2) Let's start at the very beginning, a very good place to start... by looking at the facts and figures!

Before I dive into the analysis of specific IPs, I thought it'd be wise to simply find out which are the most successful recent films by looking at the statistics. With an aim to broaden my understanding of the industry, I've gathered loads of graphs, reports and tables demonstrating various figures, and so I've gathered a few that will help me start off my blogging journey...

To research the most recent successful film IPs, I simply began by searching "Top 10 films 2014" into Google, and naturally, endless websites appeared claiming to list the Top 10 Movies, Top 100 Best Films of 2014, etc. Most of these websites are renowned for their major film critics and their great film knowledge, such as The Hollywood Reporter, Empire and even Den Of Geek (full list can be found at the end of this post). My first impressions from these is that there are many recurring titles throughout the lists, proving that there are definitely some common grounds between these different authors and websites, with famous titles repeating such as Boyhood (2014), The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014) and even the The Lego Movie (2014).

To conduct my research one step further, I decided to analyse each film's critical ranking by gathering evidence from 61 popular film websites and taking a mathematical approach. To do this, I began calculating an average score for each film through a tally system, determined by the number of times a film appeared and their ranking in each list.

 My score calculating system is as follows:

• 10 points for each 1st place ranking
• 5 points for each 2nd place ranking
• 3 points for each 3rd place ranking
• 1 point for each 4th - 10th place ranking

Here is my Top Film list
(determined by 61 film critics' ratings and summarised in a handy table!):

My first impressions is that the table contains many titles unfamiliar to me, including foreign films such as the Russian film Leviathan (Andrey Zvyagintsev) and Swedish film Force Majeure (Ruben Östlund). These films are unfamiliar not simply because they are in a foreign language, but because there hasn't been much global hype or interest surrounding these different films, whether it be online, through marketing or even through word of mouth. Evidence of this can be seen when looking into the Google search statistics results for "Leviathan 2014", which are inconclusive, as there is not enough 'search volume' to show graphs of public interest (see image below), despite being number 9 on this list. With this in mind, it's hard to agree that Leviathan is one of the top 10 films of 2014, with so little public interest, and so it can be argued that these results are debatable.

Furthermore, I believe that some of the films listed above the 10th slot in the results table should be higher in ranking, as I regard many of these to be the best films of 2014, such as Guardians of the Galaxy and Interstellar, as these titles are easily recognisable in popular culture. In fact, Interstellar was the second most trending film internet search in 2014 behind Frozen (2013), according to Google's 2014 search trend statistics. This means that the Interstellar could actually be seen as more successful than the rest of the films in this table, especially if an IP's success is determined by internet popularity results.

Another thing to note is that many online users commented on these top film critic websites, criticising the top film lists in the same way as I have, with some users arguing that "critics disagree with a mass audience" (fungusgnat, 2015) and that they "have no concept on what appeals to the mass audience and give awards based on their opinion, not consensus opinion" (giantpegasus123, 2014). This issue is further explained by film scholar Kerrigan (2010), who argues that "...such application of professional criticism to films resulted in the establishment of critics as "protectors of 'good taste'..." and in doing so, these critics consider their chosen films "as an accepted art form rather than a form of mass entertainment" (Kerrigan, 2010; p. 113). In other words, critics review films in an established artistic sense, disregarding what may appeal to others, especially mass audiences. With this in mind, the results of my table may only demonstrate the success of the most 'artistically accepted' IPs, from a critic's perspective, not by a wider audience.

So, what do mass audiences determine to be the best film of 2014? With critics and their arty opinions aside, I set out to find out the best publicly voted film of 2014. My search lead me to an article by Slashfilm which lists the Highest Rated Movies of 2014. This list was compiled from the user movie ratings on Imdb, as they explain that "The movies are rated year round by IMDb users, and provides one of the largest sampling of mainstream public opinion on films." This list is crucial for finding out an IPs success determined by audience's responses, as it contains films such as The Judge (David Dobkin) which is rated very highly (at a 7.6 rating with over 27,000 user votes), despite having a low critical reviews (47% on Rotten Tomotoes). 

2014's Top 10 user rated films are as follows:

1. Interstellar (8.9/10)
2. Birdman (8.7/10)
3. Whiplash (8.7/10)
4. Boyhood (8.4/10)
5. Gone Girl (8.4/10)
6. The Imitation Game (8.4/10)
7. The Hobbit: The Battle of Five Armies (8.2/10)
8. Big Hero 6 (8.3/10)
9. Guardians of the Galaxy (8.3/10)
10. X-Men Days of Future Past (8.2/10)

Although the list contains a few names that appear in the critic's results, this list is significantly different, as it doesn't contain many of the films mentioned, such as #2 Under the Skin, that has a mere 6.3 user rating on Imdb. It's important to note that Under the Skin was considered highly stylised 'art film', which could explain the critic's very high artistic rating. With this in mind you could argued that a mass audience doesn't consider the success of a film based on it's visual style at all. Many of the user reviews explain how much dislike they had for Under the Skin, commenting "...at the end of this film someone shouted out "What a load of old pony" and a cheer went up from a fair proportion of the audience..."(postmortem-books, 2014) and "We walked out...I have seen video art that I have appreciated but not in a movie theater where the expectation is to have plot and character development throughout the movie." (rzacchi76, 2014). Although there are some positive user comments about Under the Skin, it goes without saying that for many users on Imdb, the film wasn't a favourite.

What's also significant about these findings for my blog is that many titles in this list are films that are sequels and part of other IPs, including The Hobbit: The Battle of Five Armies and X-Men Days of Future Past. This is definitely a topic worth further investigation throughout my blog, as sequels are normally considered to be a flop, as "they're, almost always, a major let-down, in comparison to the original" (Show, 2010). Although this is interesting point of discussion, I'll stick to the statistics for now...

So, these user ratings must determine the success of IP's, shouldn't they? Well, as Intellectual Property ultimately comes down to money, I decided to research further into the economic side of film success by looking at the 2014 box office figures, which painted a completely different picture...

At a glance, it's easy to tell that most of films within this table haven't previously appeared on either of the critic's or the user rated list, as only 4/10 of these titles have been mentioned before. I've also realised that all of these titles, with the exception of Interstellar, are either adaptations or sequels... which links into my previous point about remakes of Intellectual Properties! 

To take my research one step further I conducted my own online survey via Facebook to find out what what my friends and family members believed to be the best film of 2014. I gathered results from all ages and over 100 responses, and it's worth noting that people responded not only from York and surrounding areas, but also from Mexico, Venezuela and Germany.

Here are the results for your to visualise:

The results from my table are very varied and quite different to the online user results supplied by Slashfilm- but it still contains many listed above, especially remakes! My varied results could be determined by age, as 70% of people who answered were under 25 and in the UK, so my results could simply determine Highest voted films for under 25's in the north of England! But although this does offer some insights for my blog, if you consider that my sample rate is a lot smaller than the Slash Imdb user ratings (supplied from thousands of users worldwide) it's probably better to take those into account those over mine! 

So, where do I go from here? Well, these tables raise many further questions for my blog... Why do sequels make so much money? Why do we watch films that we don't rate highly? and ultimately, What determines the success of an IP- it's ratings or it's box office figures?

Let's go find out...

Links and references of mentioned sources:

Boyhood. Richard Linklater, 2014. film.

Force Majeure. Ruben Östlund, 2014. film.

Google.com,. 'Google Trends - Top Charts'. N.p., 2015. Web. 2 Jan. 2014.

IMDb,. 'Under The Skin Reviews & Ratings - Imdb'. N.p., 2015. Web. 2 Jan. 2015.

Interstellar. Christopher Nolan, 2014. film.

Kerrigan, Finola. Film Marketing. Amsterdam: Elsevier/Butterworth-Heinemann, 2010. Print.

Leviathan. Andrey Zvyagintsev, 2014. film.

Metacritic,. 'Best Of 2014: Film Critic Top Ten Lists'. N.p., 2015. Web. 2 Jan. 2015.

Sciretta, Peter. 'IMDB Best Movies Of 2014: Highest Rated Movies Of The Year'. Slashfilm. N.p., 2014. Web. 4 Jan. 2015.

Show, Rev. 'Top 10 Worst Movie Sequels - Listverse'. Listverse. N.p., 2010. Web. 2 Jan. 2015.

The Grand Budapest Hotel. Wes Anderson, 2014. film.

The Hobbit: The Battle Of The Five Armies. Peter Jackson, 2014. film.

The Judge. David Dobkin, 2014. DVD.

The Lego Movie. Chris Miller, Phil Lord, 2014. film.

Under The Skin. Daniel Landin, 2014. film.

X-Men: Days Of Future Past. Bryan Singer, 2014. DVD.

The Hobbit Gif
The Lego Movie Gif
Hipster Kitty Meme
Under the Skin Gif
Joey Friends Gif
Jimmy Fallon Gif

Below are the 61 individual top ten lists by the film critics, that I researched and gathered my data from:

• EmpireOnline
  10. Her             9. Dawn Of the Planet of the Apes       8. What We Do In The Shadows              7. Grand Budapest Hotel     6. Edge of Tomorrow   5. Guardians of the Galaxy       4. Inside Llewyn Davis         3. Wolf of Wall Street   2. Nightcrawler                        1. Boyhood

• Denof Geek10. X-Men: Days of Future Past        9. How to train your dragon 2      8. Guardians of The Galaxy  7. The Raid 2 6. Big Eyes      5. Birdman       4.How To Catch A Monster    3.Interstellar      2. Godzilla           1. Transcendence

• Time
  10. Birdman     9. Wild Tales  8. Citizenfour   7. NightCrawler  6. Jodorowsky’s Dune  5. Goodbye to Language4. Lucy   3. The Lego Movie 2. Boyhood 1.The GrandBudapest Hotel

• RollingStone
  10. Interstellar  9. Under The Skin   8. Unbroken   7. The GrandBudapest Hotel  6.Whiplash5. Gone Girl       4. Selma        3. Foxcatcher        2. Birdman       1. Boyhood

• RottenTomatoes10. Citizenfour             9. The Babadook         8. Birdman       7. Gloria          6. Nightcrawler                  5. Life Itself            4. Whiplash      3.Mr.Turner      2. The Lego Movie          1. Boyhood

• TheNew Yorker10. Butter on the Latch            9. Memphis      8. Actress         7: Listen Up Phillip      6.American Sniper      5. The Immigrant         4. The Last of the Unjust            3. Goodbye to Language         2. 0 Wast Mild and Lovely       1. The Grand Budapest Hotel

• PasteMagazine10. Two Days, One Night         9. National Gallery      8. Inherent Vice       7.Enemy   6. The Overnighters            5. The Grand Budapest Hotel  4. Under The Skin            3. Miss Julie     2. Birdman       1.Boyhood

• BFI10. Mr Turner   9. Jauja              8. Ida               7. The Tribe 6. Winter Sleep            5. The Grand Budapest Hotel  4. Under The Skin        4. Horse Money                        3. Leviathan    2. Goodbye to Language         1. Boyhood

• Dissolve10. Selma        9. Gone Girl     8. Force Majeure         7. Two Days, One Night                       6. Life Itself      5. Only Lovers Left Alive          4. Whiplash      3. Under the Skin     2. The Grand Budapest Hotel    1. Boyhood

• SlantMagazine10. Force Majeure       9. Stray Dogs   8. Only Lovers Left Alive          7. The Grand Budapest Hotel                     6. Two Days, One Night       5. Inherent Vice     4. Boyhood      3.The Immigrant          2. Stranger by the Lake            1. Under the Skin

• IndieWire
  10. Inherent Vice         9. Leviathan    8. Snowpiercer            7. Only lovers left alive            6. Boyhood 5. Birdman            4. Gone Girl     3. Foxcatcher  2. Nightcrawler    1. Under the Skin

• Yahoo
  10. Dear White People            9. Force Majeure         8.Snowpiercer 7. Gone Girl     6. The Overnighters     5. The Lego Movie      4. Birdman       3. Nightcrawler    2. Whiplash                  1. Boyhood

• Buzzfeed
  10. Selma    9. Ida   8. Guardians of the Galaxy   7. Whiplash      6. Inherent Vice          5. Birdman       4. The tale of the Princesss Kaguya    3. The Grand Budapest Hotel   2. Two Days, One Night      1. Under the Skin

• VanityFair10. X-Men: Days of Future Past            9. Pride                        8. Mr. Turner    7. Snowpiercer            6. Selma5. Boyhood      4. Citizenfour   3. Force Majeure         2. Mommy       1. Love is strange
• HuffingtonPost
  10. The One I Love     9. Wild 8. Whiplash      7. The Grand Budapest Hotel   6. Nightcrawler    5. Boyhood    4. Birdman       3. Gone Girl     2. Love is strange 1. Selma

• Uncut10. Dallas Buyer's Club            9. Calvery        8. '71     7. 20,000 Days on Earth         6. Boyhood    5. Mr. Turner    4. The Wolf of Wall Street       3. Under the Skin        2. Inside Llewyn Davis       1. The Grand Budapest Hotel

• Variety
  10. American Sniper   9. Selma          8. Interstellar    7. Gone Girl     6. The Immigrant5. Foxcatcher  4. Inherent Vice           3. Winter Sleep                        2. Citizenfour   1. Goodbye to Language
• Vogue
  10. The Tale of Princess Kaguya        9. Selma          8. Only Lovers Left Alive    7. Mr. Turner    6. Listen Up Phillip      5. Leviathan    4. The Grand Budapest Hotel   3. Goodbye to Language      2. Boyhood   1. Beyond the Lights

• Observer 10. Love Is Strange   9. Foxcatcher  8. The Two Faces of January  7. Whiplash    6. The Grand Budapest Hotel  5. Still Alice    4. Unbroken     3. Boyhood      2. The Immitation Game         1. The Theory of Everything

• TheAtlantic  10. Noah          9. Locke           8. Ida   7. Gone Girl     6. Boyhood      5. The Immitation Game         4. The Grand Budapest Hotel  3. Birdman       2. Selma            1. A Most Violent Year

• TheHollywood Reporter 10. The Grand Budapest Hotel            9. Selma          8. A Most Violent Year 7. Wild Tales  6. Foxcatcher  5. Boyhood      4. Ida   3. Birdman       2. Only Lovers Left Alive     1. Leviathan

• AVClub
  10. The Missing Picture           9. Gone Girl     8. Blue Ruin    7. Force Majeure         6. Under the Skin         5. Stray Dogs   4. Two Days, One Night        3. The Strange Little Cat       2. Whiplash      1. Boyhood

• AwardsDaily
  10. Birdman     9. Mr. Turner    8. Foxcatcher  7. Under the Skin    6. Mommy    5. Maps to the Stars     4. Inherent Vice    3. Boyhood      2. Selma     1. Gone Girl

• BBC
  10. Selma        9. Mr. Turner    8. The Immigrant         7. Nightcrawler            6. Citizenfour5. Ida   4.The Immitation Game          3. Wild Tales   2. Boyhood      1. The Grand Budapest Hotel

• CinemaDope
  10. Life Itself    9. The Grand Budapest Hotel  8. The Skeleton Twins 7. The Homesman6. Boyhood      5. Flamenco Flamenco           4. Birdman       3. Whiplash      2. Nightcrawler   1. Snowpiercer

• Cine-Vue
  10.  The Tribe 9. Goodbye to Language         8. Winter Sleep                        7. Two Days, One Night           6. The Grand Budapest Hotel  5. Stray Dogs   4. Whiplash          3. Under the Skin    2. Leviathan    1. Boyhood

• Comingsoon10. The Edge of Tomorrow      9. The Gambler                       8. The Chef     7. The Immitation Game         6. Boyhood      5. The Theory of Everything    4. The Nightcrawler  3. Birdman       2. Guardians of the Galaxy      1. Life Itself/ Whiplash

• Consequenceof Sound10. Life Itself    9. Obvious Child          8. Birdman       7. The Raid 2  6. Ida  5. The Grand Budapest Hotel  4. Whiplash      3. Boyhood      2. Nightcrawler  1. Under the Skin

• CraveOnline10. Snowpiercer          9. Inherent Vice                       8. Nightcrawler                        7. We are the best6. Fury             5. Only Lovers Left Alive          4. The Guest    3. Selma  2. The Dance of Reality   1. Whiplash

• TheDaily Beast
  10. Leviathan  9. The Babadook         8. The Grand Budapest Hotel  7. Snowpiercer6. Selma          5. Citizenfour   4. Ida   3. Under the skin          2. Inherent Vice  1. Boyhood

• DigitalSpy10. Dawn of the Planet of the Apes     9. Frank            8. The Grand Budapest Hotel  7. Guardians of the Galaxy      6. Gone Girl     5. The Hunger Games: Mockingjay   4. Inside Lleywn Davis 3. Under the Skin         2. Nightcrawler            1. Boyhood

• WashingtonPost10. Locke         9. Beyond the Lights    8. Edge of Tomorrow   7. Selma   6. Under the Skin  5. Foxcatcher  4. Force Majeure         3. Citizenfour   2. Birdman       1. Boyhood

• EntertainmentWeekly10. Jodorowsky's Dune 9. Birdman       8. Snowpiercer            7. Gone Girl     6. Guardians of the Galaxy      5. Selma          4. Life Itself      3. The Grand Budapest Hotel            2. Boyhood   1. Whiplash

• EveningStandard10. Paddington            9. 22 Jump Street        8. The Grand Budapest Hotel  7. Under the Skin   6. Mr. Turner    5. Nightcrawler            4. Two Days, One Night         3. Leviathan    2. Boyhood       1. 12 Years A Slave

• FilmComment10. The Kidnapping of Michel Houellebecq   9. Journey to the West             8. Calvary       7. Whiplash      6. Li’l Quinquin            5. Goodbye to Langauge         4. The Grand Budapest Hotel  3. Leviathan    2. Mr. Turner    1. The Tribe

• FilmSchool Rejects10. Locke         9. Boyhood      8. Force Majeure         7. Captain America     6. Listen Up Phillip      5. We are the best        4. Nightcrawler            3. Whiplash            2. Under the Skin 1. Calvary

• TheFilm Stage10. Abuse of Weakness            9. American Mythologies         8. Boyhood      7. Manakamana6. John Wick    5. Listen Up Phillip      4. The Grand Budapest Hotel  3. Two Days, One Night           2. Goodbye to Language         1. Jealousy

• Flavourwire10. Snowpiercer          9. Inherent Vice                       8. Tales of a Grim Sleeper      7. Dear White People  6. Mistaken for Strangers          5. Cold in July 4. Boyhood          3. Birdman   2. The Immigrant         1. Selma

• FresnoBee10. Nightcrawler          9. Life Itself      8. Big Hero 6   7. The Lego Movie      6. Boyhood5. Wild 4. Guardians of the Galaxy      3. The Grand Budapest Hotel  2. Theory of Everything           1. Birdman

• Grantland
  10. Stranger by the Lake          9. Nymphomaniac       8. The Badadook         7. Whiplash6. Edge of Tomorrow   5. Inherent Vice     4. Land ho!      3. Citizenfour   2. Selma  1. Norte, the End of History

• TheGuardian10. Ida 9. Norte, the End of History      8. Maps to the Stars     7. Exhibition    6. Two Days, One Night           5. The Grand Budapest Hotel  4. Mr. Turner    3. 12 Years a Slave    2. Under the Skin         1. Boyhood

• InThese Times10. Under the Skin       9. Citizenfour   8. Birdman       7. Manuscripts 6. Winter Sleep5. Heli  4. Closed Curtain         3. Goodbye to Language         2. Manakamana    1. Maidan

• IonCinema10. Tip Top     9. Venus in Fur            8. Leviathan    7. We are the best        6. Listen Up Phillip5. Enemy         4. Stranger by the Lake            3. Birdman       2. Selma          1. Under the Skin

• Fandor10. Bad Hair    9. Vic + Flo Saw A Bar            8. The Dance of Reality          7. Policeman   6. Dear White People  5. Citizenfour   4. The Missing Picture 3. What Now? Remind Me  2. Strange Little Cat    1. Goodbye to Language

• TheL Magazine10. Joe                        9. Interstellar    8. Edge of Tomorrow   7. Whiplash      6. Boyhood     5. Under the Skin         4. Muppets Most Wanted         3. We are the Best       2. God Help the Girl    1. The Grand Budapest Hotel

• LittleWhite Lies10. Norte, the End of History    9. Stranger by the Lake            8. Her   7. Two Days, One Night    6. The Wind Rises        5. Under the Skin         4. Inside Llewyn Davis 3. The Grand Budapest Hotel  2. Only Lovers Left Alive          1. Boyhood

• McLeans10. Mommy     9. Birdman       8. Locke           7. Citizenfour   6. Foxcatcher  5. Ida4. Winter Sleep            3. Force Majeure         2. The Grand Budapest Hotel  1. Boyhood

• MovieCity News10. Big Eyes    9. Birdman       8. The Book of Life      7. Boyhood      6. Calvary5. Frank            4. Fury 3. Inherent Vice           2. A Most Violent Year 1. Nightcrawler

• MoveMezzanine10. The Babadook       9. Only Lovers Left Alive          8. Listen Up Phillip      7. Gone Girl6. The Immigrant         5. Two Days, One Night     4. The Grand Budapest Hotel   3. Inherent Vice      2. Boyhood      1. Under the Skin

• MovieNation10. Interstellar  9. The Drop     8. Calvary        7. Big Eyes      6. Wild 5. Belle           4. The Theory of Everything    3. Birdman       2. Whiplash      1. Boyhood

• Movies.com10. Edge of Tomorrow 9. Top Five      8. Wild 7. Selma          6. Birdman      5. The LEGO Movie    4. The Grand Budapest Hotel  3. Nightcrawler            2. Boyhood       1. Whiplash

• MTV10. Interstellar  9. The HungerGames  8. 22 Jump Street        7. Gone Girl    6. Obvious Child          7. Dawn of the Planet of the Apes       4. The Fault in Our Stars3. Guardians of the Galaxy      2. Boyhood      1. The LEGO Movie

• NewYork Daily News:
  10. The Batterd Bastards of Baseball   9. Gone Girl     8. Top Five      7. Locke   6. Whiplash      5. A Most Violent Year 4. Dawn of the Planet of the Apes       3. Selma       2. Unbroken     1. Boyhood

• TheNew York Times4. Citezenfour  3. Force Majeure         2. Foxcatcher  1. Boyhood

• Newsday10. Dear White People            9. Nightcrawler            8. Whiplash      7. Selma          6. Big Eyes5. Guardians of the Galaxy      4. Listen Up Phillip      3. The LEGO Movie    2. Birdman     1. Boyhood

• PaperMagazine10. Only Lovers Left Alive        9. Mommy       8. Lessons of the Evil   7. Maps to the Stars6. Violette        5. The Grand Budapest Hotel  4. Love is Strange        3. Cold In July   2. Boyhood      1. Witching and Bitching

• ParallaxView10. A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night 9. The Babadook         8. Manuscripts7. Ida   6. Only Lovers Left Alive          5. Under the Skin         4. Gone Girl     3. Inherent Vice  2. The Grand Budapest Hotel  1. Boyhood

• ReelViews10. Fury           9. The Wind Rises        8. Gone Girl     7. American Sniper     6. The Imitation Game                        5. Whiplash      4. Boyhood      3. Life Itself            2. Like Father, Like Son           1. Interstellar

• ReverseShot10. Maidan      9. Two Days, One Night     8. What Now? Remind Me       7. The Grand Budapest Hotel  6. Manakamana     5. The Immigrant        4. Goodbye to Language    3. Stray Dogs   2. Stranger by the Lake            1. Boyhood

• Rogerebert10. Two Days, One Night         9. Selma          8. The Immigrant         7. Birdman6. Only Lovers Left Alive          5. Ida   4. The Grand Budapest Hotel  3. Boyhood2. Inherent Vice           1. Under the Skin

• Ropeof Silicon10. The Guest  9. Edge of Tomorrow   8. The Grand Budapest Hotel  7. Nightcrawler6. Boyhood      5. Mommy       4. Gone Girl     3. Locke           2. Whiplash      1. Birdman