Weekend Wrap-Up
Denzel Propels Equalizer to Top of Weekend Box Office
By John Hamann
September 28, 2014
Fifth is Dolphin Tale 2, which finally buoys up above No Good Deed and A Walk Among The Tombstones – but not by much. In its third weekend, this slight disappointment earned $4.8 million, off 45% compared to last weekend. The $36 million Warner Bros. sequel has now pulled in $33.7 million, and while it's going to match its production budget, it won’t clear it by much domestically. The first Dolphin Tale earned $23 million outside of North America, and will need to do at least that for Warner Bros. to see a profit.
No Good Deed plunged (again) this weekend, because holdover thrillers were decimated with the arrival of The Equalizer. After a strong $24.3 million open, No Good Deed fell 60% last weekend, and it dropped another 53% this weekend, earning only $4.6 million. Still, this one cost only $13.2 million and has a gross so far of $46.6 million, so any worries about profit went away a long time ago.
Seventh goes to the Liam Neeson semi-miss A Walk Among the Tombstones. After a so-so debut of $12.8 million, the Universal release got hammered this weekend against a Denzel Washington film, earning only $4.2 million and falling a disastrous 67%. The good news is that this one cost only $28 million, a number it may reach domestically, with the studio then hoping for a strong international showing. On the domestic side, A Walk Among the Tombstones has earned $4.2 million.
Eighth goes to our old friend Guardians of the Galaxy, now in its ninth weekend of release. The Marvel flick earned $3.8 million and was off 28%, but these weekends are more now about where it finishes historically. With a domestic gross of $319.2 million, Guardians passes more iconic films, including Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull ($317.1 million), Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone ($317.6 million), and Iron Man ($318.4 million). It's just two more weekends until Guardians opens in China, where it will add to its $325 million overseas take.
Ninth is Let’s Be Cops, which will thankfully be gone after this weekend. This weekend, its seventh, Let’s Be Cops earned another $1.5 million, and brings the total up to $79.6 million for this domestic hit. Tenth is Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, which earned $1.4 million and now has a cumulative total of $187.2 million.
Overall, the box office continued to stay at least close to last year’s totals, thanks to Denzel’s performance with The Equalizer. A year ago, Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs 2 was on top with $34 million, leading the top 12 films to $95.7 million. This year, the top 12 was close, pulling in $99.5 million.
Next weekend, things could get really interesting. We will have the second weekend of both The Equalizer and The Boxtrolls, two films that could hold decently. Openers include Gone Girl, the much-marketed Ben Affleck thriller from uber-director David Fincher; Annabelle, the prequel to The Conjuring, which opened to $41.9 million in 2013; and the wild card may be Left Behind, the faith based blockbuster with Nic Cage, which could go down in flames, cross over, or be so bad that it’s funny – either one works for me.
| 1 |
The Equalizer |
The Weinstein Co. |
$35,000,000 |
New |
$35,000,000 |
| 2 |
The Maze Runner |
Fox |
$17,500,000 |
- 46% |
$58,018,300 |
| 3 |
The Boxtrolls |
Focus Features |
$17,250,000 |
New |
$17,250,000 |
| 4 |
This Is Where i Leave You |
WARNER BROS. |
$7,010,000 |
- 39% |
$22,557,000 |
| 5 |
Dolphin Tale 2 |
WARNER BROS. |
$4,835,000 |
- 45% |
$33,665,000 |
| 6 |
No Good Deed |
|
$4,600,000 |
- 53% |
$46,623,000 |
| 7 |
A Walk Among the Tombstones |
Universal |
$4,233,840 |
- 67% |
$20,871,345 |
| 8 |
Guardians of the Galaxy |
Disney |
$3,789,000 |
- 28% |
$319,192,000 |
| 9 |
Let's Be Cops |
Fox |
$1,515,000 |
- 44% |
$79,627,900 |
| 10 |
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles |
Paramount |
$1,450,000 |
- 45% |
$187,182,000 |
| 11 |
The Skeleton Twins |
Roadside Attractions |
$1,250,000 |
+ 189% |
$2,350,000 |
| 12 |
The Drop |
FOX SEARCHLIGHT |
$1,050,000 |
- 49% |
$9,645,700 |
| |
Also Opening/Notables |
| |
The Song |
Samuel Goldwyn |
$600,000 |
New |
$600,000 |
| |
Mas Negro Que La Noche |
Lionsgate |
$550,000 |
New |
$550,000 |
| |
Pride |
Lionsgate |
$84,791 |
New |
$84,791 |
| |
The Two Faces of January |
Magnolia |
$40,000 |
New |
$40,000 |
| |
Two Night Stand |
Eone |
$14,171 |
New |
$14,171 |
| |
Advanced Style |
Bond/360 |
$6,500 |
New |
$6,500 |
| |
The Little Bedroom |
Cinema Libre |
$4,000 |
New |
$4,000 |
| |
Tusk |
A24 |
$276,586 |
- 67% |
$1,411,122 |
| |
The Guest |
Picturehouse |
$50,000 |
- 41% |
$200,000 |
| |
Hector And the Search For Happiness |
Relativity |
$200,000 |
+ 390% |
$252,481 |
| |
Art And Craft |
Oscilloscope |
$22,089 |
- 4% |
$52,118 |
| |
Tracks |
Weinstein Co. |
$73,240 |
+ 240% |
$105,387 |
| |
Keep On Keepin' On |
Radius/TWC |
$5,589 |
- 57% |
$22,126 |
| |
Not Cool |
Starz Digital Media |
$26,000 |
+ 152% |
$45,000 |
| |
My Old Lady |
Cohen Media |
$575,000 |
+ 15% |
$1,500,000 |
| |
The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby |
Weinstein Co. |
$93,900 |
- 47% |
$436,906 |
| |
If I Stay |
Summit Entertainment |
$937,000 |
- 49% |
$49,133,000 |
| |
The Hundred-foot Journey |
Disney |
$613,000 |
- 46% |
$52,598,000 |
|
Box office data supplied by Exhibitor Relations
|
Continued:
1
2
3
|
|
|
|
Print this column
