The Michael Bay-produced live-action Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles topped the box office for a second weekend in a row as it fell 57% and earned an estimated $28.4 million.  James Gunn’s Guardians of the Galaxy dropped just 41% in its second weekend as it earned $24.7 million and drove its domestic total to $222 million after just 17 days.  But The Expendables 3 disappointed as it opened with just $16.2 million.  After two weeks of stellar gains, the box office was essentially flat from the same weekend a year ago when Lee Daniel’s The Butler debuted with $24.6 million.
 
The new live-action TMNT movie continues to prove that it is “critic-proof,” as it posted what has to be considered only a moderate second weekend drop for a summer tentpole.  The power of the TMNT property and the dearth of family entertainment options (many potential viewers don’t realize that Guardians is actually a far better option for family viewing) are likely responsible for the strong box office showing from one of the poorest review “hits” of the summer.  Overseas the new TMNT film is rolling out fairly slowly, but it has still earned $67.5 million.
 
Guardians of the Galaxy has now earned $222.3 million in North America, and it is on pace to top both The Lego Movie ($257 million) and Captain America: The Winter Soldier ($259 million) to become the highest grossing film of 2014 so far (in the domestic market--at least until Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part I bows in November).  Given its good word of mouth Guardians still has a chance at hitting the $300 million mark in North America, largely because of weak competition for its target audience over the next four-five weeks.
 
Third place went to the "R" rated comedy Let’s Be Cops, which in spite of a comedy about "policemen" abusing their authority doesn’t quite jibe with the mood of a country upset by a rash of shootings of unarmed civilians by police officers.  Of course the movie also makes light of the impersonation of police officers, which is often associated with very nasty criminal acts, but no one ever accused modern Hollywood of being sensitive or socially responsible.  A strong marketing campaign (and a trailer with a lot of the film’s big laughs) brought out a very youthful (for an "R" rated film) audience.  Let’s Be Cops debuted on Wednesday and has earned over $26 million from an audience that was 56% male, 54% under 25, 50% Caucasian, 20% African-American, and 17% Hispanic.  The film earned a mediocre "B" CInemaScore, but still could have good “legs” thanks to a lack of competition.

Weekend Box Office (Studio Estimates): August 15-17, 2014
	Film	Weekend Gross	Screens	Avg./ Screen	Total Gross	Wk#
1	Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles	$28,400,000	3,980	$7,136	$117,642,000	2
2	Guardians of the Galaxy	$24,735,000	3,697	$6,691	$222,281,000	3
3	Let's Be Cops	$17,700,000	3,094	$5,721	$26,107,000	1
4	The Expendables 3	$16,200,000	3,221	$5,029	$16,200,000	1
5	The Giver	$12,760,000	3,003	$4,249	$12,760,000	1
6	Into The Storm	$7,720,000	3,434	$2,248	$31,341,000	2
7	The Hundred-Foot Journey	$7,109,000	2,043	$3,480	$23,619,000	2
8	Lucy	$5,317,000	2,520	$2,110	$107,537,000	4
9	Step Up All In	$2,700,000	2,072	$1,303	$11,849,000	2
10	Boyhood	$2,150,000	771	$2,789	$13,801,000	6

The Expendables 3 appears to be yet another victim of franchise fatigue (the Expendables 2 topped the box office on this same weekend in 2012 with a total that would have won this week too), though a big part of the disappointing debut could be attributed to the fact that a DVD-quality print of the film leaked online almost a month ago and has been downloaded over 2 million times.  The third Expendables film was also the first one to sport a "PG" rating instead of an "R" and that may have kept some younger action film fans away.  The "PG" rating didn’t bring in younger viewers--the opening weekend audience was 66% over 25.  While The Expendables 3 opening was a dismal disappointment, the film has excellent prospects overseas--The Expendables 2 earned over $50 million in China, and 3 is likely to get even more exposure in Chinese cinemas.  The movie also earned an "A-" CinemaScore from opening weekend audiences, which could help boost domestic attendance a bit.
 
This week’s other major new release is The Giver, an adaptation of Lois Lowry’s highly influential 1993 YA novel about a dystopian future that influenced The Hunger Games, Divergent and other similar apocalyptic teen dramas.  But to many of today’s teens The Giver could appear to be a Divergent rip-off, and the decision by the filmmakers to up the age of the novel’s protagonist from 12 to 16 to accommodate a teen romance hurt the movie with critics, who have given the film a dismal 30% positive rating on review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes.  The film earned just an "OK" "B-" CInemaScore, so its future prospects remain dim in spite of a stellar cast that includes Meryl Streep and Jeff Bridges.
 
Meanwhile Warner Bros.’ "found footage" weather drama Into the Storm dropped 56% from its disappointing opening total and fell to sixth place in its second weekend.  The Helen Mirren-starring foodie drama The Hundred-Foot Journey enjoyed a strong hold (down just 35%) and appears set for a nice long, but modest, run in art houses.  Luc Besson’s Lucy, starring Scarlett Johansson, topped the $100 million mark, which certainly should add to her box office luster (and drawing power).
 
Paramount’s comic book-based Hercules fell out of the top 10.  The film, which stars The Rock, has now earned $68 million in North America and will be hard pressed to make it to $75 million domestically, while Fox’s Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, one of this summer’s bona fide successes, crossed the $200 million mark.
 
Be sure to check back here next week when Frank Miller and Robert Rodriguez’s Sin City: A Dame to Kill For, Warner Bros. romantic drama If I Stay, and the sports drama When the Game Stands Tall all open.

--Tom Flinn