Box Office Ratings Stagnant Going Into Fall
Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy took in $10.36 million over the weekend (Sept. 5-7) to remain in first place at the box office. The blockbuster sci-fi superhero adaptation has now led the box office for three consecutive weekends and for four of the past six weekends. Guardians of the Galaxy was down 39 percent from the Labor Day weekend’s three-day frame, which represents a solid hold for the weekend after holiday. The film continues to benefit from very strong word of mouth and was also aided by the limited number of new major releases entering the marketplace last weekend. Guardians of the Galaxy has grossed a massive $294.77 million in 38 days, which leaves the film just $5.23 million away from becoming the first release of 2014 to reach the $300 million domestic mark.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles held steady in second place with $6.51 million. Paramount Pictures’ successful franchise re-launch was down 45 percent from the previous weekend’s three-day performance. While its box office run is slowing down, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles continues to exceed expectations in a very big way with $174.65 million through 31 days.
Let’s Be Cops inched past If I Stay to land in third with $5.569 million. The two films were separated by only $13,627 for the frame. 20th Century Fox’s low-budget action comedy held up nicely last weekend, as it was down just 33 percent. The 26-day total for Let’s Be Cops stands at $66.77 million. Let’s Be Cops continues to be aided from strong word of mouth and from the current lack of new comedies in theaters.
Warner Bros. Pictures’ If I Stay followed in fourth with $5.556 million. The low-budget drama starring Chloë Grace Moretz was down 40 percent from the previous weekend. If I Stay has grossed $39.47 million in 17 days, which is in line with pre-release expectations and represents a solid performance with the film’s cost in mind.
Relativity Media’s The November Man and Universal Pictures’ As Above/So Below claimed fifth and sixth place with respective takes of $4.31 million and $3.85 million. The November Man was down 46 percent from the previous weekend, while As Above/So Below fell 55 percent. Respective total grosses stand at $17.98 million for The November Man in 12 days and at $15.71 million for As Above/So Below in 10 days.
Freestyle Releasing’s The Identical, the weekend’s only new wide release, debuted with just $1.59 million to place in 12th. The faith-based drama was off to a very soft start, especially considering that the film was only able to manage a per-location average of $811 from 1,956 locations. The poor performance of The Identical is in sharp contrast to the strong performance of Freestyle’s God’s Not Dead earlier this year.
Paramount’s IMAX re-issue of Forrest Gump also failed to make much of an impact at the box office last weekend. The re-issue of the 1994 blockbuster starring Tom Hanks grossed $381,654 from 337 locations. That gave the film a lackluster per-location average of $1,133 for the period. The lifetime unadjusted domestic gross for Forrest Gump now stands at $330.08 million.
This Week | Last Week | Movie | Weekend Gross | Cumulative Gross | Weeks |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 1 | Guardians of the Galaxy | $10.36M | $294.77M | 6 |
2 | 2 | Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles | $6.51M | $174.65M | 5 |
3 | 4 | Let’s Be Cops | $5.57M | $66.77M | 4 |
4 | 3 | If I Stay | $5.56M | $39.47M | 3 |
5 | 6 | The November Man | $4.31M | $17.98M | 2 |
6 | 5 | As Above/So Below | $3.85M | $15.71M | 2 |
7 | 8 | The Giver | $3.42M | $37.67M | 4 |
8 | 7 | When the Game Stands Tall | $3.41M | $23.20M | 3 |
9 | 9 | The Hundred-Foot Journey | $3.15M | $45.61M | 5 |
10 | 11 | Lucy | $1.96M | $121.21M | 7 |
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.