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

4. Godzilla ($323.4m)

After Roland Emmerich's critically-maligned yet commercially successful 1998 version, the most iconic kaiju in cinematic history was once again given the blockbuster treatment under the eye of the relatively untested Gareth Edwards. Backed by an excellent marketing campaign that refreshingly opted against showing all of the major action beats, Godzilla was returned to box office glory. With just one $500,000 feature under his belt, many wondered if directorEdwards could successfully make the huge leap to $160m studio blockbuster. Adopting a more grounded take on the material, the director delivers a slow-burning first-act that marked a welcome change of pace from the non-stop pyrotechnics common in the modern summer movie. However, despite the massive-scale destruction on offer the characters are painfully underwritten and one-dimensional, with Aaron Taylor-Johnson playing one of the blandest lead characters in recent blockbuster history. 2014's Godzilla also takes itself far too seriously, which is an admirable approach but the relentlessly somber tone could have really benefited from some levity. That being said, the giant monster action is almost worth the price of admission alone. Backed by the solid marketing, Godzilla opened to an impressive $93.2m domestically and after less than two weeks in theaters the movie has earned well over $300m worldwide. However, the movie took a huge 67% drop in its second weekend in the States and could very well find its earning potential limited by the slate of upcoming blockbusters that will be creating fierce competition for screens. That being said, a global total north of $600m is still well within reach.