Birdman with $101.9 Million Worldwide Might Have Won the Oscar But American Sniper with $541.2 Million Won What Counts -- The Box Office Take!

THE PUBLIC HAS ALREADY VOTED WITH THEIR WALLETS!

Although I truly appreciate the critics picking Birdman as the best movie picture of the year and winners in all the other categories, but in the ONLY category that really counts – MONEY MADE – it appears the American and International movie going public had already made their decisions.  When it comes to picking movies, I normally "trust the mob" so here is how the movie going and paying public ranked this year’s movies as of 19 April 2015.

Worldwide Rank, Movie, Box Office Receipts (Worldwide & Domestic)

1. The Transformers: Age of Extinction -- $1,091M Worldwide - $245.4 Domestic
2. The Hobbit:  The Battle of the Five Armies -- $951.4M Worldwide - $255.1M Domestic
3.  Guardians of the Galaxy -- $772.4M Worldwide - $333.2M Domestic
4.  Meleficent -- $758.4M Worldwide - $241.4 Domestic
5.  Hunger Games: Mockingjay -- $751.4 Worldwide - $336.4M Domestic
6. X-Men:Days of Future Past -- $748.1 Worldwide - $233.9M Domestic
7. Captain America:  The Winter Soldier -- $714.8M Worldwide - $259.8M Domestic
8. The Amazing Spider-Man 2 -- $709.0 Worldwide - $202.9 Domestic
9. Dawn of the Planet of the Apes -- $708.8 Worldwide - $208.5 Domestic
10. Interstellar -- $672.7 Worldwide - $188.0 Domestic
11. Big Hero 6 -- $652.0 Worldwide - $222.4 Domestic
12. How to Train Your Dragon -- $619.0 Worldwide - $177.0 Domestic
13. American Sniper -- $541.2 Worldwide - $347.8M Domestic
14. Godzilla -- $528.9 Worldwide - $200.7M Domestic

Notice NONE of the eight nominated movies is the top money maker of the past year although the Top Earning nominee, American Sniper, was #1 domestically and #13 internationally and has made over $541 Million Worldwide.

Although it is obvious that The Transformers: Age of Extinction with over $1 Billion Worldwide and $245.4 Domestic should be this year's Oscar winner, the winner had to come from the nominees selected by their Hollywood elite peers so here is how “the Domestic mob”  ranked the nominees according to how they spent their money:

1. American Sniper -- $347.8M Domestic - $541.2M Worldwide
2. The Imitation Game -- $91.0M Domestic - $218.9M Worldwide
3. Grand Budapest Hotel -- $59.1M Domestic - $174.6M Worldwide
4. Selma -- $52.1M Domestic - $52.1 Worldwide
5. Birdman -- $42.3M Domestic - $101.9M Worldwide
6. The Theory of Everything -- $35.9M Domestic (#86) - $121.2M Worldwide
7. Boyhood -- $25.4M Domestic - $44.5M Worldwide
8. Whiplash -- $13.1M Domestic - $14.0M Worldwide

No contest ….and the WINNER is, bank statement Please (drum roll), the hands down winner by a country mile is (sorry Michael Moore, Seth Rogen and Birdman):

American Sniper!

Until next year, here’s the Old Colonel wishing you an enjoyable night at the movies!