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RANKED: The 15 Highest-Grossing Movies Of 2014

Posted December 25, 2014 10:00 pm

Mallory Schlossberg

<span style="line-height: 1.5em;"><img style="float:right;" src="http://static3.businessinsider.com/image/53037759eab8eaa32e396222-710-532/guardians-of-the-galaxy-1.png" border="0" alt="guardians of the galaxy">This year's box office was one of the worst in recent years.</span>

<span style="line-height: 1.5em;">A lack of really huge summer blockbusters resulted in </span><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">the lowest domestic box-office since 2007. According to BoxOffice.com, this year's movies made </span>an approximate total gross of $9.9 billion<span style="line-height: 1.5em;"> to date</span><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">.</span>

Superhero movies, family-friendly flicks, and high-profile book adaptations were big hits this year. Marvel did particularly well with several major releases.

<span style="line-height: 1.5em;">We know "Guardians of The Galaxy" was an unexpected summer blockbuster and that "The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 1" performed well, but which movie reigned supreme at the box office?</span>

We've compiled the highest-grossing movies of 2014.*

*Grosses as of 12/24/14. We will continue to update this post accordingly.

<h3>15. "Lucy": $458.9 million</h3>

Studio: Universal Release date: Jul. 25, 2014 Estimated budget: $40 million Domestic gross: <span> </span>$126.7 million

The critically divisive sci-fi indie starring Scarlett Johansson as a young woman who could unlock the full potential of the human brain exploded at the box office. <span style="line-height: 1.5em;">It helped that the film made this out to be a female superhero movie starring a popular "Avengers" character. There's been a lot of anticipation for Johansson to get her own spin-off Black Widow film.</span><span style="line-height: 1.5em;"> "Lucy" proved that even without the rest of the Avengers at her side, Johansson can bring in a large audience. After the film's success, both </span>Warner Bros.<span style="line-height: 1.5em;"> and </span>Marvel<span style="line-height: 1.5em;"> announced future female standalone movies.</span>

(Source: Box Office Mojo)

<h3>14. "The LEGO Movie": $468.1 million</h3>

Studio: Warner Bros. Release date: Feb. 7, 2014 Estimated budget: $60 million Domestic gross: $257.8 million

<span>"The LEGO Movie" debuted at number one on the box-office charts with</span> a $69.1 million opening weekend<span>, making for </span>one of the biggest February openings<span> ever.</span>

<span style="line-height: 1.5em;"></span>The universal praise<span style="line-height: 1.5em;"> for the movie and a catchy theme song from the </span><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">talented writer-director team of Christopher Miller and Phil Lord ("Cloudy With A Chance of Meatballs," "21 Jump Street") helped prove everything about a LEGO movie is awesome. <span>The film's combination of smart, subversive commentary about conformity, pop culture references and </span>Easter eggs<span>, along with top-notch voice talent (Chris Pratt, Will Arnett, and Elizabeth Banks) all made for an appealing movie for both kids and adults. </span></span><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">Warner Bros. already has three sequels in the works including a Batman spin-off. </span>

<span style="line-height: 1.5em;">With no Pixar film this year, "The LEGO Movie" has a good chance at taking home the Oscar for best-animated film.</span><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.5em;"> </span>

<span style="line-height: 1.5em;">(Source: </span>Box Office Mojo<span style="line-height: 1.5em;">)</span>

<h3>13. "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles": $477.2 million</h3>

Studio: Paramount Release date: Aug. 8, 2014 Estimated budget: $125 million Domestic gross: <span> </span>$191.2 million

Even though the movie was critically panned, it still managed to be a box-office success, showing nostalgia and sheer curiosity are powerful tools for bringing in audience members. The movie also starred Megan Fox.

"Ninja Turtles" debuted at number one opening weekend, knocking "Guardians Of The Galaxy" off its box-office throne with $65.6 million opening weekend. The film went on to be one of the highest-grossing movies of the summer. Paramount has no plans on retiring this franchise; it already has a sequel planned for June 2016.

(Source: Box Office Mojo)

<h3>12. "Rio 2": $498.8 million</h3>

Studio: Fox Release date: Apr. 11, 2014 Estimated budget: $103 million Domestic gross: $131.5 million

The animated Amazon adventure from the makers of the "Ice Age" trilog<span style="line-height: 1.5em;">y featured an all-star cast, including the voices of Anne Hathaway, Jesse Eisenberg, Tracy Morgan, and Bruno Mars. Despite a cast of A-listers, the movie </span>only grossed $39.3 million<span style="line-height: 1.5em;"> in its opening weekend. However, it continued to steadily bring in audiences throughout the spring and summer, and became a big hit overseas grossing $367.2 million outside of the US.</span>

(Source: Box Office Mojo)

<h3>11. "Godzilla": $525 million</h3>

Studio: Warner Bros. Release date: May 16, 2014 Estimated budget: $160 million Domestic gross: <span> </span>$200.7 million

"Godzilla" crushed the box office, grossing a whopping $93.2 million in its opening weekend. It's unsurprising the movie performed well despite lukewarm reviews; "Godzilla" is a bankable name, and with newer technology, the giant lizard monster was more real-looking than ever.

<span>Director Gareth Edwards brought the monster back to its terrifying roots after </span>1998's widely-panned disaster starring Matthew Broderick. <span>It helped that marketing heavily revolved around Bryan Cranston ("Breaking Bad") even though he wasn't the main star of the movie</span>. Warner Bros. announced a sequel soon after the movie's release in May.

(Source: Box Office Mojo )

<h3>10. "How To Train Your Dragon 2": $618.9 million</h3>

Studio: Fox Release date: Jun. 13, 2014 Estimated budget: $145 million Domestic gross: $177 million

<span>DreamWorks Animation's big summer tentpole had the unfortunate timing of being released while hits including "22 Jump Street," "The Fault in Our Stars," and Kevin Hart's "Think Like a Man Too" dominated the box office. </span>Although "Dragon" never hit number one at the box office, the anticipated sequel to the 2010 hit steadily continued to bring in audiences throughout the summer. The movie also made headlines for featuring a subtle - but notable - animated coming-out scene.

(Source: Box Office Mojo)

<h3>9. "Interstellar": $636.2 million</h3>

Studio: Paramount Release date: Nov. 5, 2014 Estimated budget: $165 million Domestic gross: $171.5 million

Despite the initial hype, this time-travel sci-fi feature starring Matthew McConaughey and Anne Hathaway opened to a significantly smaller box office than anticipated. However, director Christopher Nolan's latest has continued to bring in audience members throughout the fall, particularly through a surge in IMAX screenings - even throughout the release of "Mockingjay," which was not released in the format. Since beautiful visuals are central to "Interstellar," it's likely that audiences shelled out extra to see the film in the more expensive IMAX format and that Nolan fanboys saw it multiple times to fully comprehend the existential plot.<span style="line-height: 1.5em;"> </span>

<span style="line-height: 1.5em;">(Source: </span>Box Office Mojo<span style="line-height: 1.5em;">)</span>

<h3>8. "The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 1": $641.6 million</h3>

Studio: Lionsgate Release date: Nov. 21, 2014 Estimated budget: $125 million Domestic gross: $289.4 million

The highly-anticipated sequel to 2013's "Catching Fire" arrived right before Thanksgiving, and while reviews were mixed, fans of the franchise still flocked to movie theaters to see Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence) back in action and fighting the Capitol.

Audience members were likely anxious to see how the movie would handle the tragic death of Philip Seymour Hoffman, whose character, Plutarch Heavensbee, is central to "Mockingjay." Though predictions called for a $150 million opening, the film opened to $121.9 opening weekend. However, it wasn't anything to complain over. That figure helped give "Mockingjay" the biggest opening weekend of the year.

(Source: Box Office Mojo)

<h3>7. "Dawn Of The Planet Of The Apes": $708.3 million</h3>

Studio: Fox Release date: Jul. 11, 2014 Estimated budget: $170 million Domestic gross: <span> </span>$208.5 million

The sequel to the 2011 film topped the box-office in its first two weekends in theaters, and continued to steadily profit throughout the summer and early fall, even without headline-maker James Franco! An entirely new director, Matt Reeves, was at the helm of the latest installment of the franchise. Reeves along with motion capture guru Andy Serkis may have accounted for how well "Dawn" performed. Generally solid reviews and impressive special effects certainly helped this movie in its mission to conquer the box office.

(Source: Box Office Mojo)

<h3>6. "The Amazing Spider-Man 2": $709 million</h3>

Studio: Sony/Columbia Release date: May 2, 2014 Estimated budget: $200 million Domestic gross: $202.9 million

The latest installment in the revamped "Spider-Man" trilogy might have performed well with a seemingly impressive $91.6 million opening weekend but given Spidey's brand recognition (he's the best-selling superhero toy) and a lot of hype for the sequel, it probably should have been the first $100 million opening weekend of the year.

The opening weekend for "The Amazing Spider-Man 2" was worse than any of the movies in the original "Spider-Man" trilogy starring Tobey Maguire, and overall, it's the lowest-performing "Spider-Man" movie of the five. R<span style="line-height: 1.5em;">eviewers weren't particularly taken with the over-bloated installment; critics generally noted that the movie </span>focused on building its franchise and not on storytelling. <span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.5em;">The movie was by no means a total failure, but it was a box-office disappointment putting into question the future of the Spidey franchise at Sony.</span>

(Source: Box Office Mojo, IMDBpro)

<h3>5. "Captain America: The Winter Soldier": $714.1 million</h3>

Studio: Buena Vista Release date: Apr. 4, 2014 Estimated budget: $170 million Domestic gross: $259.8 million

Marvel had quite the year, beginning with "Captain America" and its <span style="line-height: 1.5em;">$95 million opening weekend. The movie, which saw Captain America (Chris Evans) join forces with Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson), held the number one position at the box office for three weeks, and it continued to do well throughout the spring and into the summer. Unsurprisingly, Marvel is already gearing up for a third "Captain America" installment in May 2016 called "Captain America: Civil War." The third film in the series is already planning to be a knock-out with plenty of of superheroes, similar to "The Avengers."</span>

(Source: Box Office Mojo)

<h3>4. "X-Men: Days Of Future Past": $746 million</h3>

Studio: Fox Release date: May 23, 2014 Estimated budget: $200 million Domestic gross: $233.9 million

The star-studded franchise took the Memorial Day weekend box office by storm with a $90.8 million opening weekend. Sexual assault allegations against director Bryan Singer didn't hurt the movie as viewers still flocked to the box office to see their favorite mutant action heroes fight Dr. Bolivar Trask (Peter Dinklage). A big draw to the film was the interaction and team up of X-Men from older movies (Ian McKellen, Patrick Stewart, and Hugh Jackman) with those from the newer movies (Jennifer Lawrence, Michael Fassbender).

However, the real scene stealer was the introduction of a new fan-favorite, Quicksilver (Evan Peters) a goofy, fast mutant who <span style="line-height: 1.5em;">rapidly frees a young Magneto (Fassbender) from a prison cell 100 floors below the Pentagon. </span><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">A sequel to the film, "X-Men: Apocalypse" will be in theaters summer 2016.</span>

<span style="line-height: 1.5em;">(Source: </span>Box Office Mojo<span style="line-height: 1.5em;">) </span>

<h3>3. "Maleficent": $757.8 million</h3>

Studio: Buena Vista Release date: May 30, 2014 Estimated budget: $180 million Domestic gross: $241.4 million

The live-action re-telling of Disney's classic tale "Sleeping Beauty" yielded mixed reviews, but one thing was certain: Angelina Jolie was stellar as the titular villain. Despite a modest opening weekend of $69.4 million, the movie continued to pull in viewers throughout the summer. The majority of the movie's financial success came from foreign box offices, as it grossed <span>$516.3 million from theaters outside of the US. </span>

(Source: Box Office Mojo)

<h3>2. "Guardians Of The Galaxy": $772.3 million</h3>

Studio: Buena Vista Release date: Aug. 1, 2014 Estimated budget: $170 million Domestic gross: $332.5 million

This one was a gamble for Marvel. No one knew whether fans would go out to see an adaptation of an obscure comic. However, 2014 has been the year of Chris Pratt. The "Parks and Rec" star and a soundtrack carefully selected by the film's director James Gunn helped make "Guardians" a huge success. The film opened to one of the largest debuts of the summer ($93.2 million). Additionally, it recieved praise from critics for its mix of humor, action, science fiction, and heart. The movie was also responsible for the introduction of Baby Groot, the tiny, dancing spawn of Groot (Vin Diesel), who became an Internet sensation this summer.

It may also help that director James Gunn is very hands on with his film on social media, sharing behind-the-scenes images and interacting with his fanbase. <span style="line-height: 1.5em;">Fans itching for more adventures with the Guardians can breathe a sigh of relief. A</span> sequel is already in the works<span style="line-height: 1.5em;"> and is set for release on May 5, 2017.</span>

(Source: Box Office Mojo)

<h3>1. "Transformers: Age Of Extinction": over $1 billion</h3>

Studio: Paramount Release date: Jun. 27, 2014 Estimated budget: $210 million Domestic gross: $245.4 million

The worst-reviewed movie on this list is also the highest-grossing one! "Transformers: Age of Extinction" became the highest-grossing film of the year after just two weeks in theaters. The fourth installment of Michael Bay's popular franchise succeeded in part to a $90 million opening in China, making it the largest opening ever in China. Unsurprisingly, a fifth untitled film is already in the works for 2016.

(Source: Box Office Mojo)

<h3>Those were the highest-grossing movies of the year</h3>

<h3> Now see which movies you should check out this winter > </h3>

<h3> and the biggest movies of next year > </h3>

<ul><li>The 15 Best Movies Of 2014</li><li>The Highest-Grossing Movies Of 2014</li><li>The Final 'Hobbit' Movie Had A Huge Opening Weekend</li></ul></group><group id="3AF77D05-7C5D-4878-BCE4-5A7198225302" type="seoLabels"><seoLabels></seoLabels></

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