10 Directors Who Almost Directed 2014's Biggest Movies

9. Tim Burton Almost Directed Maleficent

Maleficent is arguably the biggest movie success story of the year: without the power of the comic book genre or a franchise behind it the Disney "stand-alone" property (obviously classification is blurred somewhat by the fact that it's an established character) came third in the overall box office takings list in 2014. That's impressive going considering the clout behind some of the titles it beat (and testament to the appeal of marketing towards the right audience). Back in 2010, with Angelina Jolie attached to the titular role (something that was required for the film to even go ahead apparently), Tim Burton was tentatively attached to direct, but chose not to go ahead and instead handed over to Robert Stromberg his production designer of Alice In Wonderland, and Oz The Great And Powerful. Thankfully. What It Would Have Been Like Less successful for a start: Burton's box office takes have been on the wane for some time now, and while his imagination would have been great for the film, his execution might not have been and Maleficent would have ended up stylised but hollow.