Steve’s Box Office Report: November 2014
Top 10 Films for the Month of November:
1. The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1 – $337,135,885
2. Big Hero 6 – $222,527,828
3. Interstellar – $188,020,017
4. Dumb and Dumber To – $86,208,010
5. Penguins of Madagascar – $83,850,911
6. Horrible Bosses 2 – $54,445,357
7. Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) – $42,340,598
8. The Theory of Everything – $35,893,537
9. Beyond the Lights – $14,618,727
10. Rosewater – $3,128,941
Honorable Mentions:
1. Kirk Cameron’s Saving Christmas – $2,783,970
November Winners: 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
We are coming close to the end of 2014 and we are in the month of November, which means that we are now in the holiday season which looks to end the year on a very strong note. There were several films released this month that looked to do very well and as we see, the majority of them do end up making quite a bit of money despite the loaded field. The first film that makes it into this category is the first part of the final Hunger Games trilogy, Mockingjay which sees Katniss and the rebels of District 13 prepare for the final battle against the Capitol. The film would receive positive reviews from critics though some questioned the decision to split the film in two, but it would finish with over $337 million which I will delve into later in the review. The next film that makes it into this category is the animated film Big Hero 6, a film about a boy and his medical robot who form a team to take down the man who murdered his brother. The film would receive positive reviews from critics who felt it was a strong entry from Disney following the juggernaut that was Frozen, and it would finish with over $222 million which again I will delve into later. The next film that makes it into this category is the space sci-fi film Interstellar, a film about a group of astronauts who travel through a wormhole to find a new home for mankind. The film would receive positive reviews from critics who felt it was an interesting premises though some felt it dragged a bit too long, and it would finish with over $188 million which was a fine showing for the film even if it felt a bit underwhelming. The next film that makes it into this category is the comedy film Dumb and Dumber To, the sequel to the original film which sees Harry and Lloyd take a cross-country trip to meet Harry’s long-lost daughter. The film would receive negative reviews from critics who felt it was an inferior sequel to the original and came out too late, and it would finish with over $86 million which was a strong showing despite the reviews. The next film that makes it into this category is the dark comedy film Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance), a film about a washed up actor, known for playing a superhero, attempts to make a comeback. The film would receive critical acclaim from critics who felt it was one of the best of the year, and it would finish with over $42 million which was a strong showing for an award contender. The last film that makes it into this category is the biographical film the Theory of Everything, a film based on the life and career of Stephen Hawking while also focusing on his relationship with his wife Jane. The film would receive positive reviews from critics who felt it was a faithful look at the life of Hawking, and it would finish with over $35 million which was a good showing for the film. It was an interesting month in that while the blockbusters dominated like expected, the award contenders that came out this month weren’t crushed under that weight and did very well too which was a major plus for the month.
November Losers: Penguins of Madagascar
Typically when you have as many winners as we do here with this month, there will usually be either a few films or even no films that make it into this category, and that just showcases the strength of the month that the winners completely overshadow the loser or losers of the month. While we don’t get through this month with this category being empty, we do have one film in this category which is the animated film Penguins of Madagascar, a spinoff of the Madagascar series which sees the penguins work to stop an octopus who seeks revenge on the penguins. The film would receive positive reviews from critics though would end up being overshadowed by Big Hero 6, and it would finish with over $83 million which was a fine number, but the film still underperformed in the Madagascar series which I will delve into later. Again, the fact that there is only one film that made it into this category is still a strong plus in favor of the month.
The Surprise/Story of November 2014: Moviegoers return to Panem as “Mockingjay Part 1” easily takes top spot and sets stage for Hunger Games finale
Since the first film came out in March of 2012, the Hunger Games has done a nice job in filling the void left behind by Harry Potter in terms of a YA series that is successful, and a year ago Catching Fire continued that dominance with a super strong performance. Now knowing that there was only one book left, the decision was made to split Mockingjay into two films similar to Deathly Hallows and Breaking Dawn even though the decision was met with mixed reaction. Regardless, it seemed like the decision was starting to pay off as Part 1 of Mockingjay easily took the top spot for the month by making $337 million, and if anything it built up the anticipation for the final film which would come out one year later. Coupled this performance with some other strong performances and this month ends up being a very good month and sets the stage for a dominant end of the year pending on how well December does.
Overachiever of November 2014: Big Hero 6
Since I started doing these recaps, one of the early constants was the Disney Animated films were typically the underachievers of the month as it was a down time for Disney, but since the turn of the decade things have turned around for them as that streak ended two years ago. Last year, the first Disney film made it in this category with Frozen and now this year, Disney gets its second in a row with Big Hero 6 which had big shoes to fill following the major success of Frozen. While it didn’t reach the same levels that Frozen did, the film was still very successful due to the action, comedy, and the breakout star that was Baymax, and it was clear that Disney was back and possibly stronger than ever. We will see how the company fares going forward as we continue through the decade, but for now there is no question that the film easily deserves the title of overachiever of the month.
Underachiever of November 2014: Penguins of Madagascar
The Madagascar franchise has been one of Dreamworks’ more successful franchises as the trilogy was very successful, and its success would lead to a spinoff TV show featuring the penguins who were considered breakout stars of the franchise. Following that, the decision was made to have a spinoff film with the penguins as the stars, but unlike a few years ago when a Dreamworks film was a strong contender against a Disney film, this year sees Big Hero 6 easily dominate the month over this film. It’s take of $83 million was a fine showing for a spinoff, but it does end up being the lowest-grossing film of the franchise and was in essence to this point the death nail for the franchise in terms on the big screen though it would continue to play well in terms of TV spinoffs. We will see how Dreamworks is able to recover from this and if another franchise can step up and take over from where Madagascar left off, but there is no question that this film deserves to be the underachiever of the month.
November 2014 Awards Watch: 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
As we come to the end of the year, this is usually where the award contenders start coming out as November typically features a bunch of films that make it into this category, and that proves true here as we have quite a number of films that came out this month that do get into this category. The first film that makes it into this category is the Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1 which was nominated for one Golden Globe Award (Best Original Song) which it wouldn’t win, and the next film that makes it is Big Hero 6 which would win one Academy Award (Best Animated Film) and was nominated for one Golden Globe Award (Best Animated Film) which it wouldn’t win which was unique. The next film that makes it into this category is Interstellar which would win one Academy Award (Best Special Effects) while being nominated for 4 more (Best Original Score, Best Sound Editing, Best Sound Mixing, and Best Production Design) which it wouldn’t win, but it still shows how strong the film was to get this many nominations. The next film that makes it into this category is Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) which would win 4 Academy Awards (Best Picture, Best Director, Best Original Screenplay, and Best Cinematography) while being nominated for 5 more (Best Actor, Best Supporting Actor, Best Supporting Actress, Best Sound Editing, and Best Sound Mixing). The film would also win 2 Golden Globe Awards (Best Actor – Musical or Comedy and Best Screenplay) while being nominated for 5 more (Best Picture – Musical or Comedy, Best Supporting Actor, Best Supporting Actress, Best Director, and Best Original Score) which secures its spot as one of the top films of the year in terms of awards. The next film that makes it into this category is the Theory of Everything which would win one Academy Award (Best Actor) while being nominated for 4 more (Best Picture, Best Actress, Best Adapted Screenplay, and Best Original Score). The film would also win 2 Golden Globe Awards (Best Actor – Drama and Best Original Score) while being nominated for 2 more (Best Picture – Drama and Best Actress – Drama) which shows that this was also one of the better reviewed films of the year. The last film that makes it into this category is the Christmas comedy film Kirk Cameron’s Saving Christmas, a film which sees a fictionalized Cameron attempt to prove to his brother-in-law that Christmas is a Christian holiday. The film would receive negative reviews from critics who considered it one of the worst of the year and it would finish with over $2 million, and it would win 4 Golden Raspberry Awards (Worst Film, Worst Actor, Worst Screenplay, and Worst Screen Combo) while being nominated for two more (Worst Director and Worst Supporting Actress). This was one of the more successful months in terms of the films that not just got nominations, but also got wins which you typically see from the month of November.
Overall Thoughts of November 2014:
Overall, the month of November 2014 was a pretty successful month and is easily one of the better months of the year, but it does come up a bit short against the previous November though that was mainly carried by the one-two punch of Catching Fire and Frozen. Despite the runs that several films from this month had, they couldn’t reach the same level as those two films and it does hurt the month a bit, but not by much. We did have a film make over $100 million, one make over $200 million, and one cross over $300 million while the rest did pretty well with nothing bombing, but given that both Catching Fire and Frozen made over $400 million, it again was a slight disappointment. 2014 has been a pretty solid year to this point and as we come to the final month of the year, we will see if that ends the year on a strong note. As for the month of November 2014, it is a very good month that falls a bit short of the bar November 2013 set, but it is a successful month in terms of the year of 2014.
Final Grade: B+
