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At the beginning of 2008, only three movies—and—had earned over $1 billion worldwide. Flash forward five years to early 2013, andhas just recently become the 15th title to reach that illustrious milestone.With the addition of 3D ticket pricing and the rapid expansion of the foreign market in areas like China and Russia, reaching $1 billion definitely isn't all that it used to be. Still, it hasn't lost all its prestige, and hitting that mark remains an undeniable sign that a movie is a global sensation.Four 2012 movies reached that coveted level, though only one () was a major surprise. 2013, on the other hand, doesn't have as many obvious choices, and it's therefore unlikely we'll once again see four $1 billion titles.Excluding—which will obviously pass $1 billion thanks to its 3D re-release—here's a look at the 2013 movies thatultimately reach $1 billion, along with what we think the odds are of that happening.(May)Instead of viewingas a sequel to($624 million), it's more beneficial to view it as a spin-off featuring the most-popular character from(sorry, Hulk, but Tony Stark/Iron Man is still easily the most widely-liked member of the team). That movie ranks third all-time with over $1.5 billion worldwide; if's drop fromis in line with that of recent spin-offsand, it will absolutely earn over $1 billion.(May)looks like a massive blockbuster, but it's coming off a 2009 predecessor that only managed to earn $128 million overseas.is clearly designed with a foreign audience in mind—director J.J. Abrams was mandated to make it 3D, and it appears like a large portion of the movie is set in futuristic London—and four years of positive word-of-mouth on the 2009 movie will significantly increase demand for this one. Still, it would need to get past $600 million overseas, which would be an unprecedented overseas jump.(May)2011'sput thefranchise in a great position: not only was it by-far the highest-grossing entry yet with $626 million worldwide, but it was also a major crowd-pleaser that featured the kind of post-credits twist that has had fans chomping at the bit for the past two years. The previews fordeliver all the car-related destruction these fans expect, while also presenting a new story and new location (London/Europe). Still, it's entirely possible that this series is nearing its ceiling, and a 60 percent increase worldwide is hard to fathom.(June)is the third Disney/Pixar sequel in the past four Summers; the first one,, is the highest-grossing animated movie ever with $1.06 billion, whileunderwhelmed a bit with $560 million.is a very well-liked Pixar movie, but isn't put on quite the same pedestal as the first twomovies. Also, instead of actually moving the story forward, Disney/Pixar opted to go the prequel route, which means the story itself won't be nearly as essential for audiences. Ifturns out to be a return to greatness, then $1 billion is a possibility, but don't count on it.(July)In 2010,introduced audiences to the Minions and earned over $543 million worldwide. As well-liked as it is, though, history suggests it has no chance of reaching $1 billion: in fact, using other recent closely-timed animated sequels as comparable titles, it's unlikely thatmakes it past $700 million.(November)Coming off, the secondmovie will clearly do better business than the first ($449 million). Still, the title character isn't nearly as popular as, and so it's doubtful that it holds on to more than half of's $1.5 billion.(November)At the domestic box office,earned an incredible $408 million, which is more than any of theormovies. Unfortunately, it was a modest overseas performer with $283.2 million. In much the same way as thefranchise experienced a huge overseas bump from the first to second movie, though, so should, and a foreign total for the sequel in the realm of $500 million wouldn't be surprising. That still makes $1 billion tough to reach, but if a non-3D movie is going to do it in 2013, it's going to be(December)Eachmovie earned more than its predecessor, and by that logicshould be able to top$1.02 billion. No matter how vocal the fans are, though, it has become abundantly clear thatisn't as well-liked as the original movies. Therefore, it's going to take an impressive marketing effort to getto avoid the modest three percent dip that would put it below $1 billion.Only three "original" movies—as in, not sequels or prequels—have ever earned $1 billion worldwide. Two of those movies were made by James Cameron and), and the third () owes at least a tiny amount of its box office to goodwill generated bya few months earlier. All of this is to say that the odds are extremely low that an "original" 2013 movie reaches $1 billion.had a miniscule chance of performing similar to, though any and all hope was squashed when it opened considerably lower thanon an overseas basis this past weekend (around 50 percent lower across major markets).With Zack Snyder 's stylish direction, guidance from Christopher Nolan , and the addition of 3D pricing, June'shas a lot going for it. Still, the movie would need to earn nearly three times as much as 2006's, which is a near impossibility. Johnny Depp has starred in three $1 billion movies (a record), and's marketing has been pushing theconnection. Unfortunately, its previews have been met with a lukewarm reception so far, and Westerns are a notoriously tough sell overseas.Finally, with its skyscraper-sized robots going up against giant monsters, July'sis sure to do great business in Asia at least. The rest of the world, though, is another story, and coming anywhere close to $1 billion is a stretch.Box Office Mojo