Total summer revenues also slipped. Initial estimates show the domestic box office generating $4.278 in billion in sales, down roughly 3 percent from last summer's record $4.4 billion. Final revenue and attendance figures will be released this week. Summer 2012 was marked by dramatic highs and lows. Disney and Marvel Studios' The Avengers, opening May 4, kicked off the season in high style, smashing records and finishing Labor Day weekend with a worldwide gross of $1.5 billion, including a domestic haul north of $620 million.
Warner Bros. and Legendary Pictures' The Dark Knight Rises also is a mega hit, earning north of $1 billion worldwide through Labor Day and edging past The Dark Knight. However, Dark Knight Rises did notably less business domestically than Dark Knight did in 2008 ($433.2 million versus $533.2 million). Read more >>