Turtles and Guardians Hold Off Newcomers

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles was able to hold off three major newcomers last weekend (Aug. 15-17) to remain in first place with $28.52 million. In the process, Paramount Pictures’ high-profile franchise re-launch zoomed past the $100 million domestic mark over the weekend. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles was down 57 percent from the previous weekend’s debut. The film continues to exceed expectations with $117.77 million through 10 days of release. With its initial fan rush-out now behind it, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles hopes to stabilize going forward.

Michelangelo, Leonardo, Megan Fox as April O’Neil, Raphael and Donatello (L to R) in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.
(Photo: Paramount Pictures)

Also holding off the weekend’s newcomers was Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy. The blockbuster sci-fi superhero adaptation placed second with $25.12 million. Guardians of the Galaxy was down 40 percent last weekend, which is an encouraging sign for the film going forward. Guardians of the Galaxy rocketed past the $200 million domestic milestone over the weekend and has grossed a stronger than expected $222.66 million in 17 days. Guardians of the Galaxy will have no problem becoming the highest grossing release of 2014 thus far domestically.

While it debuted towards the lower end of expectations, 20th Century Fox’s Let’s Be Cops was the weekend’s top new release with a third place take of $17.81 million. Given its Wednesday release date, it was impressive that the action-comedy topped both The Expendables 3 and The Giver over the weekend. Let’s Be Cops is also performing well with its low production cost in mind. Let’s Be Cops has grossed $26.22 million through five days of release. Let’s Be Cops didn’t get rave reviews, but will still have a solid chance of holding up well going forward due in part to the lack of new comedies entering the marketplace over the next several weeks.

Lionsgate Entertainment’s The Expendables 3 landed in fourth place with a disappointing debut of $15.88 million. The third installment of the ensemble action franchise starring Sylvester Stallone opened below its already scaled back expectations and 44.5 percent below the $28.59 million start of 2012’s The Expendables 2. In addition to moviegoers clearly growing tired of the franchise, The Expendables 3 also appears to have been hurt by having been pirated online prior to its release.

The Giver rounded out the weekend’s top five with a debut of $12.31 million. The young adult sci-fi adaptation from The Weinstein Company opened on the lower end of pre-release expectations.

Holdovers Into the Storm and The Hundred-Foot Journey claimed sixth and seventh place with takes of $7.89 million and $7.18 million respectively. Warner Bros. Pictures’ Into the Storm was down a significant 55 percent from the previous weekend and has grossed $31.51 million in 10 days. Disney Entertainment’s The Hundred-Foot Journey was down 35 percent and has grossed $23.69 million over the same 10-day span. Both films are performing in line with their respective pre-release expectations thus far.

In limited release, Boyhood took in $1.99 million from 771 locations to place in eleventh among all films, while Magic in the Moonlight took in $1.79 million from 964 locations to finish in 14th place. IFC Films’ Boyhood has grossed an impressive $13.64 million to date, while Sony Pictures Classics’ Magic in the Moonlight has grossed a soft $4.62 million so far.

Mark Heckathorn

Editor-in-Chief Mark Heckathorn is a journalist, movie buff and foodie. He oversees DC on Heels editorial operations as well as strategic planning and staff development. Reach him with story ideas or suggestions at dcoheditor (at) gmail (dot) com.