecedented achievements for the studio. In addition, two of those films took in more than $300M, and two more crossed the $400M mark.

Two current hits, still in theaters, are among the studio’s highest-grossing films for the year: The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug at $659M worldwide and counting; and Gravity at $663M to date. The Summer blockbuster Man of Steel was the studio’s top-grossing release for the year, at $668M globally. Among the other worldwide box-office highlights for 2013 are: Warner Bros. Pictures and Legendary Pictures’ Pacific Rim with $411M; The Hangover Part III at $362M; The Great Gatsby at $351M; The Conjuring with $318M; and We’re the Millers at $270M.

Moving into 2014, the studio’s first quarter titles include:

•Grudge Match — Starring Robert de Niro and Sylvester Stallone as old boxing rivals who come out of retirement for one final match.

•The LEGO Movie — The first-ever, full-length theatrical LEGO adventure which will incorporate some of the LEGO world’s most popular figures while introducing several new characters, inviting fans who have enjoyed the brand’s innovative toys and hugely popular video games for generations to experience their visually unique LEGO world as never seen before.

•Winter’s Tale — Set in a mythic New York City and spanning more than a century, the story of miracles, crossed destinies and the age-old battle between good and evil stars Colin Farrell, Russell Crowe and Jessica Brown Findlay.

•300: Rise of an Empire — Told in the breathtaking visual style of the blockbuster 300, the new chapter of the epic saga takes the action to a fresh battlefield — on the sea — as Greek general Themistokles attempts to unite all of Greece by leading the charge that will change the course of the war.

For its Summer slate, Warner will roll out more potential blockbusters led by:

•Godzilla — An epic rebirth to Toho’s iconic Godzilla, the spectacular adventure pits the world’s most famous monster against malevolent creatures who, bolstered by humanity’s scientific arrogance, threaten our very existence.

•Edge of Tomorrow — Starring Tom Cruise and Emily Blunt, the epic action unfolds in a near future in which an alien race has hit the Earth in an unrelenting assault, unbeatable by any military unit in the world.

•Blended — The comedy marks the third collaboration between Adam Sandler and Drew Barrymore, following their successful onscreen pairings in the hit romantic comedies 50 First Dates and The Wedding Singer.

•Jupiter Ascending — Channing Tatum and Mila Kunis star in this original science fiction epic adventure from Matrix filmmakers Lana and Andy Wachowski.

•Into The Storm — Told through the eyes and lenses of professional storm chasers, thrill-seeking amateurs and courageous townspeople, the thriller throws you directly into the eye of the storm to experience Mother Nature at her most extreme. It stars The Hobbit’s Richard Armitage.

Come fall, the studio will release:

•Jersey Boys — Clint Eastwood directs the legendary story of Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons and tells the meteoric tale of how a group of blue-collar boys from the wrong side of the tracks became one of the biggest American pop music sensations of all time.

•Tammy — A fast-food employee (Melissa McCarthy) loses her job and heads out on the road with her grandmother (Susan Sarandon) in the comedy written by the Bridesmaids star.

•Dolphin Tale 2 — The movie will tell another true story inspired by the life of Winter, but also involves a new baby dolphin named Hope who was rescued by the Clearwater Marine Aquarium in 2010.

•Inherent Vice — Based on the Thomas Pynchon novel, which is part-noir, part psychedelic romp, the Joaquin Phoenix-Reese Witherspoon starrer provides a classic illustration of the principle that if you can remember the ’60s, you weren’t there.

•The Judge — Robert Downey Jr. stars as big city lawyer who returns to his childhood home where his estranged father, the town’s judge (Robert Duvall), is suspected of murder.

•Interstellar — Directed by Christopher Nolan, the  epic thriller chronicles the adventures of a group of explorers (Matthew McConaughey and Anne Hathaway) who make use of a newly-discovered wormhole to surpass the limitations on human space travel and conquer the vast distances involved in an interstellar voyage.

•Horrible Bosses 2 — The follow-up to the 2011 hit comedy reunites Jason Bateman, Charlie Day and Jason Sudeikis as everyone’s favorite working stiffs Nick, Dale and Kurt. Jennifer Aniston, Jamie Foxx and Kevin Spacey also reprise their starring roles, while Chris Pine and Christoph Waltz star as new adversaries standing between the guys and their dreams of success.

•This Is Where I Leave You — Based on the hilarious and poignant best-selling novel by Jonathan Tropper, it features a starring ensemble cast including Jason Bateman, Tina Fey and Jane Fonda.

•Live By Night — Ben Affleck writes, produces and stars in the adaptation of Dennis Lehane’s sprawling crime novel centering on the prodigal son of a prominent police chief, and his gradual descent into the criminal underworld.

•The Hobbit: There and Back Again — The final film in an epic trilogy adapting the enduringly popular masterpiece The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien. The three films tell a continuous story set in Middle-earth 60 years before The Lord of the Rings.