Steve’s Box Office Report: May 2014
Top 10 Films for the Month of May:
1. Maleficent – $241,410,378
2. X-Men: Days of Future Past – $233,921,534
3. The Amazing Spider-Man 2 – $202,853,933
4. Godzilla – $200,676,069
5. Neighbors – $150,157,400
6. Blended – $46,294,610
7. A Million Ways to Die in the West – $43,139,300
8. Million Dollar Arm – $36,457,627
9. Chef – $31,424,003
10. Mom’s Night Out – $10,429,707
Honorable Mentions:
1. Legends of Oz: Dorothy’s Return – $8,462,347
May Winners: Maleficent, X-Men: Days of Future Past, Godzilla, Neighbors, and Chef
We continue on through the year of 2014 and after a fairly rough start, we seem to be on the upswing after a pretty strong April mainly carried by the second Captain America film and this month looked to keep that trend going. On paper, this was a pretty loaded month with some big contenders and it was going to be interesting to see how many films ended up in this category, and ultimately we get a very strong showing with several films that made it. The first film that makes it into this category is the fantasy film Maleficent, a loose prequel/re-telling of “Sleeping Beauty” focused on Maleficent. The film would receive mixed reviews from critics though audiences were more receptive as it finished with over $241 million which I will get into later in the recap. The next film that makes it into this category is the next installment in the X-Men franchise, Days of Future Past which sees Professor X and Magneto send Wolverine into the past to alter the future and save the X-Men. The film would receive positive reviews from critics who considered it one of the best installments in the franchise, and it would finish with over $233 million which all but ensures the franchise will continue in some form. The next film that makes it into this category is the monster film Godzilla, a film which sees the monster fight off other monsters while a solider attempts to reunite with his family. The film would receive positive reviews from critics who considered it a vast improvement from the 1998 film, and it would finish with over $200 million as it would kick off the Monsterverse which we will talk about later down the line. The next film that makes it into this category is the comedy film Neighbors, a film about a couple who deal with a fraternity that move in next to them. The film would receive positive reviews from critics who felt it was good counterprogramming to the big action films coming out as well, and it would finish with over $150 million which I will delve into later in the recap. The last film that makes it into this category is the comedy-drama film Chef, a film about a celebrity chef who loses his restaurant and is forced to work in a food truck with his son. The film would receive positive reviews from critics who felt it was a breath of fresh air for Jon Favreau and it would finish with over $31 million which was a fine outing for this smaller film. These films were seemingly on another level considered some of the films that we had come out earlier in the year, and there is no question that this month is already off to a really strong start.
May Losers: Legends of Oz: Dorothy’s Return
Coming into this month, the majority of the films looked to do decent at the very worst and would do great business at best, and for the most part almost all the films did one or the other though there was one film that does end up making it into this category. That film ends up being the animated film Legends of Oz: Dorothy’s Return, a sequel to the original film that sees Dorothy return to Oz and assist her friends in defeating an evil jester. The film would receive negative reviews from critics who felt it was a poor sequel and didn’t live up to the standards of the original, and it would finish with over $8 million which makes it one of the bigger bombs of the year. While this film was a major fail, the successes of the month were more than enough to cover over it and the month is still on a strong run.
The Surprise/Story of May 2014: The Mistress of Evil reigns supreme as “Maleficent” takes top spot of loaded May 2014
Going into the month of May, you had two Marvel films set to come out on top of a recognizable monster and a couple of smaller comedy films to try and compete to make a lot of money. Hidden within the shuffle was Maleficent which had a lot of questions behind it as most felt it was an unnecessary film even though Maleficent is considered one of the most popular villains in Disney history. The fact that it comes out at the end of the month was also a unique spot as it was going to have to make most of its money in June, but thanks to the strong reviews and love for Angelina Jolie’s performance at Maleficent, the film would have a great run and ends up taking the top spot for the month. Due to the major success of the film, it was going to be interesting to see if we end up getting a potential sequel for the film, but for now there is no doubt that the film’s success coupled with other big films having good runs results in the month being one of the stronger ones of the year.
Overachiever of May 2014: Neighbors
As we head into the month, all of the focus was going to be on the major films released this month and underneath them were a few comedy films that were going to look to be counterprogramming. On paper, Neighbors did seem to have the most potential as you had the star power of Seth Rogan and Zac Efron to carry it, and the premises behind it also was pretty interesting especially since it is a scenario that can play out in real life. It was also coming out at a good spot as it came out during the second weekend of May which could either be a blessing or a curse being sandwiched between two huge weekends, and it made the most of it as it finished with over $150 million which easily put it in the top 5 even though it does land in the #5 spot. Given how well this film did, it will be interesting to see if we get a sequel and if that can do as well as this film, but for now there is no question that this film easily deserves the title of overachiever of the month.
Underachiever of May 2014: The Amazing Spider-Man 2
As I mentioned, this month had two big Marvel films coming out and both were looking to do very well, and kicking off the month was the next Amazing Spider-Man film which sees Peter Parker try to protect Gwen Stacy while dealing with the villain Electro as well as the return of his best friend Harry Osborn. Sadly, the film would receive mixed reviews from critics who felt it was a step down from the previous film, and while it does finish with over $200 million which is a fine number, it was also a step down from the previous film and paled in comparison to the original Spider-Man trilogy. As a result, this would put an end to a third film and any spinoffs planned for this franchise and Spider-Man would be in a much different environment the next time we see him on the big screen, and this would also lead this franchise to become a bit of a punching bag due to how poorly the two films did. While Spider-Man himself will recover nicely by the time we see him again, there is no question that this film deserves to be the underachiever of the month.
May 2014 Awards Watch: Maleficent, X-Men: Days of Future Past, Blended, A Million Ways to Die in the West, and Legends of Oz: Dorothy’s Return
As we head into the summer of 2014, we now start getting the award contenders coming out as this month has quite a number of films that end up making it into this category. May is usually a hit-or-miss month in terms of award contenders and ultimately, this month ends up being one that hits with plenty of contenders. The first film that makes it into this category is Maleficent which would receive one Academy Award nomination (Best Costume Design) which it wouldn’t win though it was a good nod to the film to get at least one nomination. The next film that makes it into this category is X-Men: Days of Future Past which was nominated for one Academy Award (Best Visual Effects) which it wouldn’t win though it continues the streak of Marvel films getting that nod. The next film that makes it into this category is the romantic comedy film Blended, a film about two single parents who went on a bad blind date and are later forced to stay together with their children as a resort. The film would receive negative reviews from critics who felt it was a waste of a third film between stars Adam Sandler and Drew Barrymore as the film would make over $46 million, and it would be nominated for 3 Golden Raspberry Awards (Worst Actor, Worst Actress, and Worst Supporting Actor) though it wouldn’t win any. The next film that makes it into this category is the comedy Western a Million Ways to Die in the West, a film about a sheep farmer who falls in love with a gunslinger and partners with her to face off with her outlaw husband. The film would receive negative reviews from critics and finished with over $43 million which was a disappointment, and it would receive 4 Golden Raspberry nominations (Worst Actor, Worst Actress, Worst Director, and Worst On-Screen Combo) though it wouldn’t win any. The last film that makes it into this category is Legends of Oz: Dorothy’s Returns which would win one Golden Raspberry Award (Worst Supporting Actor), and it is interesting that most of the films in this category got nods for the award honoring the worst in film.
Overall Thoughts of May 2014:
Overall, the month of May 2014 was a very strong month carried by the big films that came out and was also buoyed by most of the lower-end films that came out as this was easily the best month of the year to this point. Having strong momentum coming off a good April that was as mentioned carried solely by the second Captain America film, and that continued here as the summer starts off on a dominant note thanks again to the big films. We had five films this month make well over $100 million with four of them crossing the $200 million which does not happen that often, particularly for the month of May, and there were no real bombs either to totally drag the month down. 2014 has been an interesting year to this point as it started off on a bit of a slow note, we are rolling with momentum right now and we will see if the rest of the summer can keep that momentum going. As for this month, it is a very good month and easily the best month of the year to this point.
Final Grade: A-
