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The biggest surprise has to be Heaven is for Real. With only a $12 million budget, it has already grossed $75 million and is still going, adding theaters in wide release each week since opening in mid-April.

I'd also pick Transcendence as the biggest bomb of the year so far. It had huge financial losses along with terrible reviews. I didn't think the movie looked appealing at all from the trailer, so its failure didn't surprise me much and I don't think it will hurt Johnny Depp at all. But I do feel bad for Wally Pfister, who earned Oscar nominations for four movies in a row and won Best Cinematography for Inception, then tries his hand at being a director on Transcendence and it bombs. That's a rough first outing.

I think it's also worth noting that Frozen just recently edged over the $400 million mark. Obviously it's a 2013 release, but it did make $100 million of its gross this year, and surpassed Finding Nemo to become the fourth highest grossing animated movie ever.

Kim Hollis: The LEGO Movie and Captain America: The Winter Soldier are both equally impressive to me with their outcomes. LEGO clearly struck a chord and thanks to Phil Lord and Christopher Miller, it’s an instantly rewatchable classic, too. Captain America, like Iron Man 3 and Thor 2, behaved like a mini-Avengers sequel. The fact that worldwide audiences have embraced the character is fascinating.

I think that the biggest surprise of the year is the fact that faith-based films have become big business. I mean, it really shouldn’t be if you examine the atmosphere in the United States at this point, but these movies did kind of come out of nowhere for me. Son of God was just repurposed television footage after all, and then God’s Not Dead and Heaven Is for Real came along afterward and just kept the trend going. This audience wants content specific to them, and I do admire that several studios have figured out how to package them in a way that really generates interest.

There have been a shocking number of poor performers in a year where we generally have seen good results overall. I’d agree that Transcendence is the worst of the bunch, purely for so much lost potential.

David Mumpower: The debate regarding the biggest blockbuster of the year is being reduced to one of budget and expectations. I think that is the perfect way to evaluate the situation. Since The Lego Movie is the people's choice in this thread, I will play devil's advocate on the subject. Captain America: The Winter Soldier has grossed roughly a quarter billion dollars more than its counterpart. The budget discrepancy is only $110 million between the titles. I absolutely agree that The Lego Movie lacked the immediate selling power of its more storied counterpart. It is also the more frugal investment. If we are debating which one provides the better return on investment, well, Son of God and God's Not Dead are going to be the real answers anyway. Simply stated, Captain America: The Winter Soldier has earned more profit than The Lego Movie. If that is the litmus test for people considering the merits of each candidate, I understand why they would select it. Personally, I think that The Lego Movie is one of the most deftly timed releases in recent memory. I am in awe of everything about it. So, it is my choice as well.


Kim already not only answered for me on biggest surprise but also provided a lucid explanation regarding why as well. So, I guess I am reduced to saying "mega-dittos" or whatever the non-talk radio listener's equivalent is. With regards to biggest bomb, I have to say that Legends of Oz: Dorothy's Return has not only rivaled but also surpassed Transcendence in my estimation. I appreciate Edwin's point of view on the subject; however, the Johnny Depp movie has grossed $65 million worldwide against a $100 million production budget. In reality, Warner Bros. will be lucky to recoup much of their investment because they auctioned the international revenue to Summit Entertainment. Still, the project as a whole is not an absolute loss of investment, just mostly one. Dorothy's Return has earned $4.4 million and is positioned to drop out of the top ten this weekend. It somehow cost more than The Lego Movie to create yet it will not reach double digits in box office revenue. Abject failure, thy name is...

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