Global Box Office

David Fincher’s Gone Girl stuck around to claim its second consecutive top finish in this weekend box office race. The David Fincher helmed picture fended off a handful of promising new releases, ending its encore run with a $26.

Some leading stars have been fading away recently, so rapidly and so dramatically that many people in the movie industry are openly questioning if the star system model still holds and makes sense.  We’ll refrain from naming names here to protect the innocent, but on the other hand there are still those consistently prove that their mere presence pulls people into theaters, year after year.

As a summer that most studios, distributors, theater owners and anyone else involved in the film business in the North American market would like to forget has come officially to its end, Fall started on a positive note. And brought the hope that maybe things may change and that the end is not here yet.

Most times when a movie is not screened for critics, viewers should beware. That’s what Sony did with No Good Deed.

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.

The summer is officially at a close, and it’s not been one to remember. Not from a North American viewpoint, at least.

This weekend’s newcomers had a tough time claiming their places on one of the most lukewarm blocks of an already tepid summer. The top performer among this dainty crop of fresh pictures was Newline and Warner Bros.

Sly Stallone may have to rethink his battle plan after The Expendables 3 fell decidedly short of the first and second entries in the series. It was able to muster just $16.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles put its vintage charms to good use this weekend as the classic Saturday morning cartoon series reboot took first place at the domestic box office. The Paramount feature produced by hit maker Michael Bay and starring bombshell Megan Fox in her first leading role since Jennifer’s Body, surprised many observers with its $65 million North American debut.

No corner of the universe is safe from entertainment after Guardians of the Galaxy rocketed into theaters with an astonishing $94 million domestic debut. The wild success of Disney and Marvel’s big budget action-comedy was little accident.