Despite some big flops, Hollywood has record US$4.7 billion blockbuster summer

In the end, Hollywood made it through a precarious minefield of summer box-office bombs with a bulging wallet. The summer concluded with a record US$4.7 billion in North American box-office revenue, despite much maligned flops like After Earth and White House Down.

More than ever before, the industry packed a tumultuous but ultimately profitable summer season with big-budget blockbusters that ranged from the hugely successful Iron Man 3 to the disastrous The Lone Ranger. Though the movie business has always been one of hits and misses, this summer brought particular attention to some big flops.

Yet the box office saw a 10.2 per cent increase in revenue over last summer (not accounting for inflation), with attendance rising 6.6 per cent. A portion of the revenue bump could be attributed to rising ticket prices which, on average, went up 27 US cents from last year.

But the plethora of major releases - a more than 50 per cent increase from last year in films costing US$75 million or more to make - meant moviegoers had a parade of highly marketed, big-budget options through the early, most sought-after weeks of the summer. That meant faster blockbuster turnover that may have been better for the industry as a whole, but often came at the expense of individual films.

The biggest hit of the summer was Disney's Iron Man 3, which made US$408.6 million domestically and US$1.2 billion worldwide.