Box Office: 'Guardians of the Galaxy' Is No. 1 While Newcomers Disappoint
It was a disappointing weekend at the box office. On the one hand, Guardians of the Galaxy grabbed the No. 1 spot and surpassed Transformers: Age of Extinction as the highest-grossing movie of 2014 so far. On the other hand, nearly every newcomer at this weekend's box office underperformed.
But first, the good news: Guardians of the Galaxy retained the top spot at the box office with $16.3 million. With a projected Labor Day holiday gross of $21.2 million, the movie's North American gross is in excess of $274.6 million. The Marvel blockbuster saw a decline of only 5.2% from last weekend, which is impressive, considering the movie has been about for a month. Strong word of mouth appears to be carrying this every bit as much as the advertising, as it's also among the best-reviewed blockbusters of this summer, by both critics and audiences (the film received an "A" from Cinemascore audiences, and a 76 out of 100 from Metacritic).
Horror movie As Above, So Below took in $8.3 million to come in at No. 4, which is a bit low for a newcomer with as prevalent a digital ad campaign as this. Universal targeted the youth demographic with this found footage movie about a group of explorers who tap into evil forces in the catacombs underneath the streets of Paris. As Above, So Below has also had a pretty aggressive television campaign as well, which makes this an underwhelming first weekend. However, while this opening was well below expectations, the film has already exceeded its modest $5 million production budget. So yeah, silver linings!
But numbers were far less impressive for The November Man, the latest not-Bond spy thriller starring Pierce Bosnan. Opening at No. 6, the movie raked in just $7.7 million this weekend. The movie, which cost over $20 million to make, stars Brosnan as an ex-CIA agent going on one last mission to take down the pupil he trained. It's a classic spy story that should have found a stronger audience among adults, but the film just hasn't found the right foothold amid all the summer holdovers. For new movies, the opposition runs much deeper than just Guardians of the Galaxy...
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and If I Stay remain near the top of the box office, not only nipping at the heels of Guardians of the Galaxy, but also keeping newcomers from getting much higher than fourth place. Coming up on its first month since release, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles is showing considerable legs, grossing $11.8 million to come in at No. 2. The movie is trailed closely by If I Stay, which raked in $9.3 million. Both films are evidence of just what a targeted youth approach can accomplish, as audiences seem to be eating these movies up.
Did you hit up the movies this Labor Day Weekend? If so, what did you see? Sound off in the comments, and check back tomorrow for the final, updated numbers for the Labor Day Weekend!
Via: The Hollywood Reporter / Box Office Mojo
Credit: Marvel Studios