'American Sniper' Takes Out 'Mockingjay' to Snag 2014 Box Office Crown

First, Katniss Everdeen trumped Star-Lord; now, Chris Kyle has taken down the Mockingjay.

"American Sniper" has officially surpassed "The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 1" to become the highest-grossing movie of 2014, raking in $337.2 million at the domestic box office. While the majority of that money came from the film's wide release in January 2015, its initial Christmas Day limited release date officially makes it 2014's champ.

That jaw-dropping total bested both "Mockingjay" ($336.9 million) and "Guardians of the Galaxy" ($333.17 million), and is the first non-sequel or franchise flick to win the annual box office crown since "How the Grinch Stole Christmas" did it way back in 2000. It's also the first R-rated movie to top the yearly box office rankings since "Saving Private Ryan" in 1998 (and also beat "Ryan" as highest-grossing war movie).

"Sniper" has now pulled in over $500 million at the international box office, and is still in theaters. It may yet have more records to break on the horizon.

[via: Forbes]

Article by Katie Roberts

Freelance Writer

Katie Nowak Roberts is a freelance writer and pop culture junkie based in Rochester, New York. Her work has also appeared in Uproxx, (585) magazine, Indianapolis Monthly, The Record newspaper (Troy, New York), Syracuse Woman Magazine, Making Music Magazine, and International Musician (official trade publication of the American Federation of Musicians).