By Leonard Klady Klady@moviecitynews.com

The Weekend Report

Guardians of the Galaxy rocketed back to the top of the movie going hart with an estimated $17.7 million, fending off a trio of foes. Of the freshmen, only the YA adaptation of If I Stay demonstrated any real commercial strength with a third place entry of $16.4 million. The combo of football and “inspiration” tallied $8.8 million for When the Game Stands Tall and mostly firing blanks, Sin City: A Dame to Kill For, plugged $6.3 million.

Of the frame’s exclusive debs only same-sex warmedy Love is Strange registered with a $124,000 tally from five screens. Apart from Calvary, there were no significant expansions on the alternative side.  This week’s Indian import was the more sober than tuneful Mardaani that grossed a fair $189,000 from 76 engagements.

Weekend revenues for the session climbed to roughly $120 million, marking a 20% decline from the immediate prior weekend. However it was nonetheless 9% improved from 2013 when the second weekend of The Butler staved off the rest of the field with $16.5 million and the top newcomer was Mortal Instruments: City of Bones with $9.3 million.

If I Stay had an edge thanks to the popularity of its source material and perhaps owing someting to the success of The Fault in Our Stars. Tracking reports predicted an opening as high as $20 million but ultimately it bowed on the low end of expectations. It also played almost entirely to its target audience with studio exit polls revealing demos with a decidedly female tilt of 77% and 61% of viewers aged 25-years and younger.

The latest addition to the roster of high school football saga When the Game Stands Tall performed to expectations. It’s been heavily promoted to churches, so the team could see a Sunday uptick when actual are reported. Exit polls registered a slight male tilt of 52% and an older crowd that was 70% aged 25-years and older.

The weekend shocker was clearly the Sin City sequel that pundits were anticipating opening strength of $14-16 million. Its misfire has provoked serious headscratching in light of the original’s ongoing popularity in ancillaries and the appeal of  visual stylization among a younger demographic. Its strongest pull was among 25-to-35 year olds that were largely teens when the first picture opened. The film unsurprisingly was 65% male with 75% of the audience aged 25-years old and older.

Weekend (estimates) August 22 – 24, 2014
Title Distributor Gross (avg) % chng Thtrs Cume
Guardians of the Galaxy BV 17.7 (5,250) -30% 3371 252
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Par 16.7 (4,320) -42% 3864 145.5
If I Stay WB 16.4 (5,640) NEW 2907 16.4
Let’s Be Cops Fox 10.9 (3,460) -39% 3140 45.1
When the Game Stands Tall Sony 8.8 (3,300) NEW 2673 8.8
The Giver Weinstein Co. 6.7 (2,260) -45% 3003 24.2
The Expendables 3 Lionsgate 6.6 (2,050) -58% 3221 27.5
Sin City: A Dame to Kill For Weinstein Co. 6.3 (2,170) NEW 2894 6.3
The Hundred-Foot Journey BV 5.5 (2,850) -23% 1944 32.7
Into the Storm WB 3.8 (1,610) -52% 2375 38.3
Lucy Uni 3.5 (2,000) -36% 1768 117.8
Boyhood IFC/Mongrel 1.8 (2,400) -12% 734 16.4
Magic in the Moonlight Sony Classics 1.3 (1,610) -29% 787 6.8
Dawn of the Planet of the Apes Fox 1.1 (1,530) -44% 733 204
Get On Up Uni .95 (1,640) -51% 579 28.7
A Most Wanted Man Roadside .89 (2,060) -29% 431 14.1
Hercules Par .82 (1,320) -61% 622 69.9
Step Up: All In Lionsgate .69 (730) -74% 948 13.6
What If CBS .64 (940) -25% 680 2.2
Maleficent BV .56 (1,630) 52% 344 237.4
Planes: Fire & Rescue BV .54 (920) -47% 589 56.9
Calvary Searchlight .54 (2,250) 33% 240 1.6
How to Train Your Dragon 2 Fox .51 (1,440) -12% 353 172.1
The Admiral: Roaring Currents CJ .44 (10,570) -21% 42 1.5
Transformers: Age of Extinction Par .38 (1,340) 85% 283 243.8
Weekend Total ($500,000+ Films) $113.35
% Change (Last Year) 9%
% Change (Last Week) -18%
Also debuting/expanding
Mardaani Yash Raj .19 (2,490) 76 0.19
The Trip to Italy IFC/eOne .18 (9,280) 43% 19 0.36
Love is Strange Sony Classics .12 (24,840) 5 0.12
Land Ho! Sony Classics 83,700 (1,640) 79% 51 0.36
Qu’est ce qu’on a fait au bon dieu? A-Z Films 61,400 (3,610) -46% 17 0.66
Frank Magnolia 57,200 (5,720) 256% 10 0.08
The One I Love Weinstein Co, 49,300 (4,930) 10 0.05
To Be Takei Starz 20,100 (1,340) 15 0.02
Tu dors Nicole Seville 16,800 (5,600) 3 0.02
Are You Here Millennium 9,900 (710) 14 0.01
Keyed: A Deadly Game of Sex Lies Betrayal Habakkuk 7,600 (7,600) 1 0.01
Expedition to the End of the World Argot 6,300 (6,300) 1 0.01
The Possession of Michael King FreeStyle 6,200 (1,240) 5 0.01
The Prince Film Arcade 5,800 (580) 10 0.01
Salvo Film Movement 4,600 (2,300) 2 0.01
International Market Share (Jan. 1 – July 31, 2014)
Distributor Box Office Market Share
20th Century Fox 2169.5 16.20%
Buena Vista International 1795.9 13.40%
Warner Bros. 1438.6 10.70%
Paramount International 1267.3 9.50%
Sony 846.2 6.30%
Universal Pictures International 710.1 5.30%
Lionsgate 435.3 3.20%
Toho 383.5 2.90%
Enlight 289.5 2.20%
China Film Distribution 245.3 1.80%
Studio Canal 223.7 1.70%
Bona International 206.8 1.50%
Wanda Films 194.6 1.40%
Pathe 154.9 1.20%
Le Vision Films 148.3 1.10%
Panorama 117.1 0.90%
CJ 112.9 0.80%
Misc. American Independents 598.1 4.50%
Misc. Indian 395.8 3.00%
Misc. French 358.1 2.70%
Misc. Chinese 321.4 2.40%
Misc. Other European 260.3 1.90%
Misc. Other Japanese 156.8 1.15%
Misc. British 127.4 0.95%
Misc. Eastern European 127.2 0.95%
Misc. Other Korean 126.8 0.95%
Misc. Other Asian 118.7 0.90%
Misc. Latin American 64.5 0.50%
13394.6 100%
* in millions
Top Global Grossers (Jan. 1 – Aug. 21, 2014)
Title Distributor Box Office
Transformers: Age of Extinction Par 1,056,216,536
Maleficent BV 744,908,905
X-Men: Days of Future Past Fox 744,704,729
Frozen BV 724,091,395
Captain America: The Winter Soldier BV 713,778,940
The Amazing Spider-Man 2 Sony 708,311,071
Dawn of the Planet of the Apes Fox 545,983,344
Godzilla WB 518,842,077
How to Train Your Dragon 2 Fox 497,487,430
Rio 2 Fox 495,777,172
The Lego Movie WB 471,956,435
Guardians of the Galaxy BV 443,860,186
Edge of Tomorrow WB 368,147,859
Noah Par 362,164,780
The Wolf of Wall Street * Par; Red Granite 350,418,304
300: Rise of an Empire WB 331,624,640
22 Jump Street Sony 305,098,070
The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug * WB 277,256,540
Divergent Lionsgate 276,445,658
The Fault in Our Stars Fox 275,673,613
Neighbors Uni 265,523,714
Mr. Peabody & Sherman Fox: Dmwks 253,379,783
RoboCop Sony 243,433,366
Non-Stop Uni; Studio Canal 211,077,704
Need for Speed BV; Mister Smith 205,882,387
* does not include 2013 box office
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Leonard Klady's Friday Estimates
Friday Screens % Chg Cume
Title Gross Thtr % Chgn Cume
Venom 33 4250 NEW 33
A Star is Born 15.7 3686 NEW 15.7
Smallfoot 3.5 4131 -46% 31.3
Night School 3.5 3019 -63% 37.9
The House Wirh a Clock in its Walls 1.8 3463 -43% 49.5
A Simple Favor 1 2408 -50% 46.6
The Nun 0.75 2264 -52% 111.5
Hell Fest 0.6 2297 -70% 7.4
Crazy Rich Asians 0.6 1466 -51% 167.6
The Predator 0.25 1643 -77% 49.3
Also Debuting
The Hate U Give 0.17 36
Shine 85,600 609
Exes Baggage 75,900 62
NOTA 71,300 138
96 61,600 62
Andhadhun 55,000 54
Afsar 45,400 33
Project Gutenberg 36,000 17
Love Yatri 22,300 41
Hello, Mrs. Money 22,200 37
Studio 54 5,300 1
Loving Pablo 4,200 15
3-Day Estimates Weekend % Chg Cume
No Good Dead 24.4 (11,230) NEW 24.4
Dolphin Tale 2 16.6 (4,540) NEW 16.6
Guardians of the Galaxy 7.9 (2,550) -23% 305.8
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 4.8 (1,630) -26% 181.1
The Drop 4.4 (5,480) NEW 4.4
Let's Be Cops 4.3 (1,570) -22% 73
If I Stay 4.0 (1,320) -28% 44.9
The November Man 2.8 (1,030) -36% 22.5
The Giver 2.5 (1,120) -26% 41.2
The Hundred-Foot Journey 2.5 (1,270) -21% 49.4