Ranking the 25 best and 10 worst movies from 2014

When it comes to the 2010s in film, 2014 was definitely one of the better ones across the board. The year 2014 delivered unbelievable dramas, comedies, horror, and even some well-crafted experimental films. A few of these films would go on to change the course of film as we know it.

In this post, we go over 25 of the greatest movies of 2014. However, if we’re being honest, not every single movie that year was a hit. Below, we also list the biggest misses of 2014. But before we get to that, here is a sneak peek at our list, as well as some 2014 movie facts.

The 25 best movies from 2014

• Kingsman: The Secret Service
• Neighbors
• Edge of Tomorrow
• Creep
• Guardians of the Galaxy
• What We Do In The Shadows
• Godzilla (2014)
• Gone Girl
• The Purge: Anarchy
• Citizenfour
• Selma
• Captain America: The Winter Soldier
• Paddington
• Nightcrawler
• Boyhood

2014 recap in film

Here are the movies from 2014 that lead the box office:

Transformers: Age of Extinction – $1,104,054,072
The Hobbit: The Battle of Five Armies – $956,019,788
Guardians of the Galaxy – $772,776,600
Maleficent – $758,410,378
The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1 – $755,356,711

These movies from 2014 took home the big awards at the Oscars:

Best Picture: Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)
Best Director: Alejandro G. Iñárritu, Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)
Best Actor: Eddie Redmayne, The Theory of Everything
Best Actress: Julianne Moore, Still Alice
Best Supporting Actor: J.K. Simmons, Whiplash
Best Supporting Actress: Patricia Arquette, Boyhood

No. 25: Kingsman: The Secret Service

Cast: Samuel L. Jackson, Taron Egerton, Colin Firth
Director: Matthew Vaughn
Oscars: None
Ticket Gross – $128m Domestic/$286m International
75% Rotten Tomatoes/60 Metascore

Kingsman: The Secret Service might have had a bad sequel and a mediocre prequel, sparking one of the most questionable movie franchises of the past decade, but this film by itself was an exciting and invigorating action film. Matthew Vaugh’s raunchy action-comedy was bloody, electric,  and hilariously funny. Samuel L. Jackson and Colin Firth were great, but Taron Egerton stole the show from both in the young actor’s breakout role.

No. 24: Neighbors

Cast: Seth Rogen, Rose Byrne, Zac Efron
Director: Nicholas Stoller
Oscars: None
Ticket Gross – $150m Domestic/$120m International
73% Rotten Tomatoes/60 Metascore

Seth Rogen and Zac Efron might not have seemed like a duo that would have worked, but with Neighbors, it proved they do – or it just proved Seth Rogen can have chemistry with anyone. Neighbors was genuine fun, especially as someone who, at the time, was gearing up to leave for college. Rose Byrne and Ike Barinholtz were both good as well.

No. 23: Edge of Tomorrow

Cast: Tom Cruise, Emily Blunt, Bill Paxton
Director: Doug Liman
Oscars: None
Ticket Gross – $100m Domestic/$270m International
91% Rotten Tomatoes/71 Metascore

Aside from the Mission Impossible franchise and his supporting role in Tropic Thunder, Tom Cruise had not been doing much high-quality work. That changed with Edge of Tomorrow which gave Cruise a small career boost, one he has been riding ever since. This film, led by Cruise and a fantastic Emily Blunt, takes the “Groundhog Day” idea and does a genuinely new twist, one that might be a little more action-heavy than the Bill Murray-led film was.

No. 22: Creep

Cast: Patrick Brice, Mark Duplass
Director: Patrick Brice
Oscars: None
Ticket Gross – N/A
90% Rotten Tomatoes/74 Metascore

This movie might be the most unknown of any on my list. Creep is a found footage horror movie from Mark Duplass, and still one of the creepiest films I saw all of the 2010s. A movie that should be a Halloween staple every year.

No. 21: Guardians of the Galaxy

Cast: Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Bradley Cooper, Vin Diesel, Dave Bautista
Director: James Gunn
Oscars: Makeup & Hairstyling (Nominated), Visual Effects (Nominated)
Ticket Gross – $333m Domestic/$439m International
92% Rotten Tomatoes/76 Metascore

James Gunn was well known as a writer/director already, but Guardians of the Galaxy is what absolutely catapulted his fame into true stardom. Gunn took the lovable himbo from Parks and Recreation, a WWE star, Zoe Saldana, and Vin Diesel and Bradley Cooper voicing a tree and a raccoon respectively, and made, still to this day, one of the most exciting and colorful superhero movies to date. It is a concept that never should have even made it off the ground, but Gunn had a clear vision and has done some amazing things with this story and these characters.

No. 20: What We Do in the Shadows

Cast: Taika Waititi, Jemaine Clement, Cori Gonzalez-Macuer
Director: Taika Waititi
Oscars: None
Ticket Gross – $3m Domestic/$3m International
96% Rotten Tomatoes/76 Metascore

This is far and away Taika Waititi’s funniest film and the fact that this small found-footage comedy/horror was able to spawn a television series based on the show. This blood-sucking film was a spoof on vampire and werewolf media with some incredible comedy scenes that still make me laugh thinking about them.

No. 19: Godzilla (2014)

Cast: Elizabeth Olsen, Aaron Taylor Johnson, Bryan Cranston
Director: Gareth Edwards
Oscars: None
Ticket Gross – $200m Domestic/$324m International
76% Rotten Tomatoes/62 Metascore

Bringing back Godzilla for a 2010s remake was a tall task, but going in a Jaws-esque route was likely the best decision for it. Every sequel to this film has failed to live up to how impressive the 2014 original was. For the majority of the film, the audience never sees Godzilla, and it is for that exact reason that Godzilla remains a clever monster flick.

No. 18: Gone Girl

Cast: Ben Affleck, Rosamund Pike, Neil Patrick Harris
Director: David Fincher
Oscars: Actress in a Leading Role – Rosamund Pike (Nominated)
Ticket Gross – $167m Domestic/$201m International
87% Rotten Tomatoes/79 Metascore

David Fincher is a master of his craft, and that was put into full effect in this film that could be considered one of the best thrillers of the year, or one of the best romcoms if you ask Anne Hathaway. This film is dark and disturbing and features an unbelievable Rosamund Pike.

No. 17: The Purge: Anarchy

Cast: Frank Grillo, Zach Gilford, Carmen Ejogo
Director: James DeMonaco
Oscars: None
Ticket Gross – $71m Domestic/$39m International
57% Rotten Tomatoes/50 Metascore

Is the Purge franchise, as a whole, any good? Not particularly. Is this sole film good? Absolutely. This film brought Frank Grillo together with Zach Gilford, who stars as Matt Saracen in Friday Night Lights, to make a thrilling horror that uses the concept of the Purge to its highest degree.

No. 16: Citizenfour

Cast: Edward Snowden
Director: Laura Poitras
Oscars: Documentary (Win)
Ticket Gross – $2m Domestic/$979,822 International
96% Rotten Tomatoes/88 Metascore

This might be one of the most horrifying movies of the technological age because it’s true. Edward Snowden did something no one else had done, which was leak information regarding the National Security Agency (NSA) to the American people. Because of this, Snowden was exiled to Russia and still remains a fugitive of the United States. This documentary is like a puzzle at times, putting together the secret messages Snowden has to make to meet up with the documentarians and is also genuine horror as the people making this film feared for their lives.

No. 15: Selma

Cast: David Oyelowo, Carmen Ejogo, Oprah Winfrey
Director: Ava DuVernay
Oscars: Original Song (Win), Picture (Nominated)
Ticket Gross – $52m Domestic/$14m International
99% Rotten Tomatoes/80 Metascore

Selma was based on the 1965 Selma to Montgomery marches led by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. This film is smart in covering a specific event in King Jr.’s life so as to not attempt to cover the vastness of MLK as a whole, and it was also smart in casting David Oyelowo who fully transcends as Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Ava DeVernay’s biopic is a smart and powerful one.

No. 14: Captain America: The Winter Soldier

Cast: Chris Evans, Samuel L. Jackson, Anthony Mackie, Scarlett Johansson
Director: Anthony and Joe Russo
Oscars: Visual Effects (Nominated)
Ticket Gross – $259m Domestic/$454m International
90% Rotten Tomatoes/70 Metascore

The first Russo Bro. Marvel film proved they had what it took to create some of the MCU’s most epic moments. In The Winter Soldier, the story of friend v. friend and brother v. brother was put to the test in a spy espionage thriller that was one of the first big detours from the Marvel formula since the original Iron Man.

No. 13: Paddington

Cast: Sally Hawkins, Hugh Bonneville, Julie Walters
Director: Paul King
Oscars: None
Ticket Gross – $76m Domestic/$206m International
97% Rotten Tomatoes/77 Metascore

Paddington is so charming and lovable that it is hard not to watch this film and just feel happy for a few hours. Its quirky and Wes Anderson-esque storytelling help keep the audience involved, but the lighthearted cast is what makes this film a truly engaging one.

No. 12: Nightcrawler

Cast: Jake Gyllenhaal, Riz Ahmed, Rene Russo
Director: Dan Gilroy
Oscars: Original Screenplay (Nominated)
Ticket Gross – $32m Domestic/$15m International
95% Rotten Tomatoes/76 Metascore

This movie lives and breathes through Jake Gyllenhaal, and honestly, that’s what makes this movie work. Gyllenhaal’s obsession with getting “the shot” mixed with the horror his character exudes is a terrifying mix, and throughout the film, he constantly displays that in a frightening way.

No. 11: Boyhood

Cast: Ethan Hawke, Patricia Arquette, Ellar Coltrane
Director: Richard Linklater
Oscars: Actress in a Supporting Role – Patricia Arquette (Win), Picture (Nominated), Actor in a Supporting Role – Ethan Hawke (Nominated), Directing (Nominated), Original Screenplay (Nominated), Film Editing (Nominated)
Ticket Gross – $25m Domestic/$22m International
97% Rotten Tomatoes/100 Metascore

Richard Linklater’s experimental 12-year drama didn’t rely on effects or makeup to age the actors but instead let time take its course as we watched this cast grow throughout the years. It was a tall task for Linklater, not knowing what would happen to the cast regarding their mental state of the film, health, life, etc., but he pulled it off in one of the most affecting and compelling dramas in quite some time. The “gimmick” never feels gimmicky because these actors, Arquette and Hawke most notably, are devoted enough to make it work.

No. 10: Dawn of the Planet of the Apes

Cast: Andy Serkis, Gary Oldman, Keri Russell
Director: Matt Reeves
Oscars: Visual Effects (Nominated)
Ticket Gross – $208m Domestic/$502m International
90% Rotten Tomatoes/79 Metascore

The newest Planet of the Apes trilogy should go down as one of the best trilogies ever, but it was Dawn of the Planet of the Apes that really transcended the blockbuster action genre. Matt Reeves’s first of two Apes films is a spectacle both of visuals and story, giving an astounding Andy Serkis and still one of the best final battles of the previous decade.

No. 9: X-Men: Days of Future Past

Cast: Hugh Jackman, Michael Fassbender, James McAvoy
Director: Bryan Singer
Oscars: Visual Effects (Nominated)
Ticket Gross – $233m Domestic/$512m International
90% Rotten Tomatoes/75 Metascore

The FOX X-Men franchise was riddled with inconsistencies, and when it comes to the mainline of films – keeping Logan out of this conversation – this was the final great X-Men film FOX released before the Disney merger. How fitting that this is also the one that managed to tie in the characters from past and present – for example James McAvoy and Patrick Stewart’s Prof. X – all while telling a compelling story about governmental abuse. Hugh Jackman is fantastic as well transcending both past and present, and the vibes in this one were off the charts.

No. 8: Whiplash

Cast: Miles Teller, J.K. Simmons
Director: Damien Chazelle
Oscars: Actor in a Supporting Role – J.K. Simmons (Win), Editing (Win), Sound Mixing (Win), Picture (Nominated), Adapted Screenplay (Nominated)
Ticket Gross – $13m Domestic/$36m International
94% Rotten Tomatoes/88 Metascore

Damien Chazelle is a master of his craft and even though Whiplash was the young director’s first major feature, it still showed his prowess as a filmmaker. Miles Teller is phenomenal, but it is J.K. Simmons in his Oscar-winning role – still one of the best Oscar wins of the 21st century – giving a villainous performance for the ages.

No. 7: Foxcatcher

Cast: Steve Carell, Mark Ruffalo, Channing Tatum
Director: Bennett Miller
Oscars: Actor in a Leading Role – Steve Carell (Nominated), Actor in a Supporting Role – Mark Ruffalo (Nominated), Directing (Nominated), Original Screenplay (Nominated), Makeup & Hairstyling (Nominated)
Ticket Gross – $12m Domestic/$7m International
87% Rotten Tomatoes/81 Metascore

Steve Carell was never just a comedian, and when he eventually left The Office in 2010, many wondered what kind of career path he would take. He could have gone right back into slapstick comedy, but he got smarter and took on some more dramatic projects that let him spread his wings as an actor. His role in Foxcatcher put all of the haters and doubters to rest as his performance as John du Pont is, to this day, still one of the slimiest and bone-chilling villain performances. Both Channing Tatum and Mark Ruffalo give great performances as well, but it is Carell that blows you away with what he was able to pull off.

No. 6: Grand Budapest Hotel

Cast: Ralph Fiennes, Saoirse Ronan, Jude Law
Director: Wes Anderson
Oscars: Costume Design (Win), Makeup & Hairstyling (Win), Original Score (Win), Production Design (Win), Picture (Nominated), Directing (Nominated), Cinematography (Nominated), Film Editing (Nominated), Original Screenplay (Nominated)
Ticket Gross – $59m Domestic/$113m International
92% Rotten Tomatoes/88 Metascore

So far, this is Wes Anderson’s magnum opus, and how fitting given the absolutely breathtaking feel and look of this movie. The story is actually smart and easy to understand, and the visuals are just astounding. Wes Anderson is prone to having more flair than film, but this was a case where the two formed a perfect mesh and played off each other well.

No. 5: 22 Jump Street

Cast: Channing Tatum, Jonah Hill, Ice Cube
Director: Phil Lord and Chris Miller
Oscars: None
Ticket Gross – $191m Domestic/$139m International
84% Rotten Tomatoes/71 Metascore

21 Jump Street should never have worked, and 22 Jump Street should’ve worked even less, but boy did they work. Phil Lord and Chris Miller made a perfect film that was satire at its core but never delved into the spoof range. This movie is hilarious and ingenious with its take on sequels and college comedies, and still is one of the funniest films of the last decade.

No. 4: How to Train Your Dragon 2

Cast: Jay Baruchel, Gerard Butler, Cate Blanchett
Director: Dean DeBlois
Oscars: Animated (Nominated)
Ticket Gross – $177m Domestic/$444m International
91% Rotten Tomatoes/77 Metascore

How to Train Your Dragon was quite a surprise hit, and How to Train Your Dragon 2 was an even bigger surprise sequel. With beautiful action sequences and still one of the most lovable characters in film, Toothless, this movie is gripping, intense, and emotional.

No. 3: Big Hero 6

Cast: Ryan Potter, Scott Adsit
Director: Don Hall, Chris Williams
Oscars: Animated (Win)
Ticket Gross – $222m Domestic/$435m International
90% Rotten Tomatoes/74 Metascore

In the middle of the superhero rise, Big Hero 6 not only provided a new addition but remained fresh in the process. Baymax might have been one of the most unlikely heroes, but he and Hiro proved themselves worthy when the time came to it. Emotional throughout and incredibly fun telling a strong story with thought-out characters.

No. 2: Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)

Cast: Michael Keaton, Emma Stone, Edward Norton
Director: Alejandro G. Iñárritu
Oscars: Picture (Win), Director (Win), Original Screenplay (Win), Cinematography (Win), Actor in a Leading Role – Michael Keaton (Nominated), Actress in a Supporting Role – Emma Stone (Nominated), Actor in a Supporting Role – Edward Norton (Nominated), Sound Mixing (Nominated), Sound Editing (Nominated)
Ticket Gross – $42m Domestic/$60m International
91% Rotten Tomatoes/87 Metascore

This year’s best picture winner is one for the ages. Alejandro G. Iñárritu’s one-shot-looking film was a clever and intimate look at the entertainment industry as a whole. Michael Keaton led this film in a tour de force performance that should have won him the Oscar. However, other than Keaton, Emma Stone and Edward Norton also gave what might be the best performances of their careers. When it comes to Best Picture winners of the 2010s, this one takes the cake for me as being the best.

No. 1: The Lego Movie

Cast: Chris Pratt, Will Ferrell, Elizabeth Banks
Director: Phil Lord and Chris Miller
Oscars: Best Original Song (Nominated)
Ticket Gross – $257m/$210m
96% Rotten Tomatoes/83 Metascore

The second Phil Lord and Chris Miller movie on this list is the second movie that shouldn’t have worked. A movie about LEGOs could have been just a massive IP dump with an unfocused crew behind it, but instead, Lord and Miller were hired and brought an immaculate amount of flair mixed with a truly engaging story to create one of the best animated movies, possibly ever. The Lego Movie is an exciting and emotional film about the wonders of creativity and the want to be special.

The Worst 10 Movies from 2014

• Planes: Fire and Rescue
• Horrible Bosses 2
• Noah
• A Million Ways to Die in the West
• Hercules

No. 10: Planes: Fire and Rescue

Cast: Dane Cook, Ed Harris, Julie Bowen
Director: Bobs Gannaway
Oscars: None
Ticket Gross – $59m Domestic/$80m International
45% Rotten Tomatoes/48 Metascore

The Dane Cook-led animated film was definitely Disney’s counter to Pixar’s Cars – why they felt Cars was the thing to copy is beyond me – but it showed two major things: 1. Disney still isn’t Pixar and 2. Dane Cook isn’t Owen Wilson. The original and the sequel felt very bland in what it was trying to tell, and it was definitely one of the lazier Disney outings of recent memory.

No. 9: Horrible Bosses 2

Cast: Jason Sudeikis, Jennifer Anniston, Charlie Day, Jason Bateman
Director: Sean Anders
Oscars: None
Ticket Gross – $54m Domestic/$53m International
35% Rotten Tomatoes/40 Metascore

Horrible Bosses was a genuinely fun and good time and could have been seen as one of the better comedies of the decade, but then Horrible Bosses 2 came around. This sequel was a massive waste of talent and is baffling how it even got made, showing that not every successful comedy needs a sequel.

No. 8: Noah

Cast: Russell Crowe, Emma Watson, Jennifer Connelly
Director: Darren Aronofsky
Oscars: None
Ticket Gross – $101m Domestic/$258m International
76% Rotten Tomatoes/68 Metascore

While I don’t particularly love Mother!, that film is the far superior “Aranofsky takes on the bible” film. Similar to a film later on my list, Aranofsky attempts to take the story of Noah and the Ark on a semi-new path, but can never find a place to land.

No. 7: A Million Ways to Die in the West

Cast: Seth MacFarlane, Charlize Theron, Liam Neeson
Director: Seth MacFarlane
Oscars: None
Ticket Gross – $43m Domestic/$44m International
33% Rotten Tomatoes/44 Metascore

Seth MacFarlane was able to strike comedy gold with Ted and, even less but still so, Ted 2. However, in between those films he made this one, A Million Ways to Die in the West, which was a boring and wasteful slapstick comedy. The cast is actually unbelievable, and the few laughs can’t make up for how nothing this movie really was.

No. 6: Hercules

Cast: Dwayne Johnson, John Hurt, Ian McShane
Director: Brett Ratner
Oscars: None
Ticket Gross – $72m Domestic/$172m International
58% Rotten Tomatoes/47 Metascore

I could give Dwayne Johnson and co. more leeway for actually trying to tell a different “Hercules” story, but the version they decided to go with was uninspired and bland. The Rock doesn’t embody Hercules as much as people might have thought so, and it felt awkward seeing him try to take on this role.

No. 5: The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1

Cast: Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson, Liam Hemsworth
Director: Francis Lawrence
Oscars: None
Ticket Gross – $337m Domestic/$418m International
69% Rotten Tomatoes/64 Metascore

Mockingjay – Part 1 is continuous proof that only one franchise has been able to make a two-part finale based on one book work, and that was Harry Potter. When Harry Potter made Deathly Hallows Pt. 1 and 2, they had a vision of what they wanted to tell the fans and what they wanted to get across in a massive and giant finale. Films after have tried to follow in that same frame, but few can make it work, and even few can make it not seem like a blatant money grab. Mockingjay – Part 1 isn’t just bad, it’s boring, and it takes all of the momentum built in Catching Fire, still one of the best YA movies ever made, and brings it to a screeching halt. Mockingjay – Part 2 is able to recapture the moment slightly, but the damage was done with this one. This proves even more so in the fact that the better Part 2 couldn’t even make the same amount as Part 1 at the box office.

No. 4: Sharknado 2: The Second One

Cast: Ian Ziering, Tara Reid, Vivica A. Fox
Director: Anthony C. Ferrante
Oscars: None
Ticket Gross – N/A Domestic/$114,229 International
61% Rotten Tomatoes

Sharknado was almost a revelation when it came to spoof/meta-comedy. It took itself seriously enough to have the audience believing that the cast and crew truly believed what they were doing was good, but it remained self-aware enough to remind us that they didn’t care either way. It was a fine one-off movie that could have stayed that way, but instead, like most things now, they turned a meme into a franchise, and every subsequent film only got worse and worse, starting with this one.

No. 3: A Haunted House 2

Cast: Marlon Wayans, Jaime Pressly, Cedric the Entertainer
Director: Michael Tiddes
Oscars: None
Ticket Gross – $17m Domestic/$8m International
8% Rotten Tomatoes/17 Metascore

When the Wayans Bro. left the Scary Movie franchise, one had to think the films wouldn’t be able to work. When Scary Movie V came out in 2013, alongside the original Haunted House, one clearly was able to capture the spoof comedic nature in a better and more consistent way. Was A Haunted House particularly good? No, but it brought at least the same charm the Wayans brought to the Scary Movie franchise. In A Haunted House 2, they ultimately proved the time has run out on this sort of brainless spoof comedy because almost nothing about this was funny, and absolutely nothing was memorable.

No. 2: Dumb and Dumber To

Cast: Jim Carrey, Jeff Daniels
Director: Bobby Farrelly, Peter Farrelly
Oscars: None
Ticket Gross – $86m Domestic/$83m International
/36 Metascore

Dumb and Dumber still holds up as potentially one of the greatest odd-ball and raunchy comedies to date. It marked the rise of Jim Carrey, and a different side of Jeff Daniels, showcasing his range as an actor. Dumb and Dumber To, however, was absolutely abysmal and one of the worst “years after” sequels to date. This movie does what long-after sequels should never do: it made the funny parts of the original unfunny, and made the unfunny, albeit few, parts stand out even more. Very little about this film actually worked, and the fact that Jim Carrey and Jeff Daniels, who both went on to make some incredible films after Dumb and Dumber, came back for this hurts its case even more.

No. 1: God’s Not Dead

Cast: Shane Harper, Kevin Sorbo, David A.R. White
Director: Harold Cronk
Oscars: None
Ticket Gross – $60m Domestic/$3m International
12% Rotten Tomatoes/16 Metascore

Faith-based movies are a hard sell from the get-go, but one as preachy and as “wannabe” definitive as this one is truthfully hard to swallow at times. The story is weak, the franchise this film sparked is baffling, and it takes a special kind of movie to have the Duck Dynasty crew give arguably the best performance of the bunch. It loses its message in the theatrics of it all and is overall just a tough watch.