It was a relatively slow Independence Day weekend at the box office, which left room for a repeat at the top spot.
In fact, this July 4th was the weakest the holiday weekend has been since 1999, when Will Smith’s notorious box office bomb Wild Wild West opened to a tepid $27 million. Moreover, the weak July 4th weekend – usually one of the bigger weekends of the entire year – puts 2014 on track for a lower overall summer total when compared to last year. Not to mention how this year will compare to next year’s summer, which looks to be a potential record breaker thanks to The Avengers: Age of Ultron. Now onto the top 10.
In at number 1 once again is Transformers: Age of Extinction with $36.4 million. Michael Bay’s latest bombastic blockbuster dropped 64% in its second weekend and is trailing the previous two films’ pace. Still, at $174 million domestic and $575 million worldwide, Age of Extinction has made more than enough money to justify additional entries in the franchise.
Coming in at number 2 is Tammy (read our review) with $21.7 million ($32 million since Wednesday). Melissa McCarthy’s latest comedy didn’t open quite as strong as her previous features, but it did well enough given the circumstances. Tammy won’t end up besting any of this year’s top comedies like Neighbors or 22 Jump Street, mind you, but for an R-rated comedy with an admittedly obtuse premise, Tammy should do fine in the long run.
Deliver Us From Evil (read our review) comes in at number 3 with a disappointing $9.5 million ($15M 5-day). Thus far the year has not been kind to the horror genre, and despite a strong cast and proven director, Deliver Us From Evil couldn’t overcome that trend. With genre fatigue clearly setting in, can horror bounce back in 2014?
The number 4 film this weekend is 22 Jump Street with $9.4 million. Channing Tatum and Jonah Hill’s big budget comedy sequel has done extremely well over the past 4 weeks, earning $158 million so far.
Rounding out the top 5 is How to Train Your Dragon 2 with $8.75 million. Despite overwhelmingly positive reviews, DreamWorks’ animated sequel has only pulled in $140 million against a reported $145 million budget. And even with a worldwide total of $292M, it’s hard not to view How to Train Your Dragon 2 as a disappointment.
In at number 6 is Earth to Echo (read our review) with $8.25 million ($13.5M 5-day). With a cast of unknown young actors, Earth to Echo wasn’t expected to break the bank, but even then the film’s opening weekend total is lower than pre-weekend projections. The film could hold well given its family-friendly premise, but chances are Earth to Echo will finish with a disappointing total.
Coming in at number 7 is Maleficent with $6.1 million. Disney’s live-action adaptation is still doing solid business well into its 6th weekend, and has grossed $213 million domestic thus far. The film is doing even better business worldwide, having tallied $630 million total.
The number 8 film this weekend is Jersey Boys with $5.1 million. Clint Eastwood’s musical came and went without making so much as a dent in the box office, and has only grossed $36 million.
Think Like a Man Too is the number 9 film with $4.9 million. The Kevin Hart-led comedy continued its steep decline in its third weekend, dropping another 50%. With $57 million thus far, Think Like a Man Too is by no means a failure, but it will finish short of its predecessor’s $91 million total.
Rounding out the top 10 is Edge of Tomorrow with $3.6 million, which brings the Tom Cruise sci-fi flick’s domestic total up to $90 million. As we’ve mentioned before, Edge of Tomorrow might not have hit with domestic audiences, but worldwide the film is doing just fine with $339 million total.
[NOTE: These are only weekend box office estimates – based on Friday and Saturday ticket sales coupled with adjusted expectations for Sunday. Official weekend box office results will be released on Monday, July 7th – at which time we’ll update this post with any changes.]
