“Captain America: The First Avenger” worldwide box office: $370,569,774
“Captain America: The Winter Soldier” worldwide box office: $714,766,572
“Jurassic Park III” worldwide box office: $368,780,809“Jurassic World” worldwide box office: Roughly $1 Billion and counting.
Boy, it must suck being Joe Johnston these days.
2014 was another hit or miss year at the multiplex. Sequels ruled the landscape yet again, while original flicks were few and far within and usually got lost amidst the sea of sequels. But I’m happy to say there were some surprises in 2014. For example:
Last year only one comic book movie made my list, this year three made the cut. Also in 2014 I enjoyed my first Transformers, Spider-Man, and Hobbit movies. I liked a lot of movies this year. In fact, this year I had trouble choosing just 10 movies. And sadly, a few just missed the cut.
And now it’s time for my top 10 movies of 2014. But as always, there are a couple of things to keep in mind:
1. I ranked the movies after seeing them multiple times. Meaning my earlier reviews may not always apply.
2. There are some movies I haven’t seen, so don’t be shocked if “Unbroken,” “Into the Woods” and other big names are missing.
I think that’s about it. And away we go…
In my opinion, “Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit” is one of the year’s most underrated movies. Shadow Recruit had everything a spy movie should have, a solid story, plenty of action, humor and more. And the whole thing was topped off with a solid (and funny) performance from Kevin Costner.
9. Draft Day
Holy moley! Another Kevin Costner movie, what is this, 1990?
This is not just another Costner movie however, it’s also another underrated movie of 2014. “Draft Day” is one of those movies with a poor marketing campaign that torpedoed what is one of the best football movies in years.
Bottom line: Any movie backed by the NFL should have better trailers and tv spots.
While a lot of people were disappointed in “The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1,” I thought it was better than the first Hunger Games movie. I’ve seen “The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1” twice, and the second time was better than the first.
This movie introduced a bunch of new characters and setting, and has top-notch performances from Jennifer Lawrence and Philip Seymour Hoffman, and its the perfect appetizer to what is to come in the final chapter of the Hunger Games saga.
7. The Hundred-Foot Journey
True, “The Hundred-Foot Journey” is about the Kadam family leaving India for France where they open a restaurant directly across the road from Madame Mallory’s Michelin-starred eatery.
It’s a great story, and there’s plenty of delicious food to look at. But its the amazing performances by Helen Mirren and Om Puri that are worth the price of admission.
A thrilling, funny, charming, and emotional wartime drama. plus come on, it stars George Clooney, Matt Damon, Bill Murray, John Goodman, Jean Dujardin, Bob Balaban, Hugh Bonneville, and Cate Blanchett. What more do you want?
5. X-Men: Days of Future Past
It took several years to right the wrongs of “X-Men: The last Stand,” but by golly Bryan Singer pulled it off. The original X-Men director gave us the best movie in the series, and a great jumping off point for what is yet to come.
And good riddance to The Last Stand.
A sequel being better than the original movie does not happen often, but Winter Soldier crushed all expectations. This movie erased any memory of “Captain America: The First Avenger,” and simply started over. The result?
One of Marvel’s best movies to date.
3. Edge of Tomorrow
I’ll keep this short: “Edge of Tomorrow is one of the best sc-fi movies I’ve ever seen.
We’re just like Kevin Bacon. I’d say the Guardians are even better than Kevin Bacon. “Guardians of the Galaxy” was by far the most fun flick of the summer movie season.
Drum roll please.
And my number one movie of 2014 is…
1. Chef
Sure I expected a few laughs from Jon Favreau’s “Chef.” But what I wasn’t expecting this little movie would become my favorite of the year and (are you ready for this?) my favorite movie, period.
You heard right, after nearly 17 years at the top of my favorites list, “Fierce creatures” has been toppled by a movie about a food truck. If you haven’t seen “Chef,” what the hell are you waiting for?
At long last Hydra has discovered Captain America’s weakness: Women
We kicked ass!
Playing at 3,205 locations, “The Other Woman” exceeded expectations and poor reviews to finish in first place with a $24.7 million debut. Not surprisingly, the Other Woman’s audience was 75 percent female.
The audience also skewed older with 65 percent being over the age of 25. The film earned a “B+” CinemaScore. With the summer movie season about to kick off, it’s hard to tell how well this movie will hold up. But fear not, for “The Other Woman” will bring in a tidy profit when all is said and done.
In the unlikely event of a water landing, you may find a flotation device here.
The weekend’s other new movies didn’t fare as well. Playing at 2,647 theaters, “Brick Mansions” opened in fifth place with an estimated $9.6 million. That’s even lower than other film’s produced by Luc Besson’s EuropaCorp: “The Family” had a $14 million debut, and earlier this year “3 Days to Kill” opened to $12.2 million.
As I mentioned on Friday, “Brick Mansions” is a remake of a 2006 French movie called “District B-13.” The plot for B-13 was a bit weak, but the action was great. Definitely worth checking out if you can find the movie. “Brick Mansions” is also the final movie that Paul Walker completed before his untimely death last November. However, it’s difficult to say is Walker’s presence helped the movie or not.
Mansions’ audience was 58 percent male and 54 percent over the age of 25. It received a “B+” CinemaScore. With some huge movies just around the corner, it’s unlikely that “Brick Mansions” will get anywhere near $35 million by the end of its run.
I like to be in America!
O.K. by me in America!
Thanks to poor word-of-mouth and even worse reviews, “Transcendence” plummeted 62 percent to $4.1 million. The Johnny Depp sci-fi flick has earned $18.5 million total since its release last week. But as bad as that sounds, newbie “The Quiet Ones” performed even worse.
“The Quiet Ones” earned bomb of the week honors by earning $4 million, barely enough for seventh place. Should that number hold, it will tie “Vampire Academy” ($3.9 million) for the lowest 2014 opening in over 2,000 theaters. It’s also the worst debut ever for a supernatural horror movie playing at more than 2,000 locations. Ouch.
Your top five movies this weekend:
1. The Other Woman – $24.7 million
2. Captain America: The Winter Soldier – $16 million
3. Heaven Is For Real – $13.8 million
4. Rio 2 — $13.6 million
5. Brick Mansions — $9.6 million
You’re right Cap, that Kate Upton sure is cute.
Not even a slew of new movies could take down “Captain America: The Winter Soldier.” The Marvel sequel added $26.6 million this weekend, holding on to first place for the third weekend in a row.
That’s 36 percent decline from lat week, but the good news is that the film reached $200 million on Sunday, and should pass “Thor: The Dark World” later this week.
Seriously, I was nominated for an Academy Award.
Playing at 2,417 locations, “Heaven is for Real” did better than expected earning $21.5 million this weekend. Add in its Wednesday and Thursday grosses, and the faith-based true story has already grossed $28.5 million.
The audience “Heaven is for Real” was 62 percent female and 51 percent over the age of 35. They awarded it an “A” CinemaScore, which suggests word-of-mouth will be strong. If this movie remains steady, it should pass “Son of God” which has grossed $60 million since its late January release.
Johnny Depp needs a Pirate movie, stat. His latest film, “Transcendence” landed in fourth place with $11.15 million. That’s way down from recent Depp movies like “Dark Shadows” ($29.7 million) and last year’s “The Lone Ranger” ($29.2 million).
Yo Ho A Pirate’s Life for Me!
The movie’s audience was 56 percent male and 56 percent over the age of 25. And those who saw it, didn’t like it very much. Neither did critics, and “Transcendence” wound up with a “C+” CinemaScore. This is one movie that will fade fast from theatres.
As bad as “Transcendence” performed, it wasn’t the bomb of the week. That honor went to “A Haunted House 2” which took fifth place with an estimated $9.1 million. That’s roughly half of the first movie’s $18.1 million debut.
The original Haunted House was the first horror spoof in a few years, while “A Haunted House 2” is the third horror spoof in the past 15 months. Perhaps audiences are finally sick of these movies?
The few who dared see this movie awarded it a “B-” CinemaScore. A steep drop from here is likely for Haunted 2, which could finish its domestic run with under $50 million.
I promise you: someone out there still thinks we’re funny.
Your top five movies this weekend:
1. Captain America: The Winter Soldier — $26.61 million
2. Rio 2 — $22.5 million
3. Heaven Is for Real — $21.5 million
4. Transcendence — $11.15 million
5. A Haunted House 2 – $9.1 million
In other news…
Two weeks ahead of its U.S. debut, “The Amazing Spider-Man 2” opened in 14 foreign markets, earning an estimated $47 million. According to Sony, that’s on par with the first Amazing Spidey.
Hey, anyone else remember when big movies would open here first? I miss those days.
Mets lost again! Dammit.
Who woulda thought a flock of animated birds would give the Captain a run for his money?
Don’t you dare birds.
In its second week, “Captain America: The Winter Soldier” was able to narrowly hold on to first place with $41.4 million. That’s down 56 percent from its debut, but it is slightly better hold than last year’s “Iron Man 3” (58 percent) and “Thor: The Dark World” (57 percent). However, with the film receiving very strong reviews and solid word-of-mouth, the huge drop has to be a bit of a disappointment for Marvel.
But don’t cry a river for Disney and Marvel just yet. So far, “Captain America: The Winter Soldier” has earned $159 million at the domestic box office, and $317,700,000 from International markets.
Captain America came out on top, but the battle was far closer than anyone expected. “Rio 2” wasn’t far behind with a $39 million debut. That’s almost identical to the first Rio’s $39.2 million debut in 2011. The sequel played at 3,948 locations, and was helped by the lack of any competition for the family audience.
World Cup Fever
According to 20th Century Fox, the audience for “Rio 2” was 57 percent female, and only 31 percent of ticket sales were in 3D. Moviegoers awarded “Rio 2” a strong “A” CinemaScore. With the Easter holiday nearly upon us, (and without any serious competition for the forseeable future) “Rio 2” should hold up well. If it does, it’s very possible the animated sequel will eventually match the first movie’s $143.6 million total.
Supernatural horror flick “Oculus” took third place with an estimated $12 million. While not a great opening for most movies, this is a fantastic start for a film that cost only $5 million to produce. According to Relativity Media, the audience was 51 percent female and 52 percent under the age of 25. The bad news is the movie received a poor “C” CinemaScore, which probably means it won’t stick around for long.
Poor Kevin Costner. His comeback tour took a big hit this weekend, with his latest movie “Draft Day” earning the bomb of the week. “Draft Day” took fourth place with $9.75 million, I guess opening a football movie in the middle of April wasn’t a smart movie after all. The opening is a bit lower than star Kevin Costner’s recent action movie “3 Days to Kill” ($12.2 million), and the $18 million “Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit” earned in January.
All by myself…
I suppose the good news (if there are any) is that “Draft Day” received a “B+” CinemaScore from moviegoers. Perhaps as we get closer to the NFL draft, this movie will see a bump up. But it won’t be enough I’m afraid.
Your top five movies this weekend:
1. Captain America: The Winter Soldier – $41.4 million
2. Rio 2 – $39 million
3. Oculus – $12 million
4. Draft Day – $9.5 million
5. Divergent – $7.5 million
SIGH, I miss Alias.
What’s the name of the movie that will topple “Captain America” The Winter Soldier”?
It doesn’t matter, because the good Captain will hold on to the top spot this weekend. Yes, I realize most comic book movies have sharp drops in their second frame: Last year alone “Iron Man 3” and “Thor: The Dark World” fell 58 percent and 57 percent, respectively in week 2.
However, Winter Soldier has a couple of things those movies did not have: Excellent reviews and huge word-of-mouth from comic fans and non-comic fans.
That being said, Winter Soldier should earn around $45 million this weekend. It’s still a bit of a tumble, but when your movie has already earned over $320 million worldwide, I don’t think you’re complaining much.
Second place will go to animated sequel “Rio 2” which is playing at 3,948 locations. The voice cast is quite good: Anne Hathaway, George Lopez and Jamie Foxx reprise their roles from the first film. While the sequel adds Kristen Chenoweth, Andy Garcia, and Bruno Mars to the mix.
The first “Rio” opened to $39.2 million around the same time in 2011, eventually earning $341 million worldwide. The movie was a huge hit, but the long break between flicks may hurt it just a bit. Even so, “Rio 2” faces little or no competition for the family audience and it should earn around $35 million this weekend.
Opening at 2,781 theaters, “Draft Day” is Kevin Costner’s third movie of the year, and his first sports movie since 1999’s “For Love of the Game.” In “Draft Day,” Costner has the wrost job in football, general manager of the Cleveland Browns. Poor Kevin. Now, I have a question:
You make a football movie with the support of the NFL, and you call it “Draft Day,” then why the hell is it opening almost a month before the actual draft?
Would it not make more sense if this movie opened the week before, or even the week after the draft? Either way, you could hype it non-stop during the event. At least, that’s what I would do. Then again, I only minored in advertising, so maybe I”m wrong on this. “Draft Day” will open in third place with around $19 million.
Opening at 2,648 locations, “Oculus” is the first supernatural horror movie since January. So far “Oculus” has received solid reviews, and as of Friday morning it sits ar 73 percent on Rotten Tomatoes. The movie could benefit from the fact it stars Doctor Who’s Karen Gillan, and that it cost only $5 million to produce. However, I don’t expect “Oculus” will get past $12 million this weekend.
Joe Simon and Jack Kirby’s creation has come a long way since those days. Heck, the good Captain has come a long way in just two movies.
“Captain America: The Winter Soldier” destroyed the competition, opening to a massive $96.2 million. That’s a new record for the month of April, the previous record-holder was 2011’s “Fast Five,” which opened with $86.2 million.
Cap’s record opening is a 48 percent improvement over “Captain America: The First Avenger” which opened in 2011. The Winter Soldier is also doing huge business overseas, where it has already topped the First Avenger’s $194 million total. To date, the sequel has earned $303,300,000 worldwide.
I’m truly sorry for First Avenger.
The Winter Soldier’s audience was 64 percent male, which is a bit higher than “Thor: The Dark World” (62 percent). Those who saw it awarded the movie an “A” CinemaScore, and it still sitting at 87 percent on Rotten Tomatoes. 3D Showings accounted for 40 percent of Winter Soldier’s opening, while IMAX contributed $9.6 million. With excellent reviews and positive audience reactions, this film should have a very healthy (and lengthy) run.
In its second weekend, “Noah” plummeted 61 percent to an estimated $17 million. Going up against Captain America, the huge drop should not come as a surprise. Plus the drop is on par with another recent religious film.
Earlier this year, “Son of God” fell 60 percent in its second week. To date, “Noah” has earned $72.3 million; and it should eventually pass $100 million, But with an additional $106,200,000 from overseas, things look good for this film.
Are you not entertained?!?
“Divergent” fell another 49 percent to an estimated $13 million. The young-adult adaptation has taken in $114 million so far at home, and $22,400,000 from international markets.
In other news, the drama “God’s Not Dead” expanded to 1,758 theaters and added $7.7 million. To date, the Freestyle Releasing movie has taken in a very respectable $32.5 million. “God’s Not Dead” is directed by Harold Cronk, and stars Shane Harper, Kevin Sorbo, Jim Gleason, David A.R. White, Marco Khan and Superman himself, Dean Cain.
Your top five movies this weekend:
1. Captain America: The Winter Soldier – $96.2 million
2. Noah – $17 million
3. Divergent – $13 million
4. God’s Not Dead – $7.7 million
5. The Grand Budapest Hotel – $6.3 million
Pretty people with problems.
Of all the Marvel heroes who have made their way to the big screen these past few years, Captain America may be the most misunderstood. He doesn’t seem to fit in with Tony Stark’s iron Man, Nick Fury, or even Thor. Good old Cap was the dinosaur in the room.
In 2011 Joe Johnston’s “Captain America: The First Avenger” didn’t do the character many favors, and for a while it was my least favorite Marvel movie. The movie was hit, but it’s still the lowest grossing entry in the Marvel Cinamatic Universe,
As you can imagine, I wasn’t holding my breath when the sequel was announced. But I should have known better than to doubt Marvel, because “Captain America: The Winter Soldier” is not only the best Marvel film since “The Avengers,” its one of the best comic movies, ever.
The Winter Soldier unfolds in a post-9/11 political climate, one in which governments attempt to stop crimes before they happen. Captain America is troubled that someone is always listening, and automated death comes from above in the form of Helicarriers. In a world like this, it’s no wonder Captain America is thinking about a change.
I don’t want to say too much more about the story because its hard to do so without giving anything away. However I will say that adding Robert Redford to the mix was a brilliant move by the filmmakers. It would have been easy to cast a young man in the role, but the audience would never buy that a young guy is one of the heads of S.H.I.E.L.D. Redford is an iconic talent who adds a ton to this movie.
As for the main cast…
Steve Rogers may still be getting used to this new world, but Chris Evans has settled nicely into the role. He no longer looks like a guy acting like Captain America, but he is the Captain. At long last he the born leader he’s always been in the comics, and more importantly, he commands the respect of his peers.
When he’s in super soldier form, Evans is a tough act to follow but Scarlett Johansson more than holds her own. This is her best turn as the Black Widow, and its about time she was given her moment to shine.
She clearly cares for Steve Rogers, but not romantically. Her continuous attempts to land him a date are funny, and a good way to give her more emotion. And her line about going to the Smithsonian to look for a fossil. is priceless.
While running circles around the Washington Monument, Steve Rogers meets veteran and future comrade Anthony Mackie.Rogers often a fish out of water in the nation’s capital, but his friendship with Mackie proves he really isn’t alone.
Their friendship develops quickly, but in a believable way. Also, the way The Falcon is used is realistic, but without being comical. I hope we get to see more of Anthony Mackie in future adventures.
My only complaint about “Captain America: The First Avenger” was the way Sharon Carter (Agent 13) was used, or should I say, not used. She’s on-screen for maybe five minutes combined. She has 10-15 lines of dialogue, but in the end doesn’t add anything to the film.
Considering how important this character is to the Captain America mythos, give her something to do, or don’t introduce her at all.
Directors Anthony and Joe Russo are sitcom veterans making their first foray into action/adventure genre. So I was as surprised as anyone when they delivered one heck of a spy thriller.
Their Winter Soldier delivers the requisite comic banter, and future-sequel groundwork, but its the main story which holds everything together. The Russos delivered one epic ride, and they did it all without breaking a sweat. Thank the movie gods they’re already working on Captain America 3.
This movie is worth seeing in theatres. In one movie, the Russo brothers reintroduced Captain America, and catapulted him alongside the other Avengers. And remember this is a Marvel movie, so stay until the end of the credits. Although the mid credit scene probably won’t make sense if you don’ read comic books.
“Captain America: The First Avenger” final score: 9.5
I’ll make this easy: Marvel’s “Captain America: The Winter Soldier” will be the top movie of the weekend, and it will be biggest opening of 2014.
Unlike last year’s “Iron Man 3” or “Thor: The Dark World,” the The Winter Soldier feels and looks like a direct continuation of the Avengers movie. “Captain America: The Winter Soldier” is the first flick since 2012’s “The Avengers” to feature more than one member of the team. In Winter Soldier we get Captain America and Black Widow, as well as Nick Fury and S.H.I.E.L.D.
The sequel even introduces us to a few new characters, The Falcon chief among them. Plus this time, the film is set in modern times, while 2011’s “Captain America: The First Avenger” was set entirely during World War II.
One of my big problems with First Avenger (other than the directing) was that it didn’t feel like it took place in the same universe as the Iron Mans or the first Thor. Those movies fit nicely in the cinamtic universe, but the Captain America film never did.
Disney’s marketing team has done a good job of getting the point across that is a new kind of Captain America movie, and the work appears to be paying off. According to Fandango, “Captain America: The Winter Soldier” is currently outselling “Thor: The Dark World,” which opened to $85 million last November.
And remember the movie got an early start overseas last weekend, earning $75.2 million from 32 territories.
And if that wasn’t enough, Winter Soldier is receiving strong reviews. As of Friday morning, the sequel sits at 87 percent on Rotten Tomatoes. With zero competition, solid reviews and what should be strong word-of-mouth, I think “Captain America: The Winter Soldier” is looking at a $92 million weekend.
Winter Soldier is the ninth entry in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, nd is opening at 3,938 locations.
Hope you all had a great Christmas with your friends and family. Sorry I haven’t written anything this week, I took a few days off with the wifey. We ate, we shopped, ate again, and attended Jim championship parade. And somewhere in between we managed to watch the Dark Knight trilogy in one sitting. But fear not, I promise the blog posts will be back to normal after the new year.
Until then, check out Empire Magazine‘s cover for their upcoming February issue. We finally get a good look at the good Captain’s new uniform, and the first photo of actor Sebastian Stan in Winter Soldier gear.
Captain America: The Winter Soldier debuts in theaters on April 4, 2014. Empire Magazine‘s February issue hits stands Dec. 31.
The Nerds Uncanny 