After a pair of quiet — and that is being generous — weekends at the North American box office the multiplexes somewhat came back to life with No Good Deed, Dolphin Tale 2 and The Drop. Marvel’s cinematic marvel Guardians of the Galaxy had another solid weekend, as the film became the first to cross the $300 million mark domestically. The box office was up 55% over last weekend’s terrible numbers although it was down 14% from last year at this time.
Produced for a mere $13 million, the Sony thriller No Good Deed easily took the number one spot this weekend. The Sam Miller (Luther) directed feature stars Idris Elba, Taraji P. Henson and Kate del Castillo and tells the tale of a family’s life that is threatened by a stranger (Elba) who makes his way into their house by claiming car trouble. Despite being savaged by critics (12% on Rotten Tomatoes, 27/100 on Metacritic), audiences showed up en masse to the 2,175 screens the film opened on and contributed $24.5 million in estimated sales.
Families finally had something new to check out at theaters as well this weekend with Warner’s Dolphin Tale 2. The sequel to the popular 2011 feature reunited the first film’s director (Charles Martin Smith) with cast members Ashley Judd, Harry Connick Jr., Morgan Freeman and Kris Kristofferson. Reviews were good for the $36 million production (73% Rotten Tomatoes, 59/100 Metacritic), which earned a respectable $16.5 million from 3,656 theaters. The debut was slightly lower than the original’s $19 million.
Despite the new product in the multiplexes Guardians of the Galaxy held its ground in its seventh weekend while crossing the $300 million domestic run. Off a mere 22%, the movie earned another $8 million from 3,104 theaters. The film has earned a great $306 million so far and may work its way to $330-335 million by the time it finally winds down. Overseas, the movie has earned $305.6 million thus far.
Paramount’s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles also kept bringing in the matinee money as the Michael Bay-produced remake earned $4.8 million from 2,957 screens in its sixth weekend of release. To date, the heroes in a half shell have earned a big $181 million with an additional $139 million from overseas markets. The domestic market should wind down near the $195 million mark.
Rounding out the top five was another surprise August hit, Fox’s $17 million production Let’s Be Cops. One of the only comedic offerings available at multiplexes right now, Cops eased 23% in its fifth weekend to earn $4.3 million from 2,755 screens. To date, the R-rated comedy has earned $73 million and could finish with a little over $85 million.
Just outside the top five was the third release of the weekend, the crime drama The Drop. Opening on a mere 809 screens The Drop dropped a solid $4.2 million to land in sixth place. The Michael Roskam (Bullhead) directed feature stars Tom Hardy, Noomi Rapace and the late James Gandolfini and was written by Dennis Lehane (Mystic River, Gone Baby Gone). Reviews were strong for the Fox Searchlight release. The film scored a 88% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes and a 69/100 on Metacritic. The film’s $5,192 per screen average was the second highest in the top ten this weekend (No Good Deed’s $11,264 per screen average was first).
The remainder of the top ten was as follows:
- If I Stay (Warner) $4 million (-27%); $45 million
- The November Man (Relativity) $2.7 million (-36%); $22.4 million
- The Giver (Weinstein) $2.6 million (-23%); $41.3 million
- The Hundred-Foot Journey (Disney) $2.4 million (-22%); $49.4 million
Next weekend sees the arrival of more new product as The Maze Runner, This is Where I Leave You, Tusk and A Walk Among the Tombstones all debut in wide release. Watch for The Maze Runner and A Walk Among the Tombstones to duke it out for the number one spot.
