The Guardians of the Galaxy ended on top, new entries were a dismal failure and international territories once again saved the day. In what is becoming the sad refrain of the waning summer, panic threatened to take hold in Hollywood as the Box Office still failed to show a measurable pulse and studio executives are perhaps seriously wondering if Americans have simply stopped spending their entertainment dollars in darkened movie theaters.
Readers might be excused believing they hit the wrong button and that they are reading last week’s report, but this piece is actually being written as Labor Day weekend comes to an end. And indeed, history seems to repeat itself. On the domestic front, the hopes for this frame were riding on the faith-based entry The Identical squarely aimed at an audience that has been reliably delivering. The film’s premise is that Elvis’s twin brother is still alive, and the cast features recognizable stars such as Seth Green, Ashley Judd and Ray Liotta. The Identical also had a wide release in 1,956 theaters. With all that, it only collected a dismal $1.9 million, or $1,000 per theater. Paramount’s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles got $6.5 million on its fifth weekend, for a domestic total of $174.65 million. New Line’s If I Stay added $5.75 million, for a total of close to $40 million. Let’s Be Cops held at $5.4 million on weekend number 4. Pierce Brosnan saw his November Man stopping at just $4.2 million, for a total of less than $18 million. And so Guardians was number one, again, which means that this is the first Marvel movie to top the domestic charts for four weeks straight. It added $10.16 million, which also means its domestic total is now close to $300 million and that it has topped last year’s Man of Steel. Worldwide Galaxy was number 2, behind Lucy. But there are no reasons to complain: its cumulative total stands at $586 million, with Japan and China still to be added in the next few weeks. Whereas the North-American box office witnessed a drop of 23% from a year ago and with a total of $64 million gave us the lowest tally in over a decade, internationally things were up 18%. Number one Lucy’s overseas grosses are now past the $300 million mark. The Scarlett Johansson’s film delivered $6.2 million in Taiwan, Korea alone brought $7 million. It was number 2 in the UK, Germany, Mexico and Brazil, with over $2 million each. And it had number one debuts in Portugal, Singapore, Slovenia, Sweden, Ukraine, Israel and New Zealand. Japan added $1.5 million and next week Lucy is travelling to Russia, Colombia
and Norway.
On the world stage Guardians of the Galaxy came in second place, adding $20.7 million for a total of $237 million, exceeding the global grosses of Thor and Captain America: The First Avenger. $37 million have come from the U.K., $34 from Russia, $18 from Mexico and as much from Australia. Third place went to the third installment of Expendables, which opened in China with a $11.5 million weekend and has now reached a worldwide cume of $125 million. Also Hercules was able to still flex muscles in several markets, doing particularly well in Brazil, Germany, Spain and Colombia. It stands at an international total of $123 million, with Japan and China still to open. Dawn Of The Planet Of The Apes was number four internationally, followed by Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. How to train your Dragon 2, in the meantime, managed to snatch an extra $3 million, enough to pass the $600 million global mark.
Next week Into The Storm, Divergent and Lucy will debut in China, whereas The Boxtrolls will test the UK and Mexico markets. And then there is that other territory, the U.S.: where Morgan Freeman and Ashley Judd will reunite for A Dolphin Tale 2.
Lorenzo Soria