Marvel reigns supreme (again) over the weekend and the year, but the new releases continue to struggle at the box office.
In at number 1 is Guardians of the Galaxy with $16.3 million. After sitting behind TMNT for two straight weeks, it appears the staying power of Marvel has pushed Guardians back into the driver seat.
Now at $274 million domestic ($574M worldwide), Guardians of the Galaxy is the highest-grossing domestic release of the year and could hold that title depending on how Hunger Games and The Hobbit do later this year. Either way, Guardians should end up no worse than the third highest-grossing movie of the year.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles is the number 2 movie with $11.7 million. Although it was neck and neck between Turtles and Guardians, it appears the Michael Bay-produced reboot is losing steam. Even so, the film has amassed $162 million domestic and $274 million worldwide.
The number 3 film this weekend is If I Stay with $9.2 million. If I Stay held pretty well from last week, and has grossed $29 million so far. That's not a great sum, but is decent all things considered.
Coming in at number 4 is As Above/So Below (read our review) with $8.3 million. The small budget horror flick squeaked into the top 5, but didn't make as big of an impression as Universal hoped. Horror has been struggling this year, and As Above/So Below clearly wasn't going to be the one to turn things around.
Rounding out the top 5 is Let's Be Cops with $8.2 million. With no competition to speak of, Damon Wayans Jr.'s R-Rated comedy is holding well. So far, the film has grossed $57 million.
In at number 6 is The November Man (read our review) with $7.6 million, which is slightly below the average Labor Day adult release. Clearly, Pierce Brosnan's return to the action genre was not a major draw for moviegoers, and we would be surprised if this film stuck around for more than another week. After releasing this past Wednesday, The November Man is up to $9 million total.
When the Game Stands Tall is the number 7 film this weekend with $5.6 million. The "based on a true story" sports film held okay from last weekend, but didn't break the bank either. The film has grossed $16 million after two weeks.
Coming in at number 8 is The Giver with $5.2 million. The adaptation of Lois Lowry's award-winning novel has tallied a paltry $31 million after three weeks.
The number 9 film his weekend is The Hundred-Foot Journey with $4.6 million. Helen Mirren's latest continues to hold very well – most likely because the film leans a little older – and is now up to $33 million.
Rounding out the top 10 is The Expendables 3 with $3.5 million. Not much to say here, as the film continues to struggle. So far, The Expendables 3 has only made $33 million domestic, but it has grossed $83 million worldwide.
[NOTE: These are only weekend box office estimates - based on Friday and Saturday ticket sales coupled with adjusted expectations for Sunday. Official weekend box office results will be released on Tuesday, September 2nd - at which time we'll update this post with any changes.]
Source: Box Office Mojo