Although it had to settle for third place, The Boxtrolls had a solid opening for a stop-motion animated film, earning an estimated $17.3 million. That was better than Laika Studios’ other offerings, Coraline (which opened to $16.8 million) and ParaNorman ($14 million). Meanwhile, that was slightly less than Chicken Run ($17.6 million), although that film sold far more tickets in 2000, when admission prices were not so high and 3D not prevalent. Still, stop-motion animated films tend to be a risky business venture, and recent titles like Frankenweenie and The Pirates! Band of Misfits disappointed in theaters. The other Laika Studios features finished with around four times their opening weekend, so The Boxtrolls could have a long run.
Two mild-grossing films from Warner Bros. followed in fourth and fifth place. This is Where I Leave You dropped 39% to take $7 million. While that is a decent hold for the Jason Bateman comedy-drama, the film may not be out long, given the heavy dramatic competition coming in October. With a $22.7 million total after 10 days, expect a final in the neighbourhood of $35 million.
Meanwhile, Dolphin Tale 2 dipped 46% to take fifth place and $4.8 million. With just $33.7 million in its cume after three weekends, expect a final of around $45 million, or less than two thirds what its predecessor made. Perhaps The Maze Runner and The Boxtrolls ate up much of the family drama’s audience.
In limited release, the drama The Skeleton Twins had a fine expansion to 385 theaters, finishing just outside of the Top 10 with $1.3 million. With a tally of $2.4 million so far for the Sundance fave, starring Bill Hader and Kristen Wiig, expect Roadside Attractions to keep expanding the film. Meanwhile, film festival favorite Pride, starring Bill Nighy, Dominic West and a who’s who of English actors, had a good debut, taking in nearly $85,000 from only six theaters.
In other news, Guardians of the Galaxy passed the final gross of the first Iron Man film. After nearly two months of release, it has earned $319.2 million and has spent nine weekends in the Top 10 at the box office. Of all titles in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, only The Avengers and Iron Man 3 have made more money in North America. Worldwide, the sci-fi adventure has made more than $644 million so far.
Here are the numbers for the Top 10 films at the North American box office for the weekend of September 26 through 28, 2014:
1. The Equalizer – $35 million (NEW)
2. The Maze Runner – $17.5 million ($58 million)
3. The Boxtrolls – $17.3 million (NEW)
4. This is Where I Leave You – $7 million ($22.6 million total)
5. Dolphin Tale 2 – $4.8 million ($33.7 million total)
6. No Good Deed – $4.6 million ($46.6 million total)
7. A Walk Among the Tombstones – $4.2 million ($20.9 million total)
8. Guardians of the Galaxy – $3.8 million ($319.2 million total)
9. Let’s Be Cops – $1.5 million ($79.6 million total)
10. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles – $1.5 million ($187.2 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.