Steve’s Box Office Report: December 2014

Steve’s Box Office Report: December 2014

Top 10 Films for the Month of December:

1. The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies – $255,119,788

2. Into the Woods – $128,002,372

3. Unbroken – $115,637,895

4. Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb – $113,746,621

5. The Imitation Game – $91,125,683

6. Annie – $85,911,262

7. Exodus: Gods and Kings – $65,014,513

8. Wild – $37,880,356

9. The Gambler – $33,680,992

10. Top Five – $25,317,471

Honorable Mentions:

1. Big Eyes – $14,482,031

2. The Interview – $6,105,175

December Winners: Into the Woods, Unbroken, the Imitation Game, Annie, and Wild

We finally come to the end of 2014 and it has been quite the year to say the least with a lot of strong performances, and this month looks to be loaded with a lot of films that potentially could do well though it would be interesting to see if any films fall through. As we see, there were a lot of films that came out this month that did end up doing very well and this category has quite a number of films that made it. The first film that makes it into this category is the musical fantasy film Into the Woods, based on the musical of the same name of a childless couple who try to destroy a curse put on them by a witch that leads to unintended consequences for other characters. The film would receive positive reviews from critics who praised the performances and faithfulness to the original musical, and it would finish with over $128 million which was a strong showing for the film despite intense competition. The next film that makes it into the category is the war drama film Unbroken, a film about an American Olympian who fights in World War II and survives a plane crash before becoming a Japanese prison of war. The film would receive mixed reviews from critics who felt it didn’t live up to the real life story, but it would finish with over $115 million which was a great showing for the film as it looked to be a potential award contender. The next film that makes it into this category is the period thriller film the Imitation Game, based on the life of Alan Turing who’s work in cryptology helps England in deciphering mysterious German messages during World War II. The film would receive positive reviews from critics who considered it one of the best films of the year, and it would finish with over $91 million which was a strong showing considering it had to go up against the bigger films of the month. The next film that makes it into this category is the musical film Annie, an adaptation of the musical of the same name which sees an orphan who becomes close with a mayoral candidate while trying to prevent a devious plot by the head of the orphanage. The film would receive negative reviews from critics who felt it was not a faithful adaptation of the musical despite praising the performances of the cast, but the film would finish with over $85 million which was a good showing though there was a feeling it could’ve done better. The last film that makes it into this category is the adventure drama film Wild, based on the autobiography of the same name of a woman who decides to hike the Pacific Crest Trail while looking back on her life. The film would receive positive reviews from critics who felt the film was faithful to the story of the real-life person, and the film would finish with over $37 million which was a good showing for the small film against the bigger films. December usually has quite a number of films that make it into this category and this year is no exception as we will see if they are enough to carry the month.

December Losers: Exodus: Gods and Kings and the Interview

With the number of big films that come out this month, it was going to be interesting to see which films would succeed and how many films would end up doing not as well and end up in this category. While we did have quite a number of films make it into the previous category, this category does have a few films in it though not nearly as many as the previous category did. The first film that makes it into this category is the biblical epic film Exodus: Gods and Kings, a film that tells the story of Moses and the Exodus of the Hebrews from Egypt. The film would receive mixed reviews from critics who felt it didn’t live up to the source material, and it would end up finishing with over $65 million which was a major disappointment against the other films from this month. The other film that makes it into this category is the action comedy film the Interview, a film which sees a failing talk show host make the decision to go to North Korea and interview Kim Jong Un while the CIA plans to use him to assassinate the dictator. The film would receive mixed reviews from critics and would be the subject of controversy when the film was amongst those revealed in a hack of Sony Pictures, and it would finish with just over $6 million which was a result of a lack of a wide release due to the hack. Given the fact that there were a lot of big films that came out this month, it was a major plus that there were only two films that made it into this category and it helps the month be a lot better than if there were more films that were in this category.

The Surprise/Story of December 2014: Final film of Hobbit trilogy undercut by award contenders as “Battle of the Five Armies” wins December 2014

Going into this month, the one film that was going to have the most eyes on it was the last film in the Hobbit trilogy which is “Battle of the Five Armies” and after the previous two films finished at the top of the month, it was almost a given that this film was going to do so as well. Sure enough, the film does finish at the top of the month very easily though it did end up taking a hit as some of the big award contenders, including one that got a limited release this month and released wide next month, did extremely well and took away some of the thunder of the last Hobbit film. The remaining films that came out this month was a mixture of success and failure though there were some more successes, and as a result the year is able to end on a strong note and now we will see if 2015 can continue that momentum.

Overachiever of December 2014: Into the Woods

Going into this month, there were a lot of films that were expected to do well though it was going to be interesting to see if anything broke out and became a surprise hit, but of all the films that came out this month, Into the Woods have probably the most intrigue behind it. The musical was one that was fairly well-liked though the fact that it was being done by Disney added more intrigue given the source material, and it also was buoyed by a stacked cast and was also getting some strong buzz in terms of being a potential award contender. Coming out on the weekend of Christmas, the film would open fairly strong with over $31 million and even though it opened in second place that weekend, it would go on to have a strong run by finishing with over $128 million. As a result, this film earns the title of overachiever of the month though it is a fairly weaker overachiever and we will see how it stacks up against the other overachievers of the year.

Underachiever of December 2014: The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies

As mentioned, the film that had the most eyes on it going into the month was the final film in the Hobbit trilogy with Battle of the Five Armies, which picks up from the previous film as Bilbo and the dwarves form an uneasy alliance with the elves and Men in a battle against the orcs. While the idea of splitting one book into three films was seen with some skepticism, the end result was all that matter as all three films did very well in terms of money made with this film finishing with over $255 million. The film would easily take the top spot for the month, but when compared to the other films in the trilogy or even the original Lord of the Rings trilogy, it would be the lowest grossing film in the series and showed that perhaps it was time to step away from Middle-Earth for the time being. Because of that, this film ends up being named the underachiever of the month as there was a feeling that the film should’ve done better, especially compared to the other films in the franchise though it would be interesting to see how the film does against the other underachievers of the month.

December 2014 Awards Watch: The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies, Into the Woods, Unbroken, the Imitation Game, Annie, Wild, and Big Eyes

As we come to the end of the year, this is when the big award contenders start to come out and December usually has a lot of films make it into this category, and this December is no different as we have over half the slate of films released this month make it into this category. The first film that makes it into this category is the Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies which was nominated for one Academy Award (Best Sound Editing) which it didn’t win, and it is a bit of a sad end given how many awards the franchise won over the years. The next film that makes it into this category is Into the Woods which was nominated for 3 Academy Awards (Best Supporting Actress, Best Production Design, and Best Costume Design) though wouldn’t win any, and it would also be nominated for 3 Golden Globe Awards (Best Picture – Musical or Comedy, Best Actress – Musical or Comedy, and Best Supporting Actress) though it wouldn’t win any. The next film that makes it into this category is Unbroken which was nominated for 3 Academy Awards (Best Sound Editing, Best Sound Mixing, and Best Cinematography) though it wouldn’t win any, but it was still a good showing for the film to get a few nominations. The next film that makes it into this category is the Imitation Game which would win one Academy Award (Best Adapted Screenplay) while being nominated for 7 more (Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Supporting Actress, Best Original Score, Best Production Design, and Best Film Editing). The film would also be nominated for 5 Golden Globe Awards (Best Picture – Drama, Best Actor – Drama, Best Supporting Actress, Best Director, and Best Original Score) though it wouldn’t win any, but this solidified the film’s status as one of the best of the year. The next film that makes it into this category is Annie which would be nominated for two Golden Globe Awards (Best Actress – Musical or Comedy and Best Original Song) though it wouldn’t win either, but the film would win one Golden Raspberry Award (Worst Prequel, Remake, Rip-Off, or Sequel) while being nominated for one more (Worst Supporting Actress). The next film that makes it into this category is Wild which was nominated for two Academy Awards (Best Actress and Best Supporting Actress) though it wouldn’t win either, and it would also receive one Golden Globe nomination (Best Actress – Drama) which it didn’t win, but if anything it showed the love for star Reese Witherspoon that she got these nods. The last film that makes it into this category is the comedy drama film Big Eyes, based on the true story of Margaret Keane and her husband, Walter who would take credit for her paintings. The film would receive positive reviews from critics and finished with over $14 million as it would win one Golden Globe Award (Best Actress – Musical or Comedy) while being nominated for two more (Best Actor – Musical or Comedy and Best Original Song). This month saw a lot of nominations for the big awards though only saw a few wins, and we will see how the beginning of next year fares better with this category.

Overall Thoughts of December 2014:

Overall, the month of December 2014 ended up being a pretty good month and served as a solid way to end what was a pretty solid year. There were a lot of highs throughout the year and surprisingly not that many lows as opposed to other years, and thankfully this month ends up being pretty strong as well and ends the year on a high note. We had 4 films from this month that made over $100 million with one making well over $200 million, and the rest of the films from the month were pretty solid with nothing being a complete bomb to drag the month down. 2014 has been an interesting year as I mentioned and there were many highs with very few lows, and as we head into a new year we will see how 2015 turns out coming out of 2014. As for the month of December 2014, it is a pretty good month and ends the year of 2014 on a high note.

Final Grade: B+