Steve’s Box Office Report: July 2014
Top 10 Films for the Month of July:
1. Dawn of the Planet of the Apes – $208,545,589
2. Lucy – $126,663,600
3. Tammy – $84,525,432
4. Hercules – $72,688,614
5. The Purge: Anarchy – $71,962,800
6. Planes: Fire and Rescue – $59,165,787
7. Earth to Echo – $38,934,842
8. Sex Tape – $38,543,473
9. Deliver Us From Evil – $30,577,122
10. Boyhood – $25,352,281
Honorable Mentions:
1. And So it Goes – $15,160,801
July Winners: Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, Lucy, Tammy, the Purge: Anarchy, Earth to Echo, and Boyhood
We continue on through the year of 2014 and to this point, the summer has been pretty hot as the last two months performed really well and now it’s time to see how the month of July ends up faring. Looking at the month, there wasn’t a real strong blockbuster that was coming out this month as opposed to the last two months, but there were a couple of films that did end up doing well this month. The first film that makes it into this category is the next installment in the Planet of the Apes franchise with “Rise of the Planet of the Apes”, which sees Caesar and the apes deal with a group of human survivors who wish to restore a nearby dam though it could lead to war. The film would receive positive reviews from critics who felt it built on its predecessor in a strong way, and it would finish with over $208 million which I will delve into more later in the review. The next film that makes it into this category is the sci-fi film Lucy, a film about a woman who gains psychokinetic powers after being injected with a new drug. The film would receive positive reviews from critics who felt the strange plot was carried well by star Scarlett Johansson, and it would finish with over $126 million which I will delve into later. The next film that makes it into this category is the comedy film Tammy, a film about a woman who goes on a road trip with her grandmother after learning her husband cheated on her. The film would receive negative reviews from critics who felt it wasted the talents of Melissa McCarthy, but it would finish with over $84 million which was another major success for the star as her breakout year continues. The next film that makes it into this category is the horror film the Purge: Anarchy, the sequel to the original film which sees a group of people try to survive the annual Purge while a resistance group starts to rise up. The film would receive mixed reviews from critics who felt it was a step up from the previous film, and it would finish with over $71 million which I will delve into later. The next film that makes it into this category is the sci-fi film Earth to Echo, a film that sees a group of kids discover an alien and are hunted by dangerous forces. The film would receive mixed reviews from critics who felt it was too much like E.T. and it would make over $38 million which was a fine take for this smaller film. The last film that makes it into this category is the drama film Boyhood, a film that follows a boy who deals with various issues in life as he grows up. The film would receive critical acclaim from critics who praised in particular the fact the film was filmed over 12 years as seen in the film, and it would finish with over $25 million which was a solid take. It is always a good sign for a month where there is this many winners, especially in a month that had a bunch that looked to do well, and it’s a continued sign that the summer of 2014 was still going strong.
July Losers: Hercules
With so many films making it into the previous category, it was going to be interesting to see if any films ended up being put in this category given how well the films in the previous category did. Ultimately, there was one film that made it into this category and that is the action epic film Hercules, a film which sees the demigod and his band of mercenaries being recruited to fight a warlord. The film would receive mixed reviews from critics who felt it was a vast improvement compared to the Legend of Hercules which had come out earlier in the year, and it would finish with over $72 which also surpassed that film though it was still a loss even with the star power of Dwayne Johnson. Luckily, the successes of the films in the previous category were more than enough to cover the loss from this film though it wasn’t as big of a loss as it could’ve been, and the month has been still going pretty strong which keeps the summer pretty hot.
The Surprise/Story of July 2014: The apes continue their dominance as “Dawn” easily wins fairly average July 2014
In August 2011, the Planet of the Apes franchise was rebooted with “Rise of the Planet of the Apes” which dominated that month and easily took the top spot, and just shy of three years later the long awaited sequel “Dawn of the Planet of the Apes” comes out this month and much like its predecessor, it dominates the month as well. Building off the strength of the first film, this film ends up grossing more than the previous film and was also more critically acclaimed than the first though that film was also highly acclaimed, and there was no other film from this month that even stood a chance against this film as it easily takes the top spot of the month. Knowing that we were going to get a third film to make this a trilogy, it was going to be interesting to see if that film can live up to the lofty standards the first two films set and if the rebooted franchise ends on a strong note.
Overachiever of July 2014: The Purge: Anarchy
Last June, we saw the release of the Purge and while the premises of the film was quite interesting with the idea of a world where all crime was legal for a 12-hour period once a year, many felt the film didn’t play on that as much as it could given that the film was set in a house the entire time. However, given the success of the first film, it opened the door to a sequel which is what we get here with the Purge: Anarchy, and here we actually go out onto the streets and follow multiple people as they try to survive the 12 hours while further diving into the history of the event. While the film opened slightly less than the first film, its overall take surpassed the first film and it was clear the critics though the sequel was superior to the original though they did feel it still wasn’t as fresh as it could’ve been. Due to the success of this film, it is going to be interesting to see if they continue on with this franchise and we get a third film, and if we do get a third film it is going to be interesting to see if it builds off this film or if it starts to become diminishing returns for this franchise. Regardless of that, there is no question that this film deserves to be the overachiever of the month.
Underachiever of July 2014: Lucy
On the surface, the idea behind Lucy was an interesting concept in that it looks at the long myth that humans only use 10% of their brains and what would happen if they used up to 100%, and initial trailers gave the film plenty of hype behind the premises as well as showcasing Scarlett Johannson. Ultimately, the film didn’t quite live up to that hype as the reviews for it were mixed as critics praised Johannson, but felt the plot behind the myth was too nonsensical and while grossing over $126 million was nothing to sneeze at, there was a feeling it could’ve done better though part of that is because of a film that comes out next month that ends up being a major surprise hit. As a result, this film ends up being named the underachiever of the month though compared to some of the other underachievers this year, it isn’t as bad as you expect and we will see how it ranks against the others.
July 2014 Awards Watch: Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, Tammy, Sex Tape, and Boyhood
July can usually be a hit-or-miss month when it comes to getting films that end up being award contenders, but this month ends up being more on the hit side as we have a few films make it into this category. Usually, it is more of a mix of the big three in terms of the films that do make it into this category and we see that again here with four films that make it. The first film that makes it into this category is Dawn of the Planet of the Apes which was nominated for one Academy Award (Best Visual Effects), but it wouldn’t win as that award usually has a lot of strong contenders. The next film that makes it into this category is Tammy which would be nominated for two Golden Raspberry Awards (Worst Actress and Worst Supporting Actress) though it wouldn’t win either as there were worse films that came out. The next film that makes it into this category is the romantic comedy Sex Tape, a film about a couple who make a sex tape and accidentally send it out to their friends and the internet. The film would receive negative reviews from critics who felt the film wasted its stars on the weak plot and it would finish with over $38 million, and it would win one Golden Raspberry Award (Worst Actress) while being nominated for two more (Worst Screen Combo and Worst Screenplay). The last film that makes it into this category is Boyhood as it would win one Academy Award (Best Supporting Actress) while being nominated for 5 more (Best Picture, Best Director, Best Supporting Actor, Best Original Screenplay, and Best Film Editing). It would also win 3 Golden Globe Awards (Best Picture – Drama, Best Supporting Actress, and Best Director) while being nominated for 2 more (Best Supporting Actor and Best Screenplay) which solidifies its status as one of the best films of the year. Between these four films, they racked up several nominations and a few wins as well which just shows that this month was a solid month for the year.
Overall Thoughts of July 2014:
Overall, the month of July 2014 ended up being a pretty good month though in honesty, it wasn’t quite up to the level as the last two months which were so strong and this felt a bit weaker than those. This summer has been on a major roll which in essence started back in April and continued on through the next two months, and this month does have some strong moments though it does feel a bit lower. We had two films cross over $100 million with one crossing $200 million which is lower than we usually see with the month of July, and the rest of the films did just well enough to help carry the month as there were no films that bombed. 2014 has been a surprising good year to this point as it started pretty well, had a solid spring, and the summer has been really hot to this point, but we do hit a bit of a bump here and we will see if the summer can end on a high next month. As for the month of July 2014, it is a pretty good month though it is not quite up to the level of previous Julys though it was still a solid month.
Final Grade: B+
