Box Office for August 15-17: Ninja Turtles #1 Again

The following are estimates of the box-office earnings by movies this weekend.

 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles was able to hold off three new releases, as well as hold of Guardians of the Galaxy from rebounding back to #1. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles debuted last weekend with $65 million, and dropped about 56% this weekend to $28 million. Considering mixed reviews and mixed word-of-mouth, this is a huge success for the film. So far the movie has earned $120 million, and looks to close around $150 million.

Guardians of the Galaxy fell 40% to $25 million for the weekend. It's made $225 already, and it's no surprise that it will soon surpass Captain America: The Winter Soldier to become the highest-grossing film of the year so far. It could even wind up with $280-$300 million by the end of its run.

Let's Be Cops opened to $17 million, and $26 million since it opened on Wednesday. While that is nowhere near the debuts of We're the Millers or Tropic Thunder, both of which also opened with five-day weekends in summer, it's higher than many star-driven comedies of the season. Sex Tape with Cameron Diaz and Jason Segel, Blended with Adam Sandler and Drew Barrymore, and A Million Ways to Die in the West with Seth MacFarlane and Charlize Theron all opened lower. It's likely that it will fall off the map quickly, but a $55 million total isn't out of reach.

The Expendables 3, while not expected to beat the Ninja Turtles or the Guardians, was definitely not expected to bomb as much as it did. It opened with $15 million, a far cry from The Expendables 2 two years ago. That movie was already $10 million off from the first one. An pirated copy of the film was released online in perfect condition, so many fans had already seen it. And the ones who saw it passed on a poor word of mouth.

 In fourth place, The Giver opened with a soft $12 million. In terms of science-fiction young adult adaptations, this is by no means a horrible debut. Beautiful Creatures and The Host both opened with lower last year. But seeing as The Hunger Games: Catching Fire opened with about $160 million last November, and Divergent opened with $54 million in March, there's simply not room for much else. While hugely successful, the source novel was released over 20 years ago, and interest has clearly faded.

Full Top 10

1. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles- $28 million (-56%)
2. Guardians of the Galaxy- $25 million (-40%)
3. Let's Be Cops- $17 million (debut)
4. The Expendables 3- $15 million (debut)
5. The Giver- $12 million (debut)
6. Into the Storm- $8 million (-54%)
7. The Hundred-Foot Journey- $7 million (-34%)
8. Lucy- $5 million (-42%)
9. Step Up All In- $2.6 million (-59%)
10. Hercules- $2.1 million (-63%)