5TH UPDATE, Monday, 3:18 PM: Screen Gems’ thriller No Good Deed fell right in line with other distribs’ estimates over the weekend to end the three-day at $24.2M, while Warner Bros./Alcon Entertainment’s Dolphin Tale 2 just fell short of $16M to gross a total cume of $15.8M; it was a softer-than-hoped-for opening for the sequel to the 2011 family film, which bowed to $19M on its way for a $95M worldwide haul). Chernin Entertainment’s crime drama The Drop ended the weekend at No. 6 for a $4.1M take or a respectable $5,000+ per screen for Fox Searchlight; it is James Gandolfini’s last film in release. The Identical dropped like a bomb in its second weekend (-75%) falling out of the Top 20 after a dismal opening. In fact, it’s even behind Woody Allen’s Magic In The Moonlight which is its eighth week of release. It was a very soft box office weekend overall, with the one bright note coming from the star Guardians Of The Galaxy which topped $300M to become the first 2014 release to do so. The box office is still down 5.7% from 2013.

Next weekend, we have a mix of films coming into the marketplace with high hopes that audiences will start coming back to theaters. Expectations are high for the sci-fi action thriller The Maze Runner which already opened internationally to strong numbers, outpacing Divergent, which is great news for Fox which is distributing this film based on the YA novel by James Dashner. The film, which stars Dylan O’Brien from MTV’s Teen Wolf, will have the great advantage of being on all 350 IMAX screens next weekend and is tracking better than Divergent with the young male demo. It is expected to outpace R-rated The Walk Among The Tombstones, the next actioner from Liam Neeson which I hear is pretty darn good. The latest from Neeson is tracking better than Non-Stop right now which opened to $28M in February and went on to gross over $200M worldwide. Tombstones is not expected to open to that number, but with tracking in the toilet lately, anything could happen. Finally, the Jason Bateman-Tina Fey,-Adam Driver comedy This is Where I Leave You from Warner Bros. is tracking best with older females and is not expected to set the world on fire, but there’s been nothing in the marketplace for older women since Tammy.

1). No Good Deed (SONY), 2,175 theaters / 3-day cume: $24.2M / Per screen average: $11,149 / Wk 1

2). Dolphin Tale 2 (WB), 3,656 theaters / 3-day cume: $15.8M / Per screen: $4,342 / Wk 1

3). Guardians Of The Galaxy (DIS), 3,104 theaters (-117) / 3-day cume: $8.1M / Per screen: $2,610 / Total cume: $305.9M / Wk 7

4). Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (PAR), 3,273 theaters (-270) / 3-day cume: $4.8M / Per screen: $1,642 / Total cume: $181M / Wk 6

5). Let’s Be Cops (FOX), 2,755 theaters (-177) / 3-day cume: $4.37M / Per screen: $1,589 / Total cume: $73M /Wk 5

6). The Drop (FSL), 809 theaters / 3-day cume: $4.1M / Per screen: $5,074 / Wk 1

7). If I Stay (WB), 3,040 theaters (-117) / 3-day cume: $3.9M / Per screen: $1,295 / Total cume: $44.8M/ Wk 4

8). The November Man (REL), 2,702 theaters (-74) / 3-day cume: $2.8M / Per screen: $1,036 / Total cume: $22.5 / Wk 3

9). The Giver (TWC), 2,253 theaters (-323)/ 3-day cume: $2.57M / Per screen: $1,142 / Total cume: $41.2M / Wk 5

10). The Hundred-Foot Journey (DIS), 1,943 theaters (-224) / 3-day cume: $2.4M / Per screen: $1,247 / Total cume: $49.3M / Wk 6

11). When The Game Stands Tall (SONY), 2,435 theaters (-331) / 3-day cume: $2.38M / Per screen: $978 / Total cume: $26.5M / Wk 4

12). As Above, So Below (UNI), 2,283 theaters (-367) / 3-day cume: $2.1M / Per screen: $936 / Total cume: $19.1M / Wk 3

13). Lucy (UNI), 1,068 theaters (-103) / 3-day cume: $1.5M / Per screen: $1,445 / Total cume: $123.4M / Wk 8

14). The Expendables 3 (LGF), 1,302 theaters (-676) / 3-day cume: $968K / Per screen: $744 / Total cume: $38.2M / Wk 5

15). Into The Storm (WB), 1,040 theaters (305) / 3-day cume: $903K / Per screen: $869 / Total cume: $45.8M / Wk 6

16). Boyhood (IFC), 659 theaters (-116) / 3-day cume: $865K / Per screen: $1,313 / Total cume: $21.8M / Wk 10

17). Cantinflas (LGF), 424 theaters (-5) / 3-day cume: $575K / Per screen: $1,358 / Total cume: $5.6M / Wk 3

18). Finding Fanny (FIP), 121 theaters / 3-day cume: $515K / Per screen: $4,259 / Wk 1

19). Atlas Shrugged: Who Is John Galt (ATLAS), 242 theaters / 3-day cume: $461K / Per screen: $1,906 / Wk 1

20). A Most Wanted Man (RSA), 397 theaters (-24) / 3-day cume: $443K / Per screen: $1,118 / Total cume: $16.6M / Wk 8

NOTEWORTHY: 23). The Identical (FREE), 1,274 theaters (-682) / 3-day cume: 401K (-75%) / Per screen: $316 / Total cume: $2.57M / Wk 2

4TH UPDATE, Sunday, 8:55 AM: Disney’s Guardians Of The Galaxy, which as previously reported, is a box-office brute force both domestically and internationally. It becomes the first picture of 2014 to pass $300M and is still playing hard in overseas markets. Domestically, the unstoppable crowd-pleaser was still No. 3 this weekend after taking in another $8M seven weeks after its U.S. release.



3RD UPDATE, Sunday, 7:35 AM: Fox Searchlight‘s The Drop, featuring the late James Gandolfini and with a production budget of $12.6M, will end the weekend with a take of $4.2M on only 809 screens for a decent per-screen of $5,191. The Chernin Entertainment offering was the beloved actor’s last film awaiting release.

Fox Searchlight will continue to roll this one out to a wider audience as the weeks progress and plans to be in about 1,000 venues by next Friday. This one got 88% on Rotten Tomatoes. FSL’s smart distribution head Frank Rodriguez booked this pic in a combination of art houses, suburban multiplexes, urban theaters, dine-in runs and in 85 large-format theaters. “It way surpassed what we thought it was going to do,” said FSL’s Rodriguez. “We took a lot of those large formats because there was nothing else this weekend that we knew were going to take those.” That means higher ticket prices, which helped its bottom line. “This just played across the board … it did as well in the urban venues as it did on the large formats. We also got really good reviews .which helped us. We’re very happy.”



The box office crown, however, this weekend goes to No Good Deed, which Sony didn’t really screen for critics and opened it on the strength of a smart marketing campaign. It’s on track to gross $24M+. Its production budget (which doesn’t include marketing and distribution costs) was $13.8M. Sony is expecting to bring in $24.5M with a lesser percentage drop on Sunday. Others have it around $24M to $24.3M. With a heavier female audience mix, I would think this actually might hold up better during NFL Sunday whereas a male-driven film like The Drop would take a bigger percentage dip.



“It’s a stunning result for a film that we believed strongly in,” said Rory Bruer, Sony’s president of worldwide distribution. “It’s a combination of the star power, Sam Miller‘s direction and the marketing. Every spot we had on the film resonated with audiences. It was 60% female and 41% of the audience was under 30,” so the social-media-marketing aspect worked. Gotta give props to Screen Gems‘ Clint Culpepper and his marketing team on this one. Also to producer Will Packer, whose films consistently hit at the box office.



Warner Bros.‘ Dolphin Tale 2 should bring in $16.5M for the three-day weekend after a strong Saturday with the family audience looking for something to see. There hasn’t been a new family offering for a long time and won’t be until The Boxtrolls hits on Sept. 26 from Focus Features. With an A CinemaScore across the board, audiences should share positive word of mouth for Alcon Entertainment‘s sequel.

Meanwhile, the only other news is that faith-based drama The Identical dropped around 73% in its second weekend and The Hundred Foot Journey from Disney is enjoying a good multiple, sneaking into the top 10 this week. The Top Ten are as follows:

1). No Good Deed (SONY), 2,175 theaters / $8.8M Fri. / $9.78M Sat. (+11%) / $5.38M Sun. (-45%) / 3-day est. cume: $24M+ / Wk 1

2). Dolphin Tale 2 (WB), 3,656 theaters / $4.2M Fri. / $7.4M Sat. (75%) / $4.8M Sun. (-35%) / 3-day est. cume: $16.5M / Wk 1

3). Guardians Of The Galaxy (DIS), 3,104 theaters (-117) / $2.1M Fri. / $3.9M Sat. (+85%) / $2.1M Sun. (-45%) / 3-day cume: $8M / Total cume: $305.8M / Wk 7

4). Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (PAR), 3,273 theaters (-270) / $1.1M Friday / $2.3M Sat. (+98%) / $1.2M Sun. (-45%) / 3-day est. cume: $4.7M / Total cume: $181M / Wk 6

5). Let’s Be Cops (FOX), 2,755 theaters (-177) / $1.27M Fri. / $2M Sat. (+57%) / $1M Sun. (-45%) / 3-day cume: $4.3M / Total cume: $72.95M /Wk 5

6). The Drop (FSL), 809 theaters / $1.46M Fri. / $1.7K Sat. (+21%) / $967K Sun. (-45%) / 3-day cume: $4.2M / Per screen average: $5,191 / Wk 1

7). If I Stay (WB), 3,040 theaters (-117) / $1.1M Fri. / $1.8M Sat. (+60%) / $959K Sun. (-53%) / 3-day cume: $3.95M / Total cume: $44.8M/ Wk 4

8). The November Man (REL), 2,702 theaters (-74) / $837K Fri. / $1.26M (+51%) Sat. / $653K Sun. (-50%) / 3-day cume: $2.75M / Total cume: $22.5 / Wk 3

9). The Giver (TWC), 2,253 theaters (-323)/ $733K Fri. / $1.2M Sat. (+67%) / $672K Sun. (-45%) / 3-day cume: $2.6M / Total cume: $41.3M / Wk 5

10). The Hundred-Foot Journey (DIS), 1,943 theaters (-224) / $687K Fri. / $1.1M Sat. (+71%) / $584K Sun. (-50%) / 3-day cume: $2.4M / Total cume: $49.4M

NOTEWORTHY: 20). The Identical (FREE), 1,274 theaters (-682) / $132K Fri. / $159K Sat. (+19%) / $119K (-25%) Sun. / 3-day cume: 410K (-73%) / Total cume: $2.6M / Wk 2

2ND UPDATE, Saturday 11:35 PM: The Drop, the final release of late actor James Gandolfini’s career, rose into the Top Five on Saturday running slightly ahead of the R-rated buddy comedy Let’s Be Cops. The Fox Searchlight crime drama from Chernin Entertainment could end up holding onto that lead through Sunday but it’s going to be close. Quite an accomplishment since The Drop is only in 809 theaters and Let’s Be Cops is in 2,755 theaters (playing out in its fifth week). Also, as expected, Alcon Entertainment’s Dolphin Tale 2 got a boost from its core family audience on Saturday making more of a splash with a 80% increase over Friday to take in $7.7M and push its three-day estimated cume closer to $16.5M to $16.8M mark. It is in second behind Screen Gems’ No Good Deed, which is right on track with estimates and should take around $10M (or just slightly under) today finishing the weekend with around $24M.

Guardians of the Galaxy officially passed the $300M mark, which is welcome news for Disney and Marvel … and the Star Lord Chris Pratt. It takes the No. 3 position and easily passed $600M worldwide. Lastly, in the No. 4 spot is the sixth week of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, which got also got a nice bump from family audiences Saturday. After this weekend, its cume should be $181M since opening Aug. 8. That’s the Top Five in what is a soft box-office weekend. Will see you in the AM.



Amanda N’Duka contributed to this report.

1ST UPDATE, SATURDAY, 7:33 AM: As Disney/Marvel celebrates Guardians Of The Galaxy‘s $300M domestic milestone this weekend, Screen Gems is getting a nice reward from newcomer No Good Deed. The $13.8M-budgeted film from director Sam Miller is expected to pull in anywhere from $24.5M-$25M for the three-day weekend, marking producer Will Packer’s third No. 1 opening film of the year, after the success of Ride Along which bowed in January and Think Like a Man, Too this summer. Screen Gems’ No Good Deed, which also was produced by Lee Clay, stars Idris Elba and Taraji P. Henson. Elba, who has also been the lead in three No. 1 box office bows now, was in Screen Gems’ thriller Obsessed which opened to $28.6M in April 2009 and went onto gross $68.2M domestically. Henson, who was nominated for best supporting actress in Benjamin Button in 2009, is part of Packer’s Think Like A Man franchise. If this picture plays like Obsessed, it will be profitable for Sony. By the way, I saw Henson in Bernie Weinraub’s stage play Above the Fold and she gave a terrific performance.

Dolphin Tale 2 should get a nice bump from its core audiences today and tomorrow. So, with a 70% splash figured in for family moviegoing Saturday, the fish-in-the-water tale could take in over $7M today. Add that to last night’s $4.2M, and Alcon Entertainment is looking at a $15M-$16M+ three-day weekend.

The Drop , which is debuting at No. 6 this soft moviegoing weekend, is expected to gross around $4.3M to $4.9M for the three-day weekend. On only 809 screens, this $12.6M-budgeted film is having a strong rollout — thanks in part to it being the last big-screen release for the beloved actor James Gandolfini, who died last year after suffering a heart attack in a Rome hotel room. It it on track for a solid $5,800 per screen average for the weekend. Fox Searchlight, which is distributing The Drop, worked with Gandolfini before with Enough Said. That film opened only three months after his death and ended up grossing $17.5M domestically. This one is directed by Michael Roskam, whose 2011 Belgian murder drama Bullhead was nominated for the Best Foreign Language Film Oscar in 2012. Roskam makes his U.S. directorial debut with this film based on the novel by Dennis Lehane (Mystic River, Shutter Island and Gone Baby Gone). Great pairing.

Speaking of the drops, The Identical is plummeting in its second weekend, down 69% after losing 682 screens. Ouch! Here’s the Top Ten chart as it looks now:

1). No Good Deed (SONY), 2,175 theaters / $8.8M Fri. / 3-day est. cume: $24.5M to $25M+ / Wk 1

2). Dolphin Tale 2 (WB), 3,656 theaters / $4.2M Fri. / 3-day est. cume: $15M to $16M+ / Wk 1

3). Guardians Of The Galaxy (DIS), 3,104 theaters (-117) / $2.1M Fri. / 3-day cume: $7.8M to $8.3M / Total cume: $305.5M / Wk 7

4). Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (PAR), 3,273 theaters (-270) / $1.1M Friday / 3-day est. cume: $4.8M to $5.1M / Total cume: $181M / Wk 6

5). Let’s Be Cops (FOX), 2,755 theaters (-177) /$1.27M Fri. / 3-day cume: $4.3M to $4.5M / Total cume: $73M /Wk 5

6). The Drop (FSL), 809 theaters / $1.46M Fri. / 3-day cume: $4.3M to $4.9M / Per screen average: $5,800 / Wk 1

7). If I Stay (WB), 3,040 theaters (-117) / $1.1M Fri. / 3-day cume: $4M / Total cume: $44.9M/ Wk 4

8). The November Man (REL), 2,702 theaters (-74) / $835K Fri. / 3-day cume: $2.78M / Total cume: $22.5 / Wk 3

9/10). The Giver (TWC), 2,253 theaters (-323)/ $733K Fri. / 3-day cume: $2.6M / Total cume: $41.3M / Wk 5

When The Game Stands Tall (SONY), 2,435 theaters (-331) / $715K Fri. / 3-day cume: $2.5M / Total cume: $26.8M / Wk 4

NOTEWORTHY: The last installment of Atlas Shrugged, based on the seminal Ayn Rand book, opened this weekend. Here are the numbers:

Atlas Shrugged (Atlas 3), 242 theaters / 177K Fri. / 3-day cume: 530K / Per screen average: $2,194 / Wk 1

20). The Identical (FREE), 1,274 theaters (-682) / $132K Fri. / 3-day cume: 494K / Total cume: $2.65M / Wk 2

PREVIOUS, Friday 9:21 PM and 11:18 PM: Guardians of the Galaxy is going to become the first $300M grosser of 2014 this weekend after powering up August, soaring through Labor Day and resting at No. x after its seventh weekend in release to sit nicely at an expected $306M and will cross $600M worldwide for Disney/Marvel. After the weekend after Labor Day lull, audiences are slowly coming back into theaters to see Screen Gems’ smaller budgeted thriller No Good Deed which stars Idris Elba and Taraji P. Henson; it will easily take the No. 1 spot for director Sam Miller and producer Will Packer with about $24M. It received a B+ CinemaScore tonight.

Audiences in search of fresh product are also coming out for Dolphin Tale 2, which is very kid-friendly family film from Alcon Entertainment. Its core audience comes out on Saturday and Sunday and it already has an A CinemaScore which is good news for word-of-mouth. In fact, it could experience a nice boost tomorrow, but at the moment looks to take under the first installment’s $19M from 2011 with about $15M to $16M for the three-day weekend. Warner Bros. has a nice window for this film to play for the next couple of weeks before the 3-D, animated stop-motion The Boxtrolls comes out on September 26th.

Overall, its another tepid Top 10 weekend, down double-digits from last year when Insidious and The Family were in the marketplace.

No Good Deed had a strong marketing campaign from Sony and dominated the social media universe this past week but the studio didn’t seem to screen this one much which was probably a good thing since it only got a very low 8% on Rotten Tomatoes; Flixster was better though with 77% liked. Elba and Henson have a huge fan base on social media. Henson has 5.2 million Facebook fans and 2.8 million followers on Twitter and added 30,000 new page likes this past week leading up to the opening of the film, while Elba has 3.2 million FB fans and 1.2 million on Twitter with his trailer re-posts on FB nearing 100,000 as of today, according to RelishMix which tracks social engagement of the Big Three (YouTube, FB and Twitter). One of the most engaging social media campaigns the two stars got involved in was on Twitter and Instagram interactive games.

In its second weekend of release the non-opener The Identical dropped 67% in its second weekend and is only expected to sneak in with around $525K for Freestyle Releasing.

The bigger news is that Michael Roskam’s crime drama The Drop — which marks the late actor James Gandolfini’s last film in release — opened on roughly 800 screens for a strong per screen average of around $5,200. The film, which should end the weekend with a haul of around $4M, is based on the novel by Boston native Dennis Lehane whose other works include Mystic River, Shutter Island and Gone Baby Gone. The Drop was originally optioned by Chernin Entertainment and set up at Fox 2000 before Fox Searchlight came aboard and financed the film; it was shot in only 34 days. It debuted this year at the Toronto Film Festival; it also stars Tom Hardy and Noomi Rapace.

Here’s the Top Ten chart as it looks tonight:

1). No Good Deed (SONY), 2,175 theaters / $8.5M Fri. / 3-day est. cume: $24M+ / Wk 1

2). Dolphin Tale 2 (WB), 3,656 theaters / $4M Fri. / 3-day est. cume: $15M to $16M / Wk 1

3). Guardians of the Galaxy (DIS), 3,104 theaters (-117) / $2.1M / 3-day cume: $8M+ / Total cume: $306M / Wk 7

4). Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (PAR), 3,273 theaters (-270) / $1.2M Friday / 3-day est. cume: $4.9M to $5.3M / Total cume: $181M / Wk 6

5). Let’s Be Cops (FOX), 2,755 theaters (-177) /$1.26M Fri. / 3-day cume: $4.4M / Total cume: $73M+ /Wk 5

6). The Drop (FSL), 809 theaters / $1.35M Fri. / 3-day cume: $4M / Per screen average: $5,218 / Wk 1

7). If I Stay (WB), 3,040 theaters (-117) / $1.1M Fri. / 3-day cume: $4M / Total cume: $44.9M/ Wk 4

8). The November Man (REL), 2,702 theaters (-74) / $825K Fri. / 3-day cume: $2.8M / Total cume: $22.6M to $23M / Wk 3

9). When the Game Stands Tall (SONY), 2,435 theaters (-331) / $750K Fri. / 3-day cume: $2.62M / Total cume: $27M / Wk 4

10/11). The Giver (TWC), 2,253 theaters (-323)/ $720K Fri. / 3-day cume: $2.4M / Total cume: $41M+ / Wk 5

The Hundred-Foot Journey (DIS), 1,943 theaters (-224) / $700K Fri. / 3-day cume: $2.4M / Total cume: $49M / Wk 6

NOTEWORTHY: The second weekend of The Identical barely made it into the Top 20; the last installment of Atlas Shrugged, based on the seminal Ayn Rand book, opened this weekend.

19). The Identical (FREE), 1,274 theaters (-682) / $138K Fri. / 3-day cume: 526K / Total cume: $2.7M / Wk 2

17). Atlas Shrugged (Atlas 3), 242 theaters / 190K Fri. / 3-day cume: 570K / Per screen average: $2,355 / Wk 1