Summer Box Office Bonanza: 2013 Could Break Record

Sick of all the sequels, reboots and remakes currently clogging theaters? You may be alone.

The box office receipts for this summer’s movie slate are up more than 12 percent from last year, and the numbers put the season on track for a new record.

That $4.4 billion record was set in 2011; last summer the box office dipped back down to $4.29 billion. If the box office continues on this torrid pace, this summer will easily top last year.

Iron Man 3, the first official release of the 2013 summer movie season, is leading the charge with a $400 million haul. Other robust earners include Fast & Furious 6, The Hangover Part III, Man of Steel and The Great Gatsby–two sequels, a reboot and a remake.

The season still could portend trouble for the film industry. Potential big-budget flops like World War Z and The Lone Ranger loom on the cinematic horizon, and when industry’s giants like Steven Spielberg and George Lucas say Hollywood is heading for a crash it’s hard to dismiss their warnings.

Movie goers numb to the parade of explosions, CGI trickery and muscle-bound heroes can take solace in The Purge and Mud, two small-budgeted films which have earned $53 million and $19 million, respectively. There’s always a little room left in the marquee, apparently, for films that don’t fit the box office mold.