One of the things we do every year here at HitFix is compile a list of the things we're most looking forward to in the next year. As the end of 2014 approaches, we're gearing up to write that same list for what promises to be one of the craziest year of giant movie releases ever, and as we started work on that, we looked back at last year's list.
Let's just say it was enlightening.
We decided to have some fun with it and issue ourselves a report card to see how well we called it before 2014 began. In some cases, I think we were spot on, but we also overestimated just as many things as we underestimated. Then you've got stuff like “Jupiter Ascending,” which won't even make it to theaters until February.
What is clear, though, is that we had strong reasons to make the predictions we did, and no matter how good or bad something looks on paper, there is always room for surprises. That's what makes this job so consistently fun. I may have had a strong suspicion that “Guardians Of The Galaxy” would be fun, but I couldn't have predicted just how strongly it would resonate with audiences. And one of the films I love most this year, Rick Linklater's “Boyhood,” was totally under the radar until just before it made its Sundance premiere in January, so we didn't even think to rank it last year.
And since we're the ones doing the grading here, feel free to chime in and tell us if we're letting ourselves off the hook. We take it seriously when we put together a preview of the year ahead in entertainment, and we want you to know that we dig deep before we publish. Looking back like this keeps us constantly pushing to make sure that we make the right call for you.
We'll have our look ahead at 2015 soon, as well as all of our end-of-the-year lists for film, television, music and more, so get ready for a big December here at HitFix.