Skip to main content

The highest-grossing movie of 2014 is now American Sniper

bradley cooper black flags miniseries american sniper
Warner Bros.
Director Clint Eastwood’s American Sniper may not have walked away with many trophies at the recent Academy Awards ceremony, but over the weekend it earned the distinction of being the highest-grossing movie released in 2014.

The Oscar-nominated film starring Bradley Cooper and based on the autobiography of U.S. Navy SEAL sniper Chris Kyle raked in $4.5 million over the most recent weekend, pushing its total U.S. box-office earnings to $337.2 million and making it the highest-grossing movie in the U.S. among films released in 2014. It now ranks just ahead of The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1 ($336.9 million) and Guardians of the Galaxy ($333.1 million) in the domestic box-office rankings for the year.

Recommended Videos

It’s worth noting that American Sniper just barely managed to sneak into the 2014 rankings, as the film didn’t get a wide release in U.S. theaters until January 15, 2015. It did, however, get a limited release in theaters and at film festivals in late 2014 in order to qualify for the Academy Awards — so it goes down in the books as a 2014 movie.

While American Sniper is currently the leader in the domestic box-office rankings, it hasn’t fared as well internationally. The film currently sits at #16 in worldwide box-office earnings, tied with the animated feature Rio 2, having earned $500.2 million in ticket sales globally. (That list is topped by Transformers: Age of Extinction with more than $1 billion in ticket sales and The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies close behind it.)

Rick Marshall
A veteran journalist with more than two decades of experience covering local and national news, arts and entertainment, and…
The best sci-fi movies on Max right now
Dr. Grant tries to lure the T-Rex away in Jurassic Park.

At the beginning of November, Max only added 23 new movies to its cinematic lineup. That's a lot fewer than its streaming rivals. It also means that the sci-fi movies on Max aren't the only genre that's being underserved by Warner Bros. Discovery. Since last month, War for the Planet of the Apes, Aliens, Leviathan, Predators, and High Life have all departed Max. Unfortunately, adding the first three Jurassic Park movies doesn't really do enough to offset that loss.

But since we can only work with what we have, the original Jurassic Park is one of our films in the spotlight for November. The other new addition, Watchmen Chapter 1, isn't arriving until November 18. That is an animated superhero movie, but it also has many sci-fi elements, and it's one of the best comic book stories ever created.

Read more
10 best dark comedy movies of all time, ranked
Brendan Gleeson and Colin Farrell as Ken and Ray sitting on a bench in In Bruges.

Dark comedy is where humor meets absurdity, with the best films in the genre delivering laughs from unexpected and even unsettling places. The genre thrives on contrast, often juxtaposing the bleakest realities of life with laugh-out-loud comedy, expertly walking the tightrope between funny and horrifying. These films often expose humanity and society's flaws, making audiences laugh while leaving them plenty to think about.

The best dark comedy movies are the perfect blend of disturbingly grim and outrageously hilarious, from the satirical modern classic Parasite to the '90s crime favorite Fargo. These flicks will have fans guffawing one minute and questioning their own sense of humor the next, providing wholly entertaining and unique viewing experiences that cinephiles will enjoy.

Read more
5 best Netflix movies to stream this Halloween
A masked killer charges toward Nell Verlaque in Thanksgiving.

Cue the music because this is Halloween. October is coming to a close, which means horror movies will be ramping up from now until the end of the month. No rule says you can't watch a Halloween horror outside of October, just like anyone can listen to Christmas music in July. However, horror plays better around Halloween because of the ambiance and spooky mood.

Netflix continues to promote its "Netflix & Chills" section, a landing page dedicated to Halloween programming. Within the section, you'll find it all, from thrillers and horrors to slasher and ghost stories. If you need help picking a movie, try watching one of these movies, including a holiday slasher, a recent supernatural trilogy, and an iconic classic.

Read more