This wasn't the kind of year Hollywood was hoping for. People just didn't flock to the movies as they have in years past, and that means less money for the movie business overall.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, 1.26 billion people purchased movie tickets in 2014. That seems like a big number, but it is actually the lowest since 1995, and only a little more than attendance numbers for 1994. As a result, overall box office revenue is down 5 percent from 2013, the biggest year-over-year decline in almost a decade. Box office revenue for the year is $10.4 billion, compared to a record $10.9 billion in 2013. It also won't match the $10.8 billion earned in 2012, but it has already bested 2011's $10.17 billion.
So what happened? It doesn't take an expert to see that many blockbuster summer films underperformed both critically and financially. Though Transformers: Age of Extinction raked in money internationally, it failed to make as much as previous installments and was almost universally panned by critics. The Amazing Spider-Man 2 didn't fare much better. The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1 did well, but not as well as previous Hunger Game films. You know Hollywood is in a rough spot when Guardians of the Galaxy, a risky tentpole film from Disney that many anticipated to flop, turned out to be one of the most successful films of the year.
The good news is that the year ended on a high note, with films like The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies, Into the Woods and Interstellar all performing well. The start of the year too saw a boost from Captain America: The Winter Soldier and The Lego Movie. Overall though, a strong start and finish to the year weren't enough to make up for a lackluster summer.
All hope isn't lost though, because 2015 is looking mighty bright. A number of film franchises with huge fanbases are returning to theaters this year in the form of Jurassic World, Star Wars: The Force Awakens and Avengers: Age of Ultron. The Hunger Games will conclude with Mockingjay Part 2, and Fifty Shades of Grey (based on the bestselling book series) is also expected to perform well, having recently claimed the spot for the fourth most anticipated film of 2015. If new Star Wars, Avengers and Jurassic Park can't bring in some record numbers this year, nothing can.
