Sunday, August 31, 2014

Box-Office Update: Guardians Winning Ways Continue....

 The actioner The November Man and the found footage flick As Above, So Below
were no match for  Marvel's "Guardians of the Galaxy" (My Review) over the extended Labor Day weekend...Something tells me that the studios are glad to see Summer 2014 cone to a close....


Pamela McClintock of THR:

James Gunn's Guardians of the Galaxy easily remains in the lead at the Labor Day box office despite competition from new entries The November Man, the adult-skewing spy film starring Pierce Brosnan, and micro-budgeted thriller As Above, So Below.

Although official numbers for summer 2014 won't be released until Tuesday, North American revenue for the season will barely crack $4 billion, marking an eight-year low and, when accounting for inflation, marking a 17-year low. And revenue is down 15 percent from last year's record haul of $4.75 billion, the biggest year-over-year decline that anyone can remember.

Guardians has been one of the summer's few bright spots and is winning the long holiday weekend with a three-day gross of $16.3 million and projected four-day haul of $21.2 million. It's now the top-grossing film of 2014 to date in North America, grossing $274.6 million through Sunday and eclipsing the $259.8 million earned by fellow Marvel and Disney tentpole Captain America: The Winter Soldier.

New Labor Day weekend entries As Above, So Below and The November Man are doing only modest business, coming in No. 5 and No. 6, respectively, behind Guardians, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, If I Stay and R-rated comedy Let's Be Cops. (Complete numbers for the four-day weekend will be reported Monday morning.)

From Legendary Entertainment, As Above, So Below posted a three-day weekend gross of $8.3 million for a projected four-day total in the $10 million range. The psychological thriller cost a mere $5 million to make.

As Above, So Below follows a group of explorers that discover dark forces when they dive into the catacombs that lie beneath the streets of Paris. Universal is releasing the film, which targeted younger consumers with an aggressive digital campaign.

From director Roger Donaldson, The November Man opened Wednesday to get a jump on the action. It's three-day weekend take is $7.7 million for an estimated four-day total of $9.8 million, putting its six-day debut at a projected $11.5 million.

The $20 million-plus movie, which follows an ex-CIA agent (Brosnan) who is brought back for one more mission and finds himself pitted against his former pupil, was made by The Solution Entertainment Group, Palmstar Media Capital and Merced Media Partners. Olga Kurylenko and Luke Bracey also star in November Man, which Relativity acquired for $3 million.

Poor reviews could be hurting November Man, although audiences liked it better, giving it a B+ CinemaScore. As Above, So Below earned a withering C- CinemaScore.

For the nostalgic set, Sony celebrated the 30th anniversary of Ghostbusters by releasing the classic supernatural comedy in 784 theaters. The movie's projected four-day gross is nearly $3 million.

Among indie films, Jon Favreau's Chef has crossed the $30 million mark at the domestic box office, cooking up a sweet victory for the filmmaker and Open Road Films. The movie, once again expanding nationwide over the Labor Day holiday, is projected to gross $862,058 for the four days for a total $30.4 million.

John Carney's Begin Again also took advantage of the Labor Day holiday to once again expand. The Weinstein Co. release is expected to earn a pleasing $1 million for the four-day holiday for a domestic total north of $15 million.


More Tomorrow....

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