The Hunger Games: Mockingjay, Part1 has become the highest grossing domestic film for 2014, bringing in over $333 million. It managed to out-edge Guardians of the Galaxy by a slim margin of less than $10,000 in sales. And it did this without a 3D or IMAX run, which typically gives a boost to the sales numbers.
Transformers: Age of Extinction still holds the number one spot for sales worldwide. But that hasn’t dethroned Lawrence as the highest grossing performer.
Her two films (The Hunger Games: Mockingjay, Part 1 & X-Men: Days of Future Past) brought in a total of $1.4 billion worldwide. This out-grossed Chris Pratt’s two films (Guardians of the Galaxy & The Lego Movie) by a margin of about $200 million.
Joining Lawrence and Pratt as one of the top grossing performers in 2014 is Scarlett Johansson, whose films Captain America: The Winter Solider & Lucy made $1.18 billion worldwide. Her indie film Under the Skin also made a dent in the earnings total.
We have previously highlighted the gender wage gap in Hollywood along with its seeming improvement over the past year. If film earnings are any indication, this trend should continue.
It is clear that viewers are more than happy to open their wallets to watch a female lead, as 2 of the top 3 grossing performers were women (and 4 of the top 10).