Movie

Three totally different new movies 'The Expendables 3', 'Let's Be Cops' and 'The Giver' failed to take the top spot this weekend.

• Aug 18, 2014

AceShowbiz - New entries this week could not dethrone "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles" on domestic Box Office. "The Expendables 3" in particular, flopped on its first weekend, despite its heavy promotion and its stellar cast list.

"TMNT" ruled the box office with approximately $28.4 million, bringing in a total domestic gross of $117.6 million. "Guardians of the Galaxy" took the runner-up position in its third week, taking in an estimated $24.7 million over the weekend for a total of $222.3 million.

At the third place, "Let's Be Cops" raked in approximately $17.7 million over the weekend for a five-day debut of $26.1 million. The critically-panned comedy opened on Wednesday, August 13. "We know how this film plays, critics be damned. People enjoy this movie," Chris Aronson, head of domestic distribution for 20th Century Fox, said.

"The Expendables 3" landed at the fourth place with an estimated $16.2 million. Its previous installments did much better on the box office, making the third one the worst of the franchise. "The Expendables" debuted to $34.8 million in August 2010, while "The Expendables 2" debuted to $28.6 in August 2012. However, the franchise has been leaning on the international income. For comparison, the second movie gained $220.4 million overseas and only $85 million in North America.

"The good news is the A- CinemaScore. The folks that are getting to see it are really enjoying it. I think we're in a good place as far as the older audience coming out over a period of time," Lionsgate distribution chief Richie Fay said. Moviegoers over the age of 25 made up 66 percent of the audience this weekend.

Meanwhile, "The Giver" earned less than expected with approximately $12.8 million. Starring Jeff Bridges and Meryl Streep among others, it failed to follow other successful young-adult novel adaptations such as "The Hunger Games" and "Divergent".

Erik Lomis, head of theatrical distribution for the Weinstein Co., said, "I don't think there's young-adult fatigue. This is a different movie. This has got Meryl Streep and Jeff Bridges in it, and it's much more a thinking person's movie as well. It's not the action piece some of these other franchises are. You'd love to have a 'Hunger Games', but this is not 'Hunger Games'. This is something different."

1. "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles" - $28.4 Million
2. "Guardians of the Galaxy" - $24.7 million
3. "Let's Be Cops" - $17.7 million
4. "The Expendables 3" - $16.2 million
5. "The Giver" - $12.8 million
6. "Into the Storm (2014)" - $7.7 million
7. "The Hundred-Foot Journey" - $7.1 million
8. "Lucy" - $5.3 million
9. "Step Up All In" - $2.7 million
10. "Boyhood" - $2.2 million