Steve’s Box Office Report: 2014
So we have finally reached the end of the year and I believe that it is only fitting that we do a final recap of the year in general. The way this will work is that I will first take all the films that were number one in their respective month and rank them by the amount of money that they made. I will then include a list of films that all made over $100 million in their run into a separate list that will be considered honorable mentions. Next, I will list all the winners and losers from each respective month and after calculating the profits and net losses, I will rank the top 10 winners and losers of the year. Next, I will list all the stories/surprises from the year and list my top 3 for the year, and then I will list the overachievers and underachievers before forming a top 5 of the year for both based on box figures and personal opinion. After that, I will list all the films from each month that were nominated for the big 3 awards (Academy, Golden Globe, and Golden Raspberry) and then list the films that won each of those awards (number of awards won by number of awards nominated for). Finally, I will give my overall thoughts of the year in general and rank the months by grade before giving a final grade for the year.
The Number One Films of 2014:
1. The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1 – $337,135,885 (November)
2. Guardians of the Galaxy – $333,176,600 (August)
3. Captain America: The Winter Solider – $259,766,572 (April)
4. The LEGO Movie – $257,760,692 (February)
5. The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies – $255,119,788 (December)
6. Transformers: Age of Extinction – $245,439,076 (June)
7. Maleficent – $241,410,378 (May)
8. Dawn of the Planet of the Apes – $208,545,589 (July)
9. Gone Girl – $167,767,189 (October)
10. Divergent – $150,947,895 (March)
11. Ride Along – $134,938,200 (January)
12. The Maze Runner – $102,427,862 (September)
Honorable Mentions:
1. X-Men: Days of Future Past – $233,921,534 (May)
2. Big Hero 6 – $222,527,828 (November)
3. The Amazing Spider-Man 2 – $202,853,933 (May)
4. Godzilla – $200,676,069 (May)
5. 22 Jump Street – $191,719,337 (June)
6. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles – $191,204,754 (August)
7. Interstellar – $188,020,017 (November)
8. How to Train Your Dragon 2 – $177,002,924 (June)
9. Neighbors – $150,157,400 (May)
10. Rio 2 – $131,538,435 (April)
11. Into the Woods – $128,002,372 (December)
12. Lucy – $126,663,600 (July)
13. Lone Survivor – $125,095,601 (January)
14. The Fault in Our Stars – $124,872,350 (June)
15. Unbroken – $115,637,895 (December)
16. Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb – $113,746,621 (December)
17. Mr. Peabody and Sherman – $111,506,430 (March)
18. 300: Rise of an Empire – $106,580,051 (March)
19. The Equalizer – $101,530,738 (September)
20. Noah – $101,200,044 (March)
21. Edge of Tomorrow – $100,206,256 (June)
2014 Winners:
January: Ride Along, Lone Survivor, the Nut Job, and Paranormal Activity: The Marked Ones
February: The LEGO Movie, Non-Stop, Son of God, and About Last Night
March: Divergent, God’s Not Dead, and the Grand Budapest Hotel
April: Captain America: The Winter Solider, Rio 2, Heaven is for Real, the Other Woman, and Oculus
May: Maleficent, X-Men: Days of Future Past, Godzilla, Neighbors, and Chef
June: Transformers: Age of Extinction, 22 Jump Street, How to Train Your Dragon 2, the Fault in Our Stars, and Think Like a Man Too
July: Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, Lucy, Tammy, the Purge: Anarchy, Earth to Echo, and Boyhood
August: Guardians of the Galaxy, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Let’s Be Cops, the Hundred-Foot Journey, If I Stay, and the Giver
September: The Maze Runner, the Equalizer, and No Good Deed
October: Gone Girl, Annabelle, Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day, Ouija, St. Vincent, John Wick, and Nightcrawler
November: The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1, Big Hero 6, Interstellar, Dumb and Dumber To, Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance), and the Theory of Everything
December: Into the Woods, Unbroken, the Imitation Game, Annie, and Wild
The Top 10 Winners of 2014:
1. Guardians of the Galaxy (August)
2. The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1 (November)
3. Captain America: The Winter Solider (April)
4. The LEGO Movie (February)
5. Maleficent (May)
6. Dawn of the Planet of the Apes (July)
7. Big Hero 6 (November)
8. Into the Woods (December)
9. Divergent (March)
10. X-Men: Days of Future Past (May)
2014 Losers:
January: I, Frankenstein and the Legend of Hercules
February: RoboCop, Pompeii, Winter’s Tale, Vampire Academy, and the Wind Rises
March: Mr. Peabody and Sherman, Noah, Need for Speed, and Sabotage
April: Transcendence
May: Legends of Oz: Dorothy’s Return
June: Edge of Tomorrow and Snowpiercer
July: Hercules
August: The Expendables 3, Step Up All In, and Sin City: A Dame to Kill For
September: None
October: None
November: Penguins of Madagascar
December: Exodus: Gods and Kings and the Interview
The Top 10 Losers of 2014:
1. Hercules (July)
2. Penguins of Madagascar (November)
3. I, Frankenstein (January)
4. Mr. Peabody and Sherman (March)
5. Exodus: Gods and Kings (December)
6. Edge of Tomorrow (June)
7. Transcendence (April)
8. Noah (March)
9. RoboCop (February)
10. The Expendables 3 (August)
2014 Stories:
January: Ride Along drives its way to the top spot of January 2014 edging out Lone Survivor
February: Everything is Awesome for the LEGO Movie as it easily takes the top spot of February 2014
March: Divergent takes the win to fill the YA void and lead surprisingly weak March 2014
April: No “Winter” blues for the MCU as the second Captain America film easily takes top spot of April 2014
May: The Mistress of Evil reigns supreme as “Maleficent” takes top spot of loaded May 2014
June: Transformers pulls a three-peat as “Age of Extinction” claims the top spot of June 2014
July: The apes continue their dominance as “Dawn” easily wins fairly average July 2014
August: The MCU continues its streak as Guardians of the Galaxy dominates surprisingly good August 2014
September: “The Maze Runner” takes top spot of September 2014 in an effort to launch a new YA franchise
October: “Gone Girl” absconds with the top spot of October 2014
November: Moviegoers return to Panem as “Mockingjay Part 1” easily takes top spot and sets stage for Hunger Games finale
December: Final film of Hobbit trilogy undercut by award contenders as “Battle of the Five Armies” wins December 2014
The Top 3 Stories of 2014:
1. The MCU continues its streak as Guardians of the Galaxy dominates surprisingly good August 2014
2. Transformers pulls a three-peat as “Age of Extinction” claims the top spot of June 2014
3. No “Winter” blues for the MCU as the second Captain America film easily takes top spot of April 2014
Overachievers of 2014:
January: Ride Along
February: The LEGO Movie
March: God’s Not Dead
April: Heaven is for Real
May: Neighbors
June: The Fault in Our Stars
July: The Purge: Anarchy
August: Guardians of the Galaxy
September: The Equalizer
October: Annabelle
November: Big Hero 6
December: Into the Woods
The Top 5 Overachievers of 2014:
1. Guardians of the Galaxy (August)
2. The LEGO Movie (February)
3. Big Hero 6 (November)
4. The Purge: Anarchy (July)
5. God’s Not Dead (March)
Underachievers of 2014:
January: Paranormal Activity: The Marked Ones
February: RoboCop
March: Muppets Most Wanted
April: Draft Day
May: The Amazing Spider-Man 2
June: Transformers: Age of Extinction
July: Lucy
August: The Expendables 3
September: Dolphin Tale 2
October: Dracula Untold
November: Penguins of Madagascar
December: The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies
The Top 5 Underachievers of 2014:
1. The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (May)
2. Transformers: Age of Extinction (June)
3. The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies (December)
4. Lucy (July)
5. Muppets Most Wanted (March)
2014 Awards Watch:
January: Lone Survivor, August: Osage County, Her, the Legend of Hercules, Inside Llewyn Davis, and Nebraska
February: The LEGO Movie, Pompeii, and the Wind Rises
March: The Grand Budapest Hotel and Noah
April: Captain America: The Winter Solider and the Other Woman
May: Maleficent, X-Men: Days of Future Past, Blended, A Million Ways to Die in the West, and Legends of Oz: Dorothy’s Return
June: Transformers: Age of Extinction, How to Train Your Dragon 2, Think Like a Man Too, and Begin Again
July: Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, Tammy, Sex Tape, and Boyhood
August: Guardians of the Galaxy, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, the Hundred-Foot Journey, and the Expendables 3
September: The Boxtrolls and Atlas Shrugged Part III: Who is John Gait?
October: Gone Girl, the Book of Life, the Judge, St. Vincent, Nightcrawler, Left Behind, and Whiplash
November: The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1, Big Hero 6, Interstellar, Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance), the Theory of Everything, and Kirk Cameron’s Saving Christmas
December: The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies, Into the Woods, Unbroken, the Imitation Game, Annie, Wild, and Big Eyes
Awards Winners:
Academy Awards: Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) (4 out of 9), the Grand Budapest Hotel (4 out of 9), Whiplash (3 out of 5), Interstellar (1 out of 5), the Theory of Everything (1 out of 5), the Imitation Game (1 out of 8), Boyhood (1 out of 6), and Big Hero 6 (1 out of 1)
Golden Globe Awards: Boyhood (3 out of 5), Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) (2 out of 7), the Theory of Everything (2 out of 4), the Grand Budapest Hotel (1 out of 4), Big Eyes (1 out of 3), and How to Train Your Dragon 2 (1 out of 1)
Golden Raspberry Awards: Kirk Cameron’s Saving Christmas (4 out of 6), Transformers: Age of Extinction (2 out of 7), the Other Woman (1 out of 1), Sex Tape (1 out of 2), Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1 out of 5), the Expendables 3 (1 out of 3), Legends of Oz: Dorothy’s Return (1 out of 1), Think Like a Man Too (1 out of 1), and Annie (1 out of 2)
Overall Thoughts of 2014:
Overall, the year of 2014 ended up being a very good year as it was about on par with 2013, but it was still not quite up to the level of 2013 though that year was almost unfairly loaded with huge films. There were some big films that came out this year and it helped the year rise up to the level if could, and unlike a few years there was no month this year that suffered a failing grade even though there were no months that were perfect. We did have a first where the top 12 for the year all made over $100 million which hasn’t happened to this point and we will see if this continues moving forward or if this was a one-off. As mentioned, 2013 was a pretty good year and 2014 kept the momentum going for the majority of the year, and now we will see if 2015 can keep that going or if we will see some stalled progress. As for the year of 2014, it is a pretty good year and keeps the hot decade of the 2010s going.
Final Rankings of Months of 2014:
1. May – A-
2. June – A-
3. August – A-
4. November – B+
5. July – B+
6. December – B+
7. October – C+
8. April – C+
9. March – C
10. February – C-
11. January – C-
12. September – D+
Final Grade of 2014: B-