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Winners and losers of the summer movie season

The 2014 summer movie season has become one of the best seasons in recent movie history. Moviegoers were given visual treats, as well as massive stinkers. This comes with any movie season. So who are the winners and losers for the summer?

Winners

#1 – Guardians of the Galaxy

Who knew that a band of misfits would be the number one hit of the summer? Marvel’s gamble showcasing a lesser-known casting of characters paid off; it may be one of the best Marvel films created so far. It was well-directed, action-packed and quite humorous. The ragtag group of unlikely heroes topped the box-office grossing $274.6 million and still going.

#2 – X-Men: Days of Future Past

This movie is considered by some fans of the franchise to be the best X-men movie to date. The combined cast of “First Class” and the X-Men trilogy was appealing. It brought the franchise a total of $233.2 million at the box office.

#3 – Dawn of the Planet of the Apes

Following up on the success of 2011’s “Rise of the Planet of the Apes,” there was much on the line for its follow up, “Dawn of the Planet of the Apes.” The movie delivered on many aspects. The visual effects on the apes were stunning. The performance given by actor Andy Serkis as the lead ape, Caesar, is undeniably one of the best performances of the year. The ape film grossed a total of $205.2 million.

#4 – Edge of Tomorrow

As original movies go, this was one of the biggest and most welcomed surprises of the year. Actors Tom Cruise and Emily Blunt take the audience on a ride that’s reminiscent of films such as “Independence Day” and “Groundhog Day.” The film made only $99.9 million and had a disappointing opening weekend, but the word of mouth about the movie raised its sales and the film continued to wow audiences with its action and surprising humor.

#5 – Godzilla

“Godzilla” stormed theaters. The more realistic and dark take on the legendary monster divided movie-goers as some felt underwhelmed about the movie. Whichever side of the spectrum the audience was on, the storyline was engaging enough to keep audiences invested. The battle of the monsters at conclusion of the film was a humongous payoff. Godzilla brought in over $200.6 million at the box office.

Melissa McCarthy's "Tammy" had a disappointing opening weekend pulling in just over 20-million dollars. (Facebook)
Melissa McCarthy’s “Tammy” had a disappointing opening weekend pulling in just over 20-million dollars. 

Losers

#1 – Transformers: Age of Extinction

The fourth installment of the Michael Bay franchise returned with more explosions and action. Moviegoers were hoping that the presence of actor Mark Wahlberg and the Transformers characters, the Dinobots, would add a breath of fresh air to the franchise. The movie flopped dramatically, but box office numbers show it is the second-highest grossing movie of the summer movie season, falling behind “Guardians of the Galaxy” with a total of $244.3 million.

#2 – Tammy

Melissa McCarthy’s name attached to the film is the only reason this movie made audiences came to fill the seats. The film fell flat with its script writing, yet the film made $83.4 million at the box-office.

#3 – Sex Tape

Cameron Diaz and Jason Segel undeniably have good chemistry. The premise of the film – trying to retrieve the footage back from “The Cloud” is a good idea; however, the jokes don’t work in this sexy comedy. The film made only $38 million.

#4 – Expendables 3

“Expendables 2” brought in more star power and even more mind- less violence and references, but it’s still in the guilty-pleasure category. The third installment has even more characters, so what can go wrong? While some parts are fun, actor Sylvester Stallone and his gang of mercenaries need to realize that they’re time with the Expendables franchise is over. The film currently has only made $33.1 million.

#5 -Sin City: A Dame to Kill For

While there are a few things to like in the second Sin City film, it fails to live up to the same enticing story that appealed to audiences in 2005’s “Sin City.” The film received a horrible opening weekend debut, and currently has totaled in $10.7 million for the summer movie season.

IMDB
Angelina Jolie returns to the big screen as Maleficent after being in hiatus for four years.

Honorable Mentions

#1 – 22 Jump Street

Actors Jonah Hill and Channing Tatum returned for another installment of the comedy franchise. Pulling off a sequel with the same premise is tough, yet the duo delivered one of the funni- est movies of the summer, bringing in $190.2 million.

#2 – Neighbors

Seth Rogen and Zac Efron’s “Neighbors” also became a surprising comedy hit of the summer season as it brought in a total of $150 million. Efron really shines in this movie. He pushes aside his Disney actor stereotype. A lot of jokes work in this film making it a very fun movie to watch.

#3 – Maleficent

Audiences saw the return of Angelina Jolie to the big screen after a four- year hiatus. In “Maleficent,” Jolie takes the character to a whole other level. The film’s story was mediocre; however, Jolie’s performance was worth every penny. The film earned modest reviews, and the film totaled in $238.5 million in the box office. Making it the third highest grossing movie of the summer season.

#4 – How to Train Your Dragon 2

Following up on the success of 2010’s “How to Train Your Dragon,” the second installment had fans hoping for another fun dragon tale. The film was received with great reviews and flew in a total of $173.4 million.

#5 – Amazing Spider-Man 2

Actor Andrew Garfield returned as the web-crawler in another installment of the Spider-Man franchise reboot. The film had hilarious dialogue and intriguing action scenes. Some parts of the movie drag on for a bit. There was an overbearing presence of villains, but for the most part, the Spider-Man’s second movie is one to enjoy. The film webbed in $202.8 million at the box office.

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