The 2013 summer blockbuster season: 7 lessons for Hollywood

Want to make the next Iron Man 3-sized hit? Or at least a profitable summer movie? Here's how.

Iron Man 3
(Image credit: Facebook/Iron Man)

This summer has been the highest-grossing summer in cinema history. You might think otherwise based on the poor critical reception many blockbusters have received — or the long list of high-profile box-office flops — but according to Box Office Mojo, American movie theaters sold 583 million tickets for a total of $4.76 billion this summer — and that's not even counting international grosses. The previous record was $4.4 billion in 2011.

Here are seven ways Hollywood studios can re-create their 2013 success in future summers.

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Scott Meslow

Scott Meslow is the entertainment editor for TheWeek.com. He has written about film and television at publications including The Atlantic, POLITICO Magazine, and Vulture.