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Transformers: Age of Extinction is the biggest box office hit of 2014.



Michael Bay's fourth instalment in the robot action saga earned more than $1 billion from cinemas worldwide this year, easily securing it the top spot ahead of Marvel blockbuster Guardians of the Galaxy.

Age of Extinction's earnings of $245,439,076 in the US makes it the least successful domestic performer in the franchise, however it's huge foreign gross of $841,965,423 helped power it to the top of the charts.

Filming in Hong Kong, the movie was one of the few Hollywood blockbusters to benefit from a release in the fast-expanding Chinese market. It's $300 million gross made it the highest-earning film in the country's history, overtaking 2009's Avatar.

Despite its success in 2014, Age of Extinction is still only the second-biggest earner in the Transformers series behind Dark of the Moon, which earned $1,123,794,079 worldwide in 2011.

Elsewhere in 2014, Marvel registered two films in the top ten with the aforementioned Guardians of the Galaxy in second place and Captain America: The Winter Soldier at number five.

Angelina Jolie's Maleficent and X-Men: Days of Future Past both made it into the top five, while there were also strong showings for The Amazing Spider-Man 2 and Dawn of the Planet of the Apes.

The top 20 highest grossing films of 2014 are below as of Tuesday, December 23:
1. Transformers: Age of Extinction - $1,087,404,499
2. Guardians of the Galaxy - $772,257,316
3. Maleficent - $757,752,378
4. X-Men: Days of Future Past - $746,045,700
5. Captain America: The Winter Soldier - $714,083,572
6. The Amazing Spider-Man 2 - $708,982,323
7. Dawn of the Planet of the Apes - $708,279,489
8. The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 1 - $639,856,110
9. Interstellar - $635,535,531
10. How to Train Your Dragon 2 - $618,909,935
11. Godzilla - $524,976,069
12. Rio 2 - $498,781,117
13. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles - $477,204,754
14. The Lego Movie - $468,060,692
15. Lucy - $458,863,600
16. Edge of Tomorrow - $369,206,256
17. Noah - $362,637,473
18. The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies - $358,131,544
19. Gone Girl - $349,344,822
20. The Maze Runner - $339,543,969

Source: Box Office Mojo