Here is the Top 10:
#1: If I Stay ($25 million)
#2: Sin City: A Dame to Kill For ($16 million)
#3: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles ($15.5 million, -46%)
#4: Guardians of the Galaxy ($14.5 million, -40%)
#5: When the Game Stands Tall ($11 million)
#6: Lets Be Cops ($9.5 million, -47%)
#7: The Expendables 3 ($9 million, -43%)
#8: The Giver ($6 million, -52%)
#9: The Hundred-Foot Journey ($5 million, -31%)
#1: If I Stay ($25 million)
#2: Sin City: A Dame to Kill For ($16 million)
#3: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles ($15.5 million, -46%)
#4: Guardians of the Galaxy ($14.5 million, -40%)
#5: When the Game Stands Tall ($11 million)
#6: Lets Be Cops ($9.5 million, -47%)
#7: The Expendables 3 ($9 million, -43%)
#8: The Giver ($6 million, -52%)
#9: The Hundred-Foot Journey ($5 million, -31%)
#10: Into the Storm ($4 million, -49%)
If I Stay is tracking to be perhaps a late-summer sleeper. It earned a solid $1.1 million on Thursday night, which bodes well for the weekend. Many analysts are saying high-teens, but I'm being optimistic because these kinds of movies can break out, especially considering the strong marketing campaign (unless it turns out to be another Carrie).
Sin City: A Dame to Kill For arrives nine years after the popular original Sin City earned $85 million stateside. Tracking for this one has been iffy, but the edgy, unique tone will help it. Thursday night grosses were dismal at $480,000, but I still think this could pull in mid-teens with some older teenagers and college students available over the weekend. Robert Rodriguez definitely isn't as popular as he used to be.
When the Game Stands Tall is aiming for sports fans as well as the faith-based audience that turned God's Not Dead and Heaven is for Real into breakout hits. Sports dramas haven't been too successful this year though (Million Dollar Arm and Draft Day opened to $10 million each), so look for a number only in line with previous movies in the genre. Faith-based audiences could give it a small boost or strong legs in the coming weeks though.
Holdovers will have a bit of a hard time once again as colleges and some schools are already back in session. The films that skew older, such as The Hundred-Foot Journey and The Expendables 3, will benefit from little competition. Meanwhile, the action films Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Guardians of the Galaxy (which I am seeing this afternoon) and Into the Storm will fall in the 40-50% vicinity. Finally, Lets be Cops and The Giver may fall harder than I'm anticipating due to strong competition from Sin City and If I Stay, respectively.
