Critical reaction may be mixed, but The Equalizer won over audiences handily as box office revenues continue to improve (even over the similar weekend from last year), the Denzel Washington-led thriller bringing in an estimated $35 million. With a budget of $55 million, the film is off to a good start; The Maze Runner, on the other hand, cleared a few hurdles to garner itself a mostly successful second weekend with an estimated $17.5 million, just enough to edge out close contender The Boxtrolls, which brought in an estimated $17.3 million. The Boxtrolls may be in for a rough haul despite getting positive reviews, as its budget remains unreported.
From fourth place down, no film broke $10 million in weekend revenue. Of them, the closest was This Is Where I Leave You, the dramatic comedy taking an estimated $7 million and walking into a profit, while Dolphin Tale 2 came close to breaking even with an estimated $4.8 million (but well below the success of its 2011 predecessor). No Good Deed, in the meantime, fell below Dolphin Tale 2 with an estimated $4.6 million, but has the good fortune to be closing in on four times its production costs, leaving the critically slammed thriller feeling pretty good about itself. It spoke ill for A Walk Among the Tombstones, which scored well last weekend with critics and audiences alike, but fell to seventh with an estimated $4.2 million and a rough go to make back its $28 million, which did not seem like such a battle last weekend.
Meanwhile, there is little to comment on for the bottom three. Whether winners or losers with critics, all three have been bang-up successes, with Guardians of the Galaxy continuing to add to its “highest-earning domestic film of 2014” totals with an estimated $3.8 million, Let’s Be Cops closing in on $80 million in gross totals with an estimated $1.5 million, and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles once again proving anything Michael Bay either directs or produces will win big, as an estimated $1.5 million brings the running domestic total to $187.2 million; not shabby for a film very few are willing to defend critically.
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Weekend Box Office (September 26th – September 28th)
- The Equalizer…$35 million
- The Maze Runner…$17.5 million
- The Boxtrolls…$17.3 million
- This Is Where I Leave You…$7 million
- Dolphin Tale 2…$4.8 million
- No Good Deed…$4.6 million
- A Walk Among the Tombstones…$4.2 million
- Guardians of the Galaxy…$3.8 million
- Let’s Be Cops…$1.5 million
- Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles…$1.5 million
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Seth Paul
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