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Thanks to a handful of major blockbusters likeand, 2012 set a new domestic box office record; the 2013 release schedule is similarly stacked with plenty of guaranteed blockbusters, and should at least come close to matching 2012's overall gross.Click here to see a full list of currently scheduled 2013 movies.The box office is usually very reliant on franchise fare—seven of the Top 10 movies of 2012 were sequels, off from a high point of nine out of 10 in 2011. In 2013, there are 27 sequels or prequels on the schedule, which is a fairly standard number. What's different this year, though, is how many of these are follow-ups to major blockbusters—for nine of the 27 titles, the predecessor earned over $200 million at the domestic box office (that number improves to 10 if you countas a sequel to).Among all of these sequels, the 2013 movie most-likely-to-succeed is, which opens in the pre-Thanksgiving spot vacated by the departedfranchise. The first movie made an unbelievable $408 million at the box office, and continues to attract new fans following its DVD/Blu-ray release.'s story is a logical follow-up, but still manages to up the ante and provide something new, and it's impossible to imagine this being anything but a massive hit.Not far behind in the "guaranteed blockbuster" category arefollow-upsand, both of which should improve on their previous solo outings ($312.4 million and $181 million, respectively). Also, J.J. Abrams 'sis universally beloved, so its sequelshould at least wind up close to that movie's $257.7 million.(May 24),(May 24),(June 21),(July 3), and(Dec. 13) should also be in line for strong grosses, though matching their predecessors could be difficult for a variety of reasons (disinterest in the previous installment for, increased competition for, etc.).Of course, the industry can't thrive exclusively on established franchises—it also needs to try and create a few as well. Some of the biggest entries come from Warner Bros./Legendary Pictures, who are delivering Superman reboot(June 14) and(July 12) this Summer. Disney is also getting in on the game with(July 3), which they surely hope will turn in to anotherfor them. There's also major sci-fi movies like(June 7),(April 12) and(August 9), but it's hard to tell at this point whether these are meant to be one-off stories or not.Another major category of prospective franchises are the book adaptations that are clearly trying to be the next. There are three obvious entries in to this category in 2013—(Feb. 13),(March 29),(August 23) and(Nov. 1)—while(Feb. 1) also seems like a relative. It's hard to gauge the prospects here, thoughhas an early lead thanks to its nice blend of romance and mythology, whileis an extremely popular book and could do good business as well.Keep an eye out for a full breakdown of 2013 sequels, prequels, and prospective franchises, which should publish on Box Office Mojo in the next week or two.Animation is also one of the biggest contributors to overall box office each year: in 2012, for example, new animated movies took in around $1.4 billion in domestic revenue. There are currently at least 10 major animated movies on the schedule for 2013, which is about on par with 2012 (11 titles). The biggest titles should be two of the sequels—and—though there are a handful of other appealing offerings.Between its new distribution output with DreamWorks Animation and its Blue Sky products, 20th Century Fox is distributing four animated movies in 2013:(March 22),(May 24),(July 19) and(Nov. 1). Disney has three—spin-off(August 9) and(Nov. 27)—while Sony's only completely animated title is(Sept. 27). Sony Animation also has CG/live-action hybridon the schedule, which should do great business overseas even if it underperforms domestically.It's going to be another big year for 3D, at least as far as number of options goes. As of now, there are 35 3D releases scheduled, including four re-releases (, and the last twoprequels). In comparison, there were 37 on the schedule going in to 2012—the slight decrease lines up with the notion that the 3D market is basically saturated, and studios don't see a lot of room for growth here.Aside fromand, there weren't really any major comedy hits in 2012. That should change in 2013, which is stacked with appealing comedy offerings. Sequels likeandshould lead the way, though there are plenty of potential hits among the original comedies this year as well. Melissa McCarthy should dominate the Spring with(co-starring Jason Bateman ) and(co-starring Sandra Bullock )—both of these seem broadly appealing, both in premise and in casting. Another major original comedy to keep an eye on is, which teamsstars Owen Wilson and Vince Vaughn . There are also two major end-of-the-world comedies—(June 14) and The World's End (Oct. 25)—though the buzz on these might wind up much higher than the box office grosses.Box Office Mojo