Weekend Wrap-Up: Holdovers Help, But Summer Stops

August 19, 2014

Let’s Be Cops poster

Only one of the three wide releases this past weekend did reasonably well over the weekend. Despite earning reviews that were flirting with single-digits, Let's Be Cops was the best of the new releases this weekend earning an acceptable opening. On the other hand, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Guardians of the Galaxy held on well earning first and second places over the weekend. The overall box office plummeted from last weekend down 23% to $143 million, but this is still 2.5% more than the same weekend last year. Year-to-date, 2014 is still behind 2013, even though the gap shrunk a little bit at 4.5% or $6.75 billion to $7.07 billion.

As expected, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles remained in first place, but it held on a little better than expected. The film fell 57% to $28.52 million over the weekend for a total of $117.77 million after two. The weaker than expected new releases is likely the reasons it managed to avoid a 60% drop-off. It certainly wasn't its reviews, which are terrible. The film still needs a little help to break even, but it will get there either early in the home market run or perhaps sometime during its international run. This also depends on merchandizing numbers, which is something that will never be made public, not unless the studio decides to brag.

Guardians of the Galaxy held on just a little better than expected earning second place with $25.12 million over the weekend for a total of $222.66 million It reached $200 million during its 15th day of release. At this pace, the film will reach $250 million soon, possibly as soon as this time next week. By the time summer officially ends on Labor Day, it will be the biggest hit of the year, and will remain there for two months.

Let's Be Cops fell faster than expected after its Wednesday opening pulling in $17.81 million over the weekend for a total of $26.22 million after five days of release. This film cost just $17 million to make, so this is a great start. Unfortunately, the film's reviews are just 12% positive, so its legs will likely not be very long.

The Expendables 3 only managed fourth place with $15.88 million over the weekend. This is less than half of what the first movie made during its opening weekend. This drop-off could be because of the bad reviews, the PG-13 rating, or the internet leak. Most likely, it was a combination of the three.

The Giver rounded out the top five with $12.31 million, which was within a rounding error of predictions. This is not enough to think it will be turned into a franchise, especially if the weak reviews turn into short legs. That said, at least it wasn't a terribly expensive movie to make.

Looking in on the sophomore class, Into the Storm fell 55% to $7.89 million over the weekend for a total of $31.51 million after ten days of release. It will likely finish with less than $50 million, which is not a good result, but not as bad as it could have been. The Hundred Foot Journey was right behind with $7.18 million over the weekend for a total of $23.69 million after ten days of release. It fell just 35% during its sophomore stint, which means it might last long enough to become a midlevel hit, given its production budget. Step Up All In suffered the worst fall down 59% to $2.66 million over the weekend for a total of $11.81 million after two. Had it opened with that amount, it would have been in a virtual tie for worst opening in the franchise.

There were a couple of more notes for the past week. Just before the weekend, Lucy topped $100 million, which is a milestone most people didn't think it would reach. Meanwhile during the weekend, Godzilla became the ninth film released in 2014 to surpass the $200 million mark.


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Filed under: Weekend Estimates, Guardians of the Galaxy, Godzilla, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, The Hundred-Foot Journey, The Expendables 3, The Giver, Into the Storm, Lucy, Step Up All In, Let’s Be Cops, Step Up