Club 50 Wrap-Up: 2014

Years Completed:
1987 | 1988 | 1989 | 1990 | 1991 | 1995 | 1996 | 1998 | 1999 | 2001 
2002 | 2003 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014

This is another year that's a little too fresh in my memory to reflect on it with a proper perspective. I mean, most of these movies are still in stock at Target. That doesn't mean I won't try though.

It's best to start at the top. It's been a long time since a movie like American Sniper was the highest grossing movie of the year. The last time a stand-alone movie was on top was 2000's How The Grinch Stole Christmas. Even that was a beloved property already, so really, 1998's Saving Private Ryan, fittingly, was the last time it happened (also, it was the last R-rated movie to top the list). Sniper is even more impressive though since the system these days virtually ensures that franchises, with their effects and friendly PG-13 ratings, get all the money. I may not love Sniper, but its success is impressive.

Much of my examination of the year is anecdotal rather than statistical. Remember that American Sniper came at the end of the year and was more of a 2015 success. Throughout 2014, there was a feeling of "When is the big one?". It was a year filled with movies that, on paper, were going to be huge. How To Train Your Dragon 2 was going to capitalize on the universal love of the first to be Dreamworks' huge non-Shrek hit that they've been looking for. Divergent would be the second-coming of The Hunger Games. Remember how well-received X-Men Fist Class was? That means Days of Future Past would surely blow past The Last Stand. Transformers movies always do incredibly well, and now with dino-robots! Godzilla is back. Captain America is back. Angelina Jolie is back. Something is going to be huge. 

It turns out, many things were big, but somehow, it took until August (August, as in after May and June and July!!!) for something to break $300 million in the box office (Guardians of the Galaxy). Then, continued disappointment. Interstellar couldn't even mine the cult of Christopher Nolan and the McConaissance into even $200 million. The final Hobbit movie was the lowest grossing of all the Middle Earth movies. While $337 million is nothing to scoff at, I'm sure the people at Lionsgate were surprised that Mockingjay Pt. 1 fell so much from Catching Fire's $424 million. In short, 2014 was the valley between two peaks. It happens.

At 17, 2014 fell just shy of 2013's record of 19 sequels in the top 50 for the year. There's already at least 12 sequels to the movies released that year in the works or already released, which is kind of insane.

The Oscars reflected either how out of touch the Academy is or how diverse the options in market currently are. Only the aforementioned American Sniper and The Imitations Game (#36) were in the top 50 in the box office. That's pretty pathetic no matter how you look at it.

To wind down each year as I complete them, I'm going to hand out a few superlatives or anecdotal awards to highlight some of the highs and lows of the year's top 50 box office earners.

First Seen: Ride Along

It's odd to think that at one point, this held the record for weekend gross in January.

Last Seen: Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day

I wasn't about to see this in the theaters. To be honest, I never expected it would break the top 50.

Happiest Surprise: Edge of Tomorrow

This is a space opera Groundhog Day. That much I knew. I wasn't prepared for how much fun it would be. I'm going to be sad when we no longer have Tom Cruise to do movie star things.

Biggest Disappointment: Non-Stop

I was prepared for Tammy not being great. I'd already checked out on Transformers. The Hobbit series was already running on fumes. What I wasn't ready for was a simple post-Taken Liam Nesson movie about fighting plane terrorists to be so bad. How do you mess that up?

Looked Better Then: American Sniper

It's obviously too recent to have a good answer. I'll stick with American Sniper because it doesn't make sense that it would be so popular then. It's not like Lone Survivor or Act of Valor were that big. And this more than doubled Clint Eastwood's previous biggest movie. For me though, I think it's all about people picking up on the fake baby.

Looks Better Now: Interstellar

Again, it's too soon, but Interstallar is the best candidate. It had a world of hype followed by a wave of disappointment. The world is just now reaching a resting place for it as "not one of Nolan's best", although it's still pretty interesting.

Favorite: Neighbors

It's my style of comedy. I love the cast. It's short and tightly edited. I all-around approve of this.

2nd Favorite: Dawn of the Planet of the Apes

I liked Rise of the Planet of the Apes well enough. This took it to another level with great performances from Andy Serkis and Tony Kebbell.

3rd Favorite: 22 Jump Street

It doubled down on what 21 Jump Street did and owned it. Channing Tatum and Jonah Hill are a great comedy duo.

Honorable Mention: 

Gone Girl

The magic trick of a thriller becoming a comedy still dazzles me.

How to Train Your Dragon 2

I mean, Toothless kicking that giant dragon's ass. I wanted to stand up and cheer watching that.

The Imitation Game

I'm a sucker for a good crowd-pleaser.

The LEGO Movie

I still don't understand how they managed to make a good movie out of such a messy idea.

Captain America: The Winter Soldier & Guardians of the Galaxy

Marvel had a good year that restored my confidence in Phase 2.

Least Favorite: Non-Stop

Exodus: Gods and Kings got strong consideration just because I don't know how as a PR move you can get by with not even casting vaguely Eqyptian actors for this movie in 2014. I'm sticking with Non-Stop which just disappointed me on every level. It was Julianne Moore's last movie before winning an Oscar, Lupita Nyong'o's first since winning an Oscar, and they still managed to screw it up. Bleh.