Animated Winners in 2014

Motley Fool does an analysis of top-tier movie releases in the next twelve months, and comes up with the following:

... I scoured the 2014 release schedule and singled out likely losers*. I then picked what I expect to be the top 10 earners among the wide-release films that remained and organized them by social popularity. ...

TOP MOVIES -- Facebook Likes -- (YouTube Trailer Views)

Captain America -- 9.1m -- (23.4m)

X-Men -- 9.5m -- (22m)

The Amazing Spiderman 2 -- 6.9m -- (21.6m)

How to Train Dragon 2 -- 5.1m -- (6.9m)

Rio 2 -- 5.3m -- (60,290) ...

Of the animated features that are out there next year, I would give the top spot to Dragons, and the second place to Minions. And for the obvious reasons: the first is the sequel to a high-grossing original, and the second is a spin-off to a recent Meledandri blockbuster. As for Rio, it could do okay, but the original wasn't a knockout punch at the box office, so how #2 performs is problematical.

The other sequel out next year is DisneyToon Studios' Planes 2. Though the movie will be in wide-screen, it grows from its direct-to-video roots, and its predecessor was not a huge grosser. DreamWorks Animation has two additional releases, Sherman and Peabody and Home (formerly Smek Day). Neither are sequels, so how the pictures perform at the world box office is an open question.

The Fool highlights Marvel live-action features, but overlooks the animated offering from Walt Disney Animation Studios. Big Hero Six comes out next fall, based on a lesser Marvel comic book and set in a re-imagined San Francisco. The feature is a departure from the studio's recent princess movies, and MF gives no hint how it thinks the Disney take on this Marvel property might do.

But who knows? Maybe BH6 will earn a handsome profit.

* "Godzilla," "RoboCop" and "Noah" are the top nominees for "under-performer."