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.

Guardians of the Galaxy came in first again last weekend for the third weekend in a row. (Photo: Marvel)

hermione and ron anime sex

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.

Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy took $22.91 million over the four-day weekend holiday (Aug. 29-Sept. 1) to lead the box office for a second weekend in a row. In the process, the blockbuster sci-fi superhero adaptation became the highest grossing release of 2014 thus far domestically. Guardians of the Galaxy has grossed $281.20 million through 32 days of release and will continue to distance itself from the $259.77 million take of its next nearest neighbor Captain America: The Winter Soldier. Over the four-day weekend, Guardians of the Galaxy was up 29 percent over the previous three-day weekend. The film grossed $17.08 million over the three-day period last weekend.

Guardians of the Galaxy held onto first place for the second weekend in a row, beating out two new releases. (Photo: Marvel)

While it didn’t have the greatest hold this weekend by Labor Day weekend standards, Paramount Pictures’ Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles still held steady in second place over the four-day weekend with $15.62 million. The successful franchise re-launch was down 7 percent from the previous weekend’s three-day period. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles continues to exceed expectations with a 25-day take of $166.28 million. The film took in $11.92 million over the three-day weekend.

Warner Bros. Pictures’ If I Stay hung onto third place with a four-day take of $11.77 million. That represented a 25 percent decline from the previous weekend. If I Stay continues to perform towards the lower end of expectations with $32.33 million in 11 days. The film is performing well given its modest price tag The film grossed $9.31 million over the three-day period.

Let’s Be Cops placed in fourth with a four-day gross of $10.37 million. 20th Century Fox’s low-budget action comedy was down a solid 4 percent from the previous weekend. Let’s Be Cops surpassed the $50 million mark last weekend and is now on the verge of reaching the $60 million mark with a 20-day take of $59.49 million. The film took in $8.29 million over the three-day period.

Universal Pictures’ As Above/So Below debuted in fifth place over the four-day weekend with $10.28 million. The low-budget horror film opened on the low end of pre-release expectations. As Above/So Below took in $8.63 million over the three-day weekend.

The November Man opened in sixth with a four-day take of $10.11 million. There is a history of new films aimed at adults over-performing during Labor Day weekend, but Relativity Media’s action thriller starring Pierce Brosnan opened in line with expectations. The six-day total for The November Man stands at $11.79 million. The November Man grossed $7.91 million over the three-day weekend.