The 10 Top Grossing Movies of 2014
Box Office Mojo has tallied the final numbers for 2014 and released this year’s top worldwide grossing movies of the past 12 months. While overall totals at the box office are down 5.4 percent from last year, making it the worst year for Hollywood since 2011, the following films brought in big bucks at the box office.
This year’s top grossing movie list is largely made up of sequels, superheroes and a space thriller. And luckily for family viewers, this year’s top 10 movies were all rated PG-13 or less.
10. How to Train Your Dragon 2 - This sequel to the 2010 movie How to Train Your Dragon continues the story of the scrawny Viking named Hiccup who has a talent for taming dragons. This animation beat out both The LEGO Movie and Big Hero 6 at the box office earning $177,002,924 domestically and $618,909,935 worldwide.
9. Interstellar failed to pull in the same earnings as last year’s space movie Gravity, which grossed over $716,392,705 worldwide. Directed by Christopher Nolan, this film had a reported budget of $165 million and managed to earn $178,080,502 domestically. However the film, starring Matthew McConaughey as a former space pilot who joins a mission of scientists looking for viable alternatives to Earth, brought in $628,780,502 worldwide.
8. The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 1 had a slower opening weekend than the two previous movies in the franchise earning about $30 million less than The Hunger Games on the first weekend. So far this third movie about Katniss Everdeen and the other citizens of Panem has brought in $308,939,828 domestically $671,939,828 worldwide.
7. Dawn of the Planet of the Apes is another sequel that managed to make the top 10 list earning $202,853,933 domestically and $708,299,389 worldwide. Set in the futuristic ruins of San Francisco, this movie about apes who have genetically evolved thanks to medical intervention grossed $72,611,427 on its first weekend which eclipsed opening weekend earnings or both the 2001 remake of Planet of the Apes ($68,532,960) and the 2011 sequel Rise of the Planet of the Apes ($54,806,191).
6. The Amazing Spider-Man 2 stars Andrew Garfield as the geeky high school student who develops amazing spider senses after being bitten by a genetically modified arachnid. Although the film had a bigger opening weekend ($91,608,337) than the first film in this reboot ($62,004,688) is has underperformed in comparison to the original making $202,853,933 domestically. Still it managed to make enough on the worldwide market ($708,982.323) to push it into the top 10 earners of 2014.
5. Captain America: The Winter Soldier proved to be a profitable adventure for Marvel/Walt Disney Studios. This sequel to Captain America: The First Avenger earned $259,766,572 domestically and $454,317,000 worldwide. However this story of the red, white and blue wearing superhero with the indestructible sword still didn’t manage to unset another Marvel character. Releasing in 2013, Iron Man 3 earned over $409 million domestically and a whopping $1 billion worldwide.
4. X-Men: Days of Future Past is the sixth X-Men movie to release since 2000. While X-Men: The Last Stand managed to make more on its opening weekend, Days of Future Past has almost equaled that film in overall domestic earnings with $233,921,535 at the box office. However it surpassed The Last Stand on the worldwide market making over $512 million this year. X-Men: Apocalypse is scheduled to release in 2016.
3. Maleficenttells the other side of the Sleeping Beauty story with justification for the Evil Witch’s cruel spell. Directed by Robert Stromberg and starring Angelina Jolie in the title role, this movie hauled in $241,410,378 domestically and an impressive $516,342,000 worldwide.
2. Guardians of the Galaxy may be one of the most unexpected successes of the year. This rag-tag group of hero-wannabes (which includes a junk collector, a tree, a muscle bound hulk, a raccoon and a green-skinned woman) is part of Marvel’s lesser-known superheroes. But these long shots managed to woo audiences into theaters to the tune of $332,862,030 domestically and $772,462,030 worldwide.
1. Transformers: Age of Extinction had a reported budget of $210 million and while it managed to cover the bills with a domestic take of $245,439,076, this film really made its money on the worldwide market bringing in $1,087,404,500 thanks in part to its amazing success in China. Box Office Mojo reports the franchise is already popular in the country that has a rapidly growing middle class who is increasing the demand for movies. But while previous films have made an effort to include scenes of the People’s Republic, Transformers: Age of Extinction’s has a large portion of the story unfolding in and around Hong Kong. As well Chinese actress Li Bingbing plays a prominent role in the movie.
With the countdown complete, it’s time to gear up for what Hollywood has to offer in 2015.
