10 Highest-Grossing Movies Of 2014 (So Far) - Ranked From Worst To Best

8. 300: Rise Of An Empire ($330.8m)

Seven years after Zack Snyder's 300 surprised everybody by opening with a $70.9m domestic debut weekend on its way to a worldwide total of over $450m, Noam Murro made his feature debut with a sequel that offered up more of the same po-faced seriousness in amidst the super slow-motion bloodletting. With most of the original cast killed off in the original, the franchise is loaded with newcomers who find varying degrees of success with the laughable dialogue and thin characterization. Sullivan Stapleton is disappointingly bland in the lead role, and isn't a patch on the over-the-top macho charisma Gerard Butler brought to the first movie. Visually and stylistically Rise of an Empire brings nothing new to the table, with the director aping Zack Snyder's visual style instead of making his own mark on the proceedings. The real saving grace of the movie is Eva Green, with a dementedly scenery-chewing performance that elevates the material every time she's on-screen. Sadly, the rest of the movie rarely rises above the tedious and over-familiar. Rise of an Empire was never expected to match the success of the original, so the $45m opening weekend came in line with projections. However, the fact that the movie earned over $100m less at the domestic box office will surely be viewed as a disappointment by the studio. Despite underwhelming reviews and the 'been there, seen it' vibe given off in the marketing, Rise of an Empire still managed to bring in over $330m in box office receipts.