It’s the week that Guardians Of The Galaxy debuts, but before that film arrives to presumably dominate the box office, every other movie available is itching to get some box office licks in. Four new movies debuted at North American cinemas this past weekend, stretching from myth to modern day, dead men walking and drama. Here’s who came out on top.And whatever the Rock was cooking, it wasn’t enough to stop Scarlett Johansson from claiming the number one spot. Lucy broke first place with a $44 million take, beating other similar films such as The Bourne Legacy ($38.1 million) and Salt ($36 million). It’s a solid start to a film with a moderate budget, and the fourth Universal Pictures movie to break over $35 million on opening this year.
Meanwhile, Hercules had to settle for a lukewarm second place as it earned $29 million on opening. That’s a poor start, as 12 years ago Dwayen Johnson’s other early flick The Scorpion King managed to open with $36 million. That’s also lower than other mythic films such as Wrath of the Titans ($33.5 million) and Immortals ($32.2 million), although it is at least much better than The Legend Of Hercules ($8.8 million).
Here’s a look at how the two other new entries, And So It Goes and A Most Wanted Man, did with the rest of the box office over the weekend:
- Lucy – $44 Million
- Hercules – $29 Million
- Dawn Of The Planet Of The Apes – $16.4 Million
- The Purge: Anarchy – $9.8 Million
- Planes: Fire And Rescue – $9.3 Million
- Sex Tape – $5.9 Million
- Transformers: Age Of Extinction – $4.6 Million
- And So It Goes – $4.5 Million
- Tammy – $3.4 Million
- A Most Wanted Man – $2.7 Million
Top ten departures this week include 22 Jump Street, Maleficent and How To Train Your Dragon 2. Maleficent has been a massive success for Disney, with the Angelina Jolie starring movie closing out a nine week run with $715 million in the bank from worldwide ticket sales. 22 Jump Street improved on the original films $201 million international take with a sum total of $278 million, while How To Train Your Dragon 2 failed to live up to the original haul of the first film, ending with $424 million earned.
Last Updated: July 28, 2014
Kromas
July 28, 2014 at 13:03
I really am looking forward to Lucy.
James Francis
July 28, 2014 at 15:45
Sad to see Hercules have a poor start, but the reviews are all over the place.
Yay, though, for Lucy. It has surpassed its production budget and it is the first solid box office opener for Luc Besson as a director since Fifth Element. It’s also his best opening by a long shot – more or less matching the total opening grosses of all his other directorial releases. The closest was again Fifth Element, at $14 million. So I think Besson is having one hell of a party right now.
Skyblue
July 28, 2014 at 17:04
It is kind of strange when you think of how many movies he’s directed and/or produced and now he hits paydirt with an obscurish title like Lucy. Can’t say I saw this movie doing this well.
James Francis
July 28, 2014 at 17:56
I was also surprised, but let’s see if it lasts. The Family started fairly strong and then quickly tanked.