Just a single movie released in 2013 pushed past the staggering $1 billion mark in worldwide box office this year. But there was no surprise in Hollywood which one that turned out to be. The Marvel franchise triumphed again. Iron Man 3 proved the obvious: That superhero movies are still in vogue with mainstream audiences. It soared $215 million over the $1 billion standard.

Meanwhile, Peter Jackson's mega-hit, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, earned much of its $1.0 billion in 2013, but it had been released on Dec. 14 of 2012. That meant it competed for 2012 bragging rights with Marvel's The Avengers at $1.5 billion and The Dark Knight Rises at $1.1 billion. The second Hobbit movie, The Desolation of Smaug arrived on Friday.

In 2013, even though 10 films surged past $500 million worldwide, only one other movie even came close to the $1 billion mark. The eccentric cartoon adventure Despicable Me 2 generated $919 million. One title is still a long way off ... but gaining. Going into this weekend, The Hunger Games: Catching Fire was up to $673 million worldwide, with multiple millions more expected rather quickly. This sequel -- the second in The Hunger Games series -- could rival or surpass Despicable Me 2 once it plays out. But it is unlikely to catch up with Iron Man 3.

Aside from the continuing popularity of superheroes and cartoon animations, one of the interesting things about this year's boxoffice champs is regional taste. The lists differ if you compare the Top 10 worldwide with the Top 10 in Hollywood's so-called "domestic market," which combines ticket sales in the U.S. and Canada. Oz the Great and Powerful and Star Trek Into Darkness made it to No. 8 and 10 respectively on the domestic list. But they slipped down, off of the Top 10 list, when worldwide totals were tallied.

Other titles, such as the pure action picture Fast & Furious 6, soared up the list because foreign audiences ate it up by the hundreds of millions. Thor: The Dark World also greatly benefited from its foreign fans.

Meanwhile, a total of 10 titles made it at least to $500 million worldwide.