Disney's Guardians of the Galaxy again led the box office last weekend as movie ticket sales tumbled to the lowest level in 13 years during a traditionally slow weekend.
The superhero film collected $10.3 million in U.S. and Canadian theaters, racking up its fourth win, the most of any film this year, Rentrak Corp. said Sunday. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, from Viacom Inc. s Paramount Pictures, placed second with $6.5 million in its fifth week.
"Ticket sales for all movies were $65 million, the weakest weekend total since Sept. 21-23, 2001," said Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst at Rentrak, on Sunday. "Sales followed the typical slowdown that occurs after the U.S. Labor Day holiday," he said. Also, there were no new breakout releases.
"The sky is not falling," Dergarabedian said. "Summer was down almost 15 percent, so it's not so surprising that the transition to fall is a little slow."
Guardians of the Galaxy is the top-grossing film of the year, with about $295 million in domestic ticket sales. With two other films in 2014's top five -- Captain America: Winter Soldier and Maleficent, -- Disney ranks second among studios to 2oth Century Fox Inc., and is up 6.2 percent for the year, according to Box Office Mojo.
"Guardians is benefiting huge from its late-summer release date," Dergarabedian said. "The movie was positioned perfectly to take advantage of the much less crowded and competitive time frame and the results speaks for themselves."
Captain America and The Lego Movie each led the domestic box office three weekends this year, he said.
Worldwide, as of Sept. 4, Guardians of the Galaxy had generated $560 million in ticket sales since it opened on Aug. 1, eighth behind the leader, Transformers: Age of Extinction, as well as films including Maleficent and Captain America, according to Box Office Mojo. The tally is set to rise after Guardians opens in Japan later this month and in China on Oct. 10.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles also benefited from a late-summer release, Dergarabedian said. The film has been in theaters since Aug. 8. So far, Paramount Pictures reboot of the shelled comic book quartet has grossed about $175 million, according to Boxoffice.com.
Warner Bros. teenage drama If I Stay garnered about $5.6 million in ticket sales, bringing its total to $39.5 million, Rentrak said. Time Warner Inc. is third among film studios this year, down 15 percent, according to Box Office Mojo. Warner Bros. said last week it plans to eliminate an unspecified number of jobs.
The faith-based new release The Identical from Freestyle Releasing placed 12th with about $1.6 million in ticket sales. In the movie, actors Ray Liotta and Ashley Judd portray evangelist Reece Wade and his wife, Louise. The film follows identical twin brothers born into a poor family during the Great Depression.
One of the brothers, both played by Blake Rayne, is adopted by the Wades, while the other becomes a rock 'n' roll star. The film, by first-time director Dustin Marcellino, received positive reviews by only 4 percent of critics polled by Rottentomatoes.com.
Paramount Pictures' Forrest Gump grossed about $405,000 in its limited re-release in Imax theaters.
The Fox comedy Let's Be Cops starring Damon Wayans Jr. and Jake Johnson slid into third place with $5.6 million, bringing its total to $66.8 million after four weeks at theaters.
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
The top 20 movies at U.S. and Canadian theaters Friday through Sunday, followed by distribution studio, gross, number of theater locations, average receipts per location, total gross and number of weeks in release, as compiled Monday by Rentrak, are:
Guardians of the Galaxy, Disney, $10,357,345, 3,221 locations, $3,216 average, $294,765,199, 6 weeks.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Paramount, $6,506,688, 3,273 locations, $1,988 average, $174,653,217, 5 weeks.
Let's Be Cops, 20th Century Fox, $5,568,871, 2,932 locations, $1,899 average, $66,766,954, 4 weeks.
If I Stay, Warner Bros., $5,555,244, 3,157 locations, $1,760 average, $39,468,624, 3 weeks.
The November Man, Relativity Media, $4,307,680, 2,776 locations, $1,552 average, $17,978,019, 2 weeks.
As Above, So Below; Universal, $3,854,425, 2,650 locations, $1,454 average, $15,707,170, 2 weeks.
The Giver, The Weinstein Co., $3,421,064, 2,576 locations, $1,328 average, $37,665,059, 4 weeks.
When the Game Stands Tall, Columbia, $3,410,019, 2,766 locations, $1,233 average, $23,200,735, 3 weeks.
The Hundred-Foot Journey, Disney, $3,146,462, 2,167 locations, $1,452 average, $45,614,544, 5 weeks.
Lucy, Universal, $1,955,570, 1,171 locations, $1,670 average, $121,212,955, 7 weeks.
The Expendables 3, Lionsgate, $1,822,039, 1,978 locations, $921 average, $36,719,858, 4 weeks.
The Identical, Freestyle Releasing, $1,587,137, 1,956 locations, $811 average, $1,587,137, 1 week.
Into the Storm, Warner Bros., $1,467,371, 1,345 locations, $1,091 average, $44,569,242, 5 weeks.
Boyhood, IFC Films, $1,152,559, 775 locations, $1,487 average, $20,474,336, 9 weeks.
Cantinflas, Lionsgate, $1,064,752, 429 locations, $2,482 average, $4,791,597, 2 weeks.
Sin City: A Dame to Kill For, The Weinstein Co., $691,410, 1,204 locations, $574 average, $12,908,297, 3 weeks.
Magic in the Moonlight, Sony Pictures Classics, $631,060, 530 locations, $1,191 average, $9,182,507, 7 weeks.
Ghostbusters, Columbia, $590,582, 708 locations, $834 average, $224,379,133, 1,579 weeks.
A Most Wanted Man, Roadside Attractions, $573,563, 421 locations, $1,362 average, $15,920,652, 7 weeks.
How to Train Your Dragon 2, 20th Century Fox, $543,504, 666 locations, $816 average, $174,725,162, 13 weeks.
MovieStyle on 09/12/2014