2012 was an impressive The Avengers - Marvelyear for movies, and was even more impressive on the money side. According to Box Office Mojo, it is the highest grossing year in cinema history (domestically) with about $10.8 billion, surpassing 2009’s previous record of $10.6 billion.

The top ten highest grossing films (domestically) of 2012:

1.    “The Avengers” earned a modest (haha) $623,357,910
2.    “The Dark Knights Rises” took in $448,139,099; “The Dark Knight Rises” and “The Avengers” make up just about 10% of the total box office gross for the year.
3.    “The Hunger Games” grossed about $408,010,692
4.    “Skyfall” has earned $289,600,000, and crossed the $1 billion mark worldwide
5.    “The Twilight Sage: Breaking Dawn Part 2” brought in $286,039,065
6.    “The Amazing Spider-Man” grossed $262,030, 663
7.    “Brave” scored $237,259,580
8.    “The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey” has earned $221,743,000 (and counting)
9.    “Ted” laughed its way to $218,665,740
10.   “Madagascar 3: Europe’s Most Wanted” took in $216,391,482

At the other end of the spectrum we also had some disappointments. The five lowest grossing movies released in more than 2,000 theaters are as follows:

1.    “Oogieloves In The Big Balloon Adventure” with $1,065,907
2.    “Won’t Back Down” earned $5,310,554
3.    “Chasing Mavericks” with $5,940,992
4.    “Fun Size” grossed $9,409,538
5.    “The Words” with $11,494,838

Now just because they were the lowest grossing doesn’t mean it cost studios the most money. Believe it or not (when you account for worldwide grosses) even “John Carter” didn’t cost Disney that much money (it earned over $280 million worldwide). Forbes has compiled a list of some of the biggest box office fails this past year had to suffer. Keep in mind that the budget doesn’t factor in the marketing cost:

1.    “The Oogieloves in The Big Balloon Adventure” earned $1 million on a $20 million budget
2.    “A Thousand Words” took in $20 million, but cost $40 million
3.    “Dredd” earned $28 million, but cost the studio $50 million
4.    “Big Miracle” made $25 million, but its production cost was $40 million
5.    “Wanderlust” raked in $21 million, but cost $30 million to make
6.    “Rock of Ages” scored a nice $56 million, but it cost $75 million to make
7.    “People Like Us” fared a little better with $12 million gross on a $16 million budget, but marketing costs were high
8.    “That’s My Boy” scored $57 million, but cost $70 million
9.    “Premium Rush” cost $35 million to make (seems high since it’s a movie about bikes), and only earned $29 million
10.   “Red Tails” made $50 million, but cost $58 million (plus a huge marketing campaign)

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legace said:

	... Avengers definitely deserved its first place spot. Amazing movie!!!
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January 03, 2013
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jimcdunn said:

	... I love that 3 of the top 10 movies were comic based. I have always loved comic movies but they have historically been hit or miss. Seeing the great numbers that these movies bring in should put a lot of pressure on the studios to put out a high quality product. I'm really excited for 2015 when Avengers 2 and Justice League go head to head.
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January 06, 2013
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