For Hollywood Studios, no time of year is more important — or more expensive — than the four-month summer season. The stakes are particularly high this year, since domestic box-office revenue is trailing 2012 by a dire 12 percent.
From Teaser Trailers, to digital and print marketing campaigns and celebrities promoting their respective films on daytime, prime time and late night network TV , studios are spending millions in marketing dollars to lure you to the box office.
May kicks off the summer movie season, which some refer to as “Sequel Summer” with four mega-franchise installments:
- Marvel Studios and Disney’s Iron Man 3 on May 3
- Paramount’s Star Trek Into Darkness on May 17
- Universal’s Fast & Furious 6; and Warner Bros.’ The Hangover Part III, which both roll out May 24, the beginning of the long Memorial Day weekend.
This summer there will also be films for those who may not be fans of super hero movies (if you can believe there are such people)! .
Warners is counting on adults, and especially women, to turn out for The Great Gatsby, Baz Luhrmann’s risky, 3D adaptation of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s iconic novel, with Leonardo DiCaprio in the title role, opening May 10 in the U.S. before opening the Cannes Film Festival five days later.
On May 31, Sony’s After Earth, starring Will Smith sharing the screen with his son, Jaden, opens opposite the offbeat crime caper Now You See Me. M. Night Shyamalan.
Here is a complete list of upcoming 2013 movies:
Disney will open Iron Man 3 unchallenged on May 3rd, followed by Warner Bros. which will continue another successful year with The Great Gatsby on May 10th. The rest of the year looks just as strong. A few of the following films may cross a billion dollars such as The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug, but the rest are just as likely to please both audiences and studios.
Star Trek Into Darkness – May 17th (Paramount)
The Hangover Part III – May 24th (Warner Bros.)
Epic – May 24th (Fox)
After Earth – May 31st (Sony)
Man of Steel – June 14th (Warner Bros.)
Monsters University – June 21st (Disney)
World War Z – June 21st (Paramount)
The Heat – June 28th (Fox)
White House Down – June 28th (Sony)
The Lone Ranger – July 3rd (Disney)
Despicable Me 2 – July 3rd (Universal)
Pacific Rim – July 12th (Warner Bros.)
Grown Ups 2 – July 12th (Sony)
Turbo – July 17th (Fox-Dreamworks)
R.I.P.D. – July 19th (Universal)
The Wolverine – July 26th (Fox)
The Smurfs 2 – July 31st (Sony)
Elysium – August 9th (Sony)
Prisoners – September 20th (Warner Bros.)
Gravity – October 4th (Warner Bros.)
Captain Phillips – October 11th (Sony)
Thor: The Dark World – November 8th (Disney)
The Counselor – November 15th (Fox)
The Wolf of Wall Street – November 15th (Paramount)
The Hunger Games: Catching Fire – November 22nd (Lionsgate)
The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug – December 13th (Warner Bros.)
American Hustle – December 13th (Sony)
Monuments Men – December 18th (Sony)
There is also a plethora of Indie Films coming to a screen near you this summer!
INDIES TO WATCH FOR THIS MONTH:
What Maisie Knew (Millennium)
Something in the Air (IFC)
Augustine (Music Box)
Pieta (Drafthouse)
Populaire (Weinstein)
The East (Fox Searchlight)
The Kings of Summer (CBS Films)
Shadow Dancer (Magnolia)