Universal Pictures today announced that the studio has set a new record for its highest-grossing year ever at the North American box office with a total of $1.352 billion through Sunday. The previous record was set in 2012 with total grosses having reached $1.335 billion. The studio bested its previous international box office record ($1.794 billion/2012) in mid-August and the previous worldwide record ($3.129 billion/2012) in September. Universals total worldwide grosses to date are $3.49 billion.
Propelling Universals success at the North American box office this year were eight films that claimed the number one spot including: Mama ($71.6 million), Identity Thief ($134.5 million), Oblivion ($89.1 million), Fast & Furious 6 ($238.7 million), Despicable Me 2 ($365.9 million), The Purge ($64.5 million), 2 Guns ($75.6 million) and Riddick ($42 million). Identity Thief, Fast & Furious 6 and Despicable Me 2 each claimed the No. 1 spot at the weekend box office twice. Fast & Furious 6 was Universals top North American opening of 2013 ($117 million) and the second-highest domestic opening of the year (behind Iron Man 3). Illumination Entertainments Despicable Me 2 had the highest opening for an animated film in 2013 domestically ($83.5 million). In addition, Universals first micro-budget film under the studios production deal with Jason Blums Blumhouse Productions, The Purge, grossed more than ten times its $3 million production budget in its North American opening weekend and has gone on to gross $89.9 million worldwide.
On a worldwide basis, Universal Pictures boasts the second and third highest-grossing films of 2013 with Despicable Me 2, having grossed $916.1 million to date, and Fast & Furious 6 with $788 million. Despicable Me 2 is the highest-grossing animated film of 2013 and is currently the fifth highest-grossing animated film of all time. Despicable Me 2 is also the studios second highest-grossing film of all time behind 1993s Jurassic Park.
Universal has two films yet to be released in 2013: 47 Ronin, the epic 3D feature that stars Keanu Reeves in his explosive return to the action-adventure genre on Christmas Day; and also in limited release on December 25, Lone Survivor, based on The New York Times bestselling true story of heroism, courage and survival starring Mark Wahlberg, Taylor Kitsch, Emile Hirsch and Ben Foster.
