Box Office Analysis & Recap: 'No Good Deed' Beats 'Dolphin Tale 2'; 'Guardians of the Galaxy' up to $300 Million
"No Good Deed" won the movie box office this past weekend, beating out "Dolphin Tale 2" and dethroning "Guardians of the Galaxy."
After a slow summer, the fall season got off to a strong start with the Sony thriller. "No Good Deed" opened in 2,175 locations and made an estimated $24.5 million. The movie's solid result was due to the strong marketing campaign, and the fact that the studio decided to cancel all critic screenings to maintain suspense.
Another reason for the success was because stars Idris Elba and Taraji Henson have obtained a huge following throughout the past few years.
Even though the film schedule will get very crowded in the next few weeks, strong word-of-mouth could help generate good results for the next weeks.
In second place, "Dolphin Tale 2" opened to an estimated $16.5 million. The debut is a bit disappointing considering that the original 2011 "Dolphin Tale" opened with $19 million. The lower debut may have been due to the fact that the first film was in 3D, which meant higher ticket prices.
However, the sequel lacked enthusiasm and buzz as it did not seem to add anything new to the series and the huge gap between movies did not help either.
"Dolphin Tale 2" is the latest in a line of sequels to underperform. Other films this year that lacked enthusiasm included "How to Train Your Dragon 2," "Planes 2" and "Rio 2."
With a number of family friendly films coming to the marketplace over the next weeks, "Dolphin Tale 2" is unlikely to reach the $80 million, the first film made.
In third place, "Guardians of the Galaxy" became the first film of the year to reach the $300 million mark. The Marvel movie made $8.04 million and brought its gross to $305.9 million. After a slumping summer, the comic adaptation also became the first film to reach the $300 million milestone since "Frozen" back in January.
"Guardians of the Galaxy" is now slated to reach the $320 million and become the third-highest grossing Marvel film.
"Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles" earned $4.8 million and took fourth place. Despite bad reviews, the Paramount reboot continued to play strongly and brought its gross to $181 million. The film is still on track to end its run with $190 million.
In fifth place, "Let's Be Cops" brought in another $4.3 million and has made $73 million.
In sixth place, "The Drop" surprised making $4.2 million in 809 theaters. The impressive debut was due to the awards buzz and because it featured James Gandolfini's last performance. The movie also scored rave reviews after premiering at the Toronto Film Festival.
Fox Searchlight will expand the drama into 1,000 theaters next weekend and will hope to continue a surprising run with strong word-of-mouth.
In art house theaters, "Boyhood" continued to lead making another $975,000. The feature has already earned an impressive $21 million, and while IFC Films is starting to drop its theater count, the awards buzz could help it make another $4 million.
"The Skeleton Twins" debuted to an outstanding $411,000 in 15 theaters. That equals an impressive $27,400 per-theater average. The Kristen Wiig and Bill Hader comedy scored rave reviews and won the Best Screenplay award at the Sundance Film Festival. Roadside Attractions planes to expand it next weekend and then roll it out nationwide Sept. 26.
The LGBT drama "Love Is Strange" continued its solid run and made $380,000 in 102 theaters. The Sony Pictures Classics release has now made $1.2 million and the distributor will continue to expand it in the next few weeks
Arc Entertainment's "Atlas Shrugged Part III: Who Is John Galt?" bombed in 242 theaters and brought in $355,000 in its debut. In comparison, the first two movies each opened above $1.68 million. This latest installment lacked any marketing and reviews were terrible. Arc is unlikely to expand the movie after its disastrous debut.
The Weinstein Company had a solid opening with "The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby." The movie made $77,200 in four theaters, which translates to $19,300 per theater average. The Jessica Chastain and James McAvoy romance received good reviews and the Weinstein Company plans on expanding it in the following weeks. The company is also planning on releasing the three-hour version that first premiered at 2013 Toronto Film Festival.
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