Top 10 movies of 2014

The domestic list was dominated by Hollywood blockbusters, with half the films driven by costly special effects. More than half of the 10 offered some sort of sci-fi/fantasy escape from reality (because obviously we need that in SA).

Two of the top 10 were clearly aimed at younger audiences (though try to find an adult who’s seen How to Train your Dragon and doesn’t love Toothless and we’ll show you someone who’s given up on happiness).

In 10th place, raking in about R16 million is Lucy, Luc Besson’s oddball sci-fi/action/thriller take on what happens when the gorgeous Scarlett Johannsson begins to use 100% of her brain power. Lucy goes from being unwilling drug mule to merciless warrior who turns the tables on the criminal underworld. This one came in at 21st for the year in the US.

By far the biggest film of the year in the US, Guardians of the Galaxy managed a ninth-placed finish in South Africa, raking in about R17 million. This was a drop in the ocean that was the film’s US taking of R3.8 billion and R8.9 billion worldwide. This was yet another Marvel comics idea that translated perfectly to the big screen. The film’s quirky humour (some call it Star Wars-lite), eye-popping visuals, catchy 70s soundtrack and Vin Diesel as a walking tree proved irresistible. All of this was really unlikely, as most of us had never even heard of this comic book a year ago.

Step Up All In took about R17.3 million locally, but didn’t even feature in the top 100 in the US. Maybe local sokkie culture still has something to do with this.

The Other Woman managed 18 million Madiba bucks, giving it seventh place. It’s the only romcom to crack the local top 10 (unless you count Rio 2), and managed 33rd place in the US. It tells the story of a three-timing boyfriend who gets some comeuppance when “his” ladies join forces for revenge. No doubt the theme struck a slightly ragged chord here in South Africa.

X-Men: Days of Future Past is easily the best instalment in the now 14-year-old mutant superhero franchise. Combining the older and younger incarnations of Professor X and Magneto’s characters, this was a well-plotted time-travel adventure that again placed the series’ most well-loved character, Wolverine, front and centre. Marvel comics simply rules box offices everywhere: this one came in at seventh in the US and Marvel made four of the top 10-grossing films in the States this year.

22 Jump Street managed 11th spot in the US and proved hugely popular in SA too. The sequel raked in more than R19 million. Few could resist seeing how officers Jenko and Schmidt would fare in college after surviving high school (twice). This was one of the few outright comedies with no special effects or animation to make it big this year.

One of two animated sequels in the top 10, Rio 2 took the lovebirds from the telephone wires of Rio de Janeiro to the treetops of the Amazon, where Blu had to confront the most fearsome adversary of all: his father-in-law. This was one of the few years in which a Pixar film didn’t capture the hearts of kids and their families everywhere. Rio 2 was made by the same people behind the Ice Age series, and its colourful high energy and crammed plotting must have been what families were looking for. In South Africa the film put about R23 million in the seed packet and was 20th overall in the US.

Marvel’s top-grosser in SA was the ever-reliable Peter Parker, in the sequel to the reboot of an already massive franchise. This time Andrew Garfield’s web had to insulated against the prickly Electro. In keeping with sequels, The Amazing Spider-Man 2 offered a second villain, the timeless Green Goblin nemesis. While tragedy defined this one’s ending, there are no prizes for predicting Mary Jane will soon be swinging back into super-stardom. This one caught just more than R23 million in its sticky web and came in at ninth in the US.

Don’t underestimate kid power. The charming, beautiful and cleverly written How to Train Your Dragon sequel packed in an almost R25 million punch at the local box office. And no one’s even mentioning all the Toothless dolls a million parents were probably talked into buying for Christmas. There’s still no explanation for why the movie’s kids sound American, their parents sound Scottish and the reluctant villain sounds (cliche anyone?) British, even though they’re all Vikings. But hey, who cares? It works. If you haven’t seen these films yet and you’re older than 12, give your inner child a treat. This one managed 14th place in the US.

Further proof Michael Bay deserves his own statue of tribute in South Africa, the latest cash-in on talking/fighting car/helicopter/truck robots took first prize at the SA box office. Leaving the local moviegoers’ wallet more than R28 million lighter, Transformers: Age of Extinction put Mark Wahlberg in the lead and Nicola Peltz on the map as the latest bit of feminine distraction while yet another US city gets utterly razed. This one was in fifth spot in the States.