While the horror genre used to rule the Labor Day Weekend, audiences were not up for a scare this weekend. Continuing the dismal box office performance of scary movies this year, As Above/So Below garnered $8.3 million over its first three days. With poor audience reception (a C- CinemaScore) and a lack of buzz, expect the Paris-set thriller to be on Blu-Ray by the end of the year. Universal estimates the film will make $10 million over four days, which it will not even be one of the top 20 Labor Day openers.
Holding well in fifth place was late season success Let’s Be Cops, which dropped a mild 24% to earn $8.2 million (or $10.4 million and fourth place over the long weekend). Despite some controversy given the film’s subject matter and its proximity to the events in Ferguson – for more on that, read this terrific article from Grantland – Let’s Be Cops has been a big performer for Fox, earning $57.3 million so far. A total around $75 million looks good for the low-budget comedy.
The rest of the openers had a mixed reception. The November Man – which is an action film starring Pierce Brosnan and not a film about a presidential election, as its title would suggest – had a mild sixth place debut, earning $7.7 million over the weekend, $9.8 million over four days, and $11.4 million since its Wednesday opening. Among other Labor Day openings aimed at adults, that is much lower than The American ($16.7 million over four days) and even The Debt ($12.9 million). Expect this title to finish with $25 million or so.
Meanwhile, it was a solid limited opening for Cantinflas, a biopic of Mexico’s beloved comedy star of the same name. That film made $2.6 million in 382 theaters – earning more per theater than any title in the top 10. Lionsgate predicts a $3.3 million total over the four days.
Despite Harold Ramis’s death earlier in the year and much speculation over its next sequel, Ghostbusters had a poor 30th anniversary debut this weekend, taking in just $1.7 million from 784 theaters. That is lower than late-season re-issue openings for Raiders of the Lost Ark and Top Gun, among comparable titles.
Finally, if you enjoy reading these box office reports, please check out our examination of eight things Hollywood can learn from the 2014 summer movie season here, as it dives into all of this in a little more detail.
Here are the box office estimates for the Top 10 films at the North American box office, the weekend of August 29 through 31, 2014:
1. Guardians of the Galaxy – $16.3 million ($274.6 million total)
2. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles – $11.8 million ($162.4 million total)
3. If I Stay – $9.3 million ($29.8 million total)
4. As Above/So Below – $8.3 million (NEW)
5. Let’s Be Cops – $8.2 million ($57.3 million total)
6. The November Man – $7.7 million ($9.4 million total)
7. When the Game Stands Tall – $5.7 million ($16.3 million total)
8. The Giver – $5.3 million ($31.5 million total)
9. The Hundred-Foot Journey – $4.6 million ($39.4 million total)
10. The Expendables 3 – $3.5 million ($33.1 million total)
NOTE: These numbers are weekend estimates based on Friday and Saturday’s estimated takes. Actual numbers for the three-day weekend are reported on Monday afternoon. Meanwhile, actual numbers for the four-day weekend will come out on Tuesday.
