The top five highest grossing movies of 2014

The Hunger Games takes the throne for highest grossing film of 2014.

The films that came out in 2014 sparked my interest in movies for the first time in many years, and the domestic gross chart, available on Box Office Mojo, represent why. I’m not a huge fan of some of the top highest grossing domestic films, but a lot of movies lower on the chart show why it’s been a great year to be a movie fan.

#5 – The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies

The third and last installment of The Hobbit drew in $54,724,334 on its opening weekend and went on to make $246,120,862 so far in its run. The Battle of the Five Armies opened in late-December and still has time to climb a peg on this list. Critical reception for The Battle of the Five Armies has been pretty low, with many critics criticizing the pacing and over-use of computer generated graphics (CGI). I went to see it the night it opened and I personally enjoyed it quite a bit. I learned to like the movie trilogy for what it is despite my initial anger over the fact that director Peter Jackson felt he needed to make three movies based on a single book.

Quality over quantity!

#4 – The LEGO Movie

The LEGO Movie made $69,050,279 on its opening weekend and proceeded to make $257,760,692 in its entire theatrical run. The movie stars Chris Pratt, who is also on this list for Guardians of the Galaxy, who is no doubt one of Hollywood’s hottest stars currently. Critical and audience reception was pretty high, and many felt the movie deserved to get an Oscar nomination for best animated film–even though it did not.

#3 – Captain America: The Winter Solider

The second installment in the Captain America series pulled in $95,023,721 in its opening weekend and went on to make $259,766,572 (only two million more than The LEGO Movie) in its four month run. Critical reception was high and many, including myself, felt this sequel was miles above its predecessor.

#2 –Guardians of the Galaxy

Guardians of the Galaxy netted $94,320,883 on its opening weekend and is currently sitting at $333,172,112 in a cut-throat battle with The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1. It’s been in theaters since last August, and even though it’s available on DVD and Blu-Ray, you can still catch it in theaters. I thought Guardians of the Galaxy was great, and I’m in the same boat as everyone who feels that its a victory for weirder superhero movies.

#1 – The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1

Part one of Mockingjay made an insane $121,897,634 on its opening weekend and is currently sporting $333,180,638 (just $8,000 more than Guardians of the Galaxy). Mockingjay opened last November and due to the growing numbers, it will probably remain in theaters for quite a while and sit at number one. Critics and audiences alike felt that it lacked action but set up a good story for the second part.