It wasn't the greatest summer for Hollywood -- box office was down 25% from last year's record -- but it could have been worse if it weren't for "Guardians of the Galaxy," the summer's top hit (which will likely be the year's top grosser by Labor Day). It has made $257 million and been beloved by critics as well, with a RottenTomatoes.com approval rating of 92%. With winter's "Lego Movie" also to his credit, star Chris Pratt, pictured, has emerged as 2014's top new star. (Box office as of 8/27.) 
"Transformers: Age of Extinction" was scorched by critics -- 18% on the Tomatometer -- and had the poorest domestic showing ($244 million) of any "Transformers" film. But director Michael Bay is still laughing all the way to the bank: The film has made $821 million overseas and set a record in China. 
Star vehicles were a tough sell this summer, but Angelina Jolie's "Maleficent," despite middling reviews, emerged as a solid hit, with $238 million domestically. 
"22 Jump Street" proved that sequels didn't have to be the same old-same old -- mainly by making fun of the fact that it was, indeed, the same old-same old. The Jonah Hill-Channing Tatum vehicle earned $190 million (on a $50 million budget) and scored 84% on the Tomatometer. 
Young adult adaptations continued their hot streak, with "The Fault in Our Stars," based on the popular novel, making $124 million. Shailene Woodley and Ansel Elgort were praised for their performances; the film rates 80% on the Tomatometer. 
Perhaps the year's most talked-about film is "Boyhood," Richard Linklater's story of a boy (Ellar Coltrane, right, with Lorelai Linklater and Ethan Hawke) growing up. It was filmed over the course of 12 years, so Coltrane really did grow up during production. The film has 99% critical approval and has made $16 million at the box office on a tiny budget. It has been touted as an Oscar hopeful. 
Despite solid reviews -- 90% approval at Rotten Tomatoes -- Tom Cruise's "Edge of Tomorrow" flopped domestically, with barely a $100 million gross on a $178 million budget. Overseas, Cruise fared better; the film has made $264 million outside the United States. 
Moviegoers gave thumbs down to "Hercules," a sword-and-sandals film based on the Greek myth (and a Steve Moore comic). It made $70 million, despite the presence of star Dwayne "the Rock" Johnson and director Brett Ratner. 
Director Clint Eastwood's "Jersey Boys" must have seemed like a sure-fire project, with its roots in both a hit Broadway musical and the songs of the Four Seasons. But the film, starring, from left, Vincent Piazza, Erich Bergen, John Lloyd Young and Michael Lomenda, got mediocre reviews and made just $47 million. 
Two years ago, Seth MacFarlane's "Ted" was a huge hit, making $218 million domestically and more than double that overall. But "A Million Ways to Die in the West," directed, written by and starring MacFarlane, right, flopped, making just $43 million and scoring a dismal 33% on the Tomatometer. 
The sizzling performance of Chadwick Boseman, center, as James Brown wasn't enough to make "Get on Up" into a hit. It's grossed $29 million on a $30 million budget. 
The third time wasn't even close to the charm for "The Expendables 3," which rounded up its all-star action cast and grossed less than $30 million. (It has done even worse overseas.) 
The critics usually hate Adam Sandler movies. Audiences, however, love them. Not so with "Blended," which made $46 million on a $40 million budget. However, overseas it has made $77 million, so if there's a "Blended 2," you'll know who it's for. 
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
- Summer 2014 box office down 25% from last year
- No movie topped $300 million, but there were no "Lone Ranger"-level flops, either
- Stars weren't big drivers to films; concepts were
- Chinese market made "Transformers" a blockbuster
(CNN) -- Was it the end of the world at the summer box office?
There certainly was plenty of destruction to go around. Not only were several cities destroyed, including San Francisco ("Godzilla") and Chicago ("Transformers: Age of Extinction"), there was also the kind of destruction Hollywood hates: that of their receipts.
The summer box office, as of the last week in August, was down 25% over summer 2013 -- admittedly a banner year. Nonetheless, with the exceptions of "Guardians of the Galaxy" and a handful of others, there was an "eh" feeling to much of what hit the multiplex between May and August of this year. CGI carnage, gross-out comedy, comic-book saviors: Haven't we seen this movie before?
Consider this: 2014 was the first summer since 2001 in which there was no movie that topped $300 million domestically. Studios like to tout $200 million as a blockbuster benchmark, but $300 million is real high-flying territory: "The Avengers," the "Iron Man" films, "The Dark Knight," films with what they call "legs," that create return business and draw in some lukewarm moviegoers. (To be fair, "Guardians" may still get there.)
As Forbes' Scott Mendelson notes, there were various reasons for the down summer, and not all of them were bad: Some planned films were rescheduled, and others were aimed as much at overseas markets as at the United States. (The mediocre "Amazing Spider-Man 2" barely cracked $200 million in the United States but earned another $500 million in international markets.) Still, the results provide a great deal of food for thought.
Here are a few points to ponder:
1. Don't reach for the stars.
Tom Cruise ("Edge of Tomorrow"), Adam Sandler ("Blended") and Melissa McCarthy ("Tammy") couldn't carry their respective movies to blockbuster territory. Only Angelina Jolie ("Maleficent") succeeded, with Scarlett Johansson ("Lucy") getting an honorable mention. However, it might be worth it to keep an eye on Shailene Woodley, the up-and-coming light of "The Fault in Our Stars." Sure, the film was based on a beloved book, but the film's success caught many observers by surprise -- and Woodley was at the center of it all. With her previous turn in the equally successful "Divergent," she's coming on strong.
2. Blow it up good!
As mentioned, destruction was high on Hollywood's list, especially when Michael Bay is involved. The Bay-directed "Transformers" stomped on the planet again, "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles" (produced by Bay) did some damage and "Godzilla" visited San Francisco. But more than destruction, apocalypse was in the air: witness "Edge of Tomorrow," "Dawn of the Planet of the Apes" and "The Purge: Anarchy." And we go to the movies to escape from real life?
3. Comedy was not pretty.
Only two movies topped $100 million domestically among comedies this summer: "Neighbors," with the sneaky, shambling Seth Rogen, and "22 Jump Street." The latter was an interesting twist on the sequel, a follow-up that knew it was a follow-up and took every opportunity to make that the source of the comedy. (In going along for the ride, Jonah Hill, Channing Tatum and Ice Cube were excellent self-parodies.) But "Tammy" tanked, "A Million Ways to Die in the West" found one more way to go and "Sex Tape" was erased. You know what they say: Dying is easy, comedy is hard.
4. Look to the East.
Who needs the USA? "Transformers" had a relatively mediocre turnout in America, grossing less than $250 million -- good enough to become the No. 2 film of the summer, but only No. 4 among the four "Transformers" films. On the other hand, overseas the film picked up $821 million -- including more than $300 million in China, becoming that country's highest-grossing film of all time. That was no accident: China is the second biggest film market in the world, and Hollywood is catering to it more and more.
5. Time is your friend.
Perhaps the most talked-about film of the summer -- at least in markets where it has played -- is "Boyhood," Richard Linklater's ode to one child's growing up. Linklater took a risk in deciding to follow his protagonist, played by Ellar Coltrane, and his other actors for 12 years, trusting that a film shot over that time would come together. It worked beautifully, with a 99% critics' approval on RottenTomatoes.com and early Oscar talk. In the past, watching someone age in a film was a sociological curiosity: witness Michael Apted's "Up" films, which have revisited a group of students every seven years. Now that we're in the YouTube age, in which every part of our lives is put on video, it'll be interesting to see if Linklater's concept becomes more normalized.
Police officers walk on a rooftop at the Washington Navy Yard on Monday, September 16, after a shooting rampage in the nation's capital. At least 12 people and suspect Aaron Alexis were killed, according to authorities. 
Connecticut State Police evacuate children from Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, on December 14, 2012. Adam Lanza opened fire in the school, killing 20 children and six adults before killing himself. Police say he also shot and killed his mother in her Newtown home. 
James Holmes pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity to opening fire July 20, 2012, at the Century Aurora 16 theater in Aurora, Colorado, during the midnight premiere of "The Dark Knight Rises." Twelve people were killed and dozens were wounded. Holmes is charged with 142 counts, including first-degree murder. His trial is scheduled to begin in February 2014. 
A military jury convicted Army Maj. Nidal Hasan on Friday, August 23, 2013, of 13 counts of premeditated murder in a shooting rampage at Fort Hood, Texas. During the November 5, 2009 shooting, 13 people died and 32 were injured. 
Jiverly Wong shot and killed 13 people at the American Civic Association in Binghamton, New York, before turning the gun on himself on April 3, 2009, police say. Four other people were injured at the immigration center shooting. Wong had been taking English classes at the center. 
Pallbearers carry a casket of one of Michael McLendon's 10 victims. McLendon shot and killed his mother in her Kingston, Alabama, home, before shooting his aunt, uncle, grandparents and five more people. He shot and killed himself in Samson, Alabama, on March 10, 2009. McClendon left a note saying he put his mother "out of her misery." 
Virginia Tech student Seung-Hui Cho went on a shooting spree on the campus in Blacksburg, Virginia, on April 16, 2007. Cho killed two people at the West Ambler Johnston dormitory and, after chaining the doors closed, killed another 30 at Norris Hall, home to the Engineering Science and Mechanics Department. He wounded 17 people before killing himself. It is the deadliest shooting rampage in U.S. history. 
Mark Barton walked into two Atlanta trading firms on July 29, 1999, and fired shots, leaving nine dead and 13 wounded, police say. Hours later police found Barton at a gas station in Acworth, Georgia, where he pulled a gun and killed himself. The day before Barton had bludgeoned his wife and his two children in their Stockbridge, Georgia, apartment, police say. The children's birth mother and grandmother had been murdered six years earlier in Alabama. Barton was questioned but never charged in that crime. 
Eric Harris, left, and Dylan Klebold entered Columbine High School in Littleton, Colorado, on April 20, 1999, armed with bombs and guns. The students killed 13 and wounded 23 before killing themselves. 
George Hennard crashed his pickup through the plate glass window of Luby's Cafeteria in Killeen, Texas, on October 16, 1991, before fatally shooting 23 people and committing suicide. 
James Huberty shot and killed 21 people, including children, at a McDonald's in San Ysidro, California, on July 18, 1984. A police sharpshooter killed Huberty an hour after the rampage began. 
Prison guard George Banks is led through the Luzerne County courthouse in 1985. Banks killed 13 people, including five of his children, in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, on September 25, 1982. He was sentenced to death in 1993 and received a stay of execution in 2004. His death sentence was overturned in 2010. 
Officers carry victims across the University of Texas at Austin campus after Charles Joseph Whitman opened fire from the school's tower, killing 16 people and wounding 30. Police officers shot and killed Whitman, who had killed his mother and wife earlier in the day. 
Howard Unruh, a World War II veteran, shot and killed 13 of his neighbors on September 5, 1949, In Camden, New Jersey. Unruh barricaded himself in his house after the shooting. Police overpowered him the next day. He was ruled criminally insane and committed to a state mental institution. 
The bombings in Boston on Monday, April 15, 2013, serve as a cruel reminder that the U.S. has seen other terror attacks on home soil. See all photography related to the Boston bombings. 
A suspect known as "The Unabomber" kept authorities at bay for years during his long, random terror spree. Here, FBI agents guard the entrance to the property of Ted Kaczynski on April 5, 1996, in Lincoln, Montana. 
Justice finally catches up with Ted Kaczynski, who is escorted by U.S. marshals outside Sacramento County Federal Court in California in May 1998 after receiving life sentences for his crimes. 
Firefighters and rescue crews work outside the World Trade Center after an attack on February 26, 1993. This bombing shocked the nation, which had no way to realize that much worse was to come at this location in less than decade. 
A police photographer helps document the bombing of the underground parking garage at the World Trade Center, which killed six people in 1993. 
The north side of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City shows the devastation caused by a fuel-and fertilizer truck bomb detonated on April 19, 1995. At the time, it was the worst terror attack on U.S. soil, killing 168 people. 
Employees of the Bureau of Arms, Tobacco and Firearms hug in front of the wreckage of the Murrah Building. Americans soon learned one of their own -- not foreigners bent on U.S. destruction -- was responsible for the carnage. 
Atlanta was the excited and elated host of the 1996 Summer Olympics when a bomb went off at Centennial Olympic Park on July 27. Two people were killed and 111 were injured by the blast. It would not be the last time that a U.S. sports venue would find itself the target of terrorism. 
September 11, 2001. Americans need no reminder of the significance of this terrible date. Here, people flee the World Trade Center before its devastating collapse. See Ground Zero now. 
Rising from the ashes of ruin: Rescue workers continue their search for victims as smoke still pours from the rubble of the World Trade Center on September 13, 2001. The death toll at ground zero: 2,753. 
Soldiers comfort each other at the Fallen Soldier Memorial at Fort Hood, Texas, on November 10, 2009, during a ceremony honoring the 13 soldiers and civilians killed in a shooting rampage five days earlier. 
In the darkness of terror attacks, Americans find the light. Here, officers hold candles during a vigil for those killed at Fort Hood. 
