2014 may not have been a banner year for the film industry, as Hollywood had its worst box-office summer slump in eight years, with sales down almost 20% from last summer. However, 2014 seems to have been the year of the franchise, as a majority of the top movies were sequels to some fan-favorite films. Let’s take a look at the 10 highest-grossing films from this year.
1. Transformers: Age of Extinction
In the fourth installment of the Transformers, tensions between humans and Autobots are extremely high following the deadly battle of Chicago in the third movie. There’s no doubt that the action-packed Transformers franchise is extremely popular, with The Age of Extinction grossing $1,087,404,499 worldwide, and a fifth movie on the way.
2. Guardians of the Galaxy
Who would have thought a movie about five misfits saving the universe would be among the highest grossing film of 2014? Guardians of the Galaxy was an unexpected box office hit, with clever direction and casting that both spoofs and reaffirms the superhero genre. The movie has grossed $771,454,000, which is probably part of the reason fans can look forward to a sequel in 2017.
3. Maleficent
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yh1lQESR9sU
Disney’s back story on the infamous Sleeping Beauty villain shows viewers that Maleficent didn’t always used to be evil. This live-action fairy tale seems to be part of a recent trend on Disney’s part to bring our favorite fantasy stories to life (i.e. Into the Woods and Cinderella)–and a lucrative trend at that, considering the fact that Maleficent brought in $757,723,217 at the box office.
4. X-Men: Days of Future Past
The seventh installment of the X-Men movie series actually acts as a sequel to both X-Men: First Class and X-Men: The Last Stand. The ensemble cast features A-list celebrities, from Hugh Jackman to Jennifer Lawrence to Halle Berry, and it grossed an impressive $746,045,777 at the box office.
5. Captain America: The Winter Solider
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=82RKQPgeYRs
Coming off the success of both The Avengers and Captain America: The First Avenger, it is not so surprising that a sequel about everyone’s favorite all-American superhero grossed $714,083,572. Thanks to the ongoing success of the franchise, fanboys and fangirls alike can look forward to Captain America: Civil War in 2016.
6. The Amazing Spider-Man 2
It’s bird! It’s a plane! No, it’s the amazing Spider-Man! The sequel to the 2012 summer blockbuster brings back everyone’s favorite crime-fighting teenager. Although the movie grossed a whopping $708,982,323 at the box office, it was the lowest grossing film in the series.
7. Dawn of the Planet of the Apes
Dawn of the Planet of the Apes is the eighth film in the franchise, and the sequel to the 2011 reboot of the series. The movie was praised by critics for excellent visual effects and emotional story depth, and it was a hit at the box office, grossing $708,266,226.
8. How to Train Your Dragon 2
It’s hard to believe any animated movie could have beaten out Disney’s smash-hit, Frozen. However, How to Train Your Dragon 2, seemed to enchant moviegoers with swarms of dragons and breathtaking flight scenes, grossing $618,849,989 at the box office.
9. Interstellar
In Christopher Nolan’s sci-fi epic, earth has been deemed uninhabitable, and the fate of humankind depends on finding a new planet to call home (which, according to some scientists, may be our fate in the not-too-distant future). Although the movie runs just over three hours, Interstellar has topped box offices worldwide, bringing in $542,290,000.
10. Godzilla
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I-EEqJ9HyTk
This reboot of the Godzilla film franchise retells the origin story of the infamous giant lizard in contemporary times. Work on the film initially began in 2004, and it was intended to be an IMAX short film. However, as the project went on, it was transferred to Legendary Pictures to be developed into a full-length feature film. Changing the direction of the film was ultimately a good idea, as Godzilla grossed $524,976,069.
Cover Photo Source: ktsdesign
[author] [author_image timthumb=’on’]https://wpmaster.sjadv.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/Our-Space-The-San-Jose-Group.png[/author_image] [author_info]Jenny is a Junior Executive at SJG. She earned her BA in Psychology and a minor in Educational Studies in 2014 from Colgate University. Outside the office, Jenny loves to travel (usually to Disney World), bake and watch copious amounts of TLC.[/author_info] [/author]