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Universal/ Warner Brothers/ Marvel

The Hits

Summer movie season technically starts Memorial Day weekend, but this year it summer officially began on May 4, when The Avengers exploded into theaters and never looked back, leaving all other contenders in the dust. The superhero team triumphed with a $203 million opening weekend and took in close to $620 million at the domestic box office when all was said and done. The Joss Whedon-directed film was expected to do well, but the feat is extra special given that for every Hunger Games hit in Hollywood there's a John Carter just around the corner. Other big box office hits of the summer included The Dark Knight Rises (a solid hit and a big newsmaker after the tragic Colorado shooting, but it was still expected to do much better), The Amazing Spider-Man (another solid double at the box-office stadium, but didn't hit it out of the park given the size of its budget), Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted (which opened to a strong $60 million), Ice Age: Continental Drift (which made more overseas than stateside), Brave (another solid winner for Disney-Pixar), Magic Mike (which stuffed more than $100 million down its already tight pants), the always reliable Tyler Perry and his Madea's Witness Protection (which tripled its budget at the box office) and the fuzzy sleeper hit of the summer, Ted (which opened at a strong $54 million for an R-rated comedy, and crossed the $200 million mark domestically).