weekend box office

After a month at the top, 'Guardians of the Galaxy' has finally fallen from the number one spot on the box office charts. All it took was a modestly budgeted thriller starring Idris Elba and Taraji P. Henson. But 'No Good Deed' didn't just push Marvel off its throne -- it exceeded all expectations and looks like it may be the rare September release to actually be a hit...

There actually was a new film released this week. It's called 'The Identical' and it's a Christian-themed fable about what would have happened if Elvis Presley's stillborn twin brother had survived. Well, for reasons that should be obvious after reading that sentence, 'Guardians of the Galaxy' held onto the number one spot this weekend while 'The Identical' opened outside of the top 10, never to be heard from again.

You can tell the summer movie season is coming to an end because the weekend box office has stopped being exciting and has starting becoming sad and weird. The past two weeks have seen several major movies bomb, but nothing could have prepared us for 'Sin City: A Dame to Kill For.'

A trio of newcomers entered the box office arena this weekend, but two battle-hardened and grizzled champions kept them at bay, holding onto the top two spots and making it look easy. Sorry, newbies: This top 10 still belongs to 'Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles' and 'Guardians of the Galaxy.'

30 years after their comic book debut and several decades since they last ruled the box office, the 'Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles' returned this week and proved that they're as relevant and popular as ever. Although many people wondered if the turtles would have the power to overtake Marvel's 'Guardians of the Galaxy,' it now seems obvious in retrospect: of course they could...

Up until the day it opened, 'Guardians of the Galaxy' was a big question mark at the box office. Could Marvel Studios continue its winning streak with a movie based on a practically unknown comic series that only has light connections to the rest of the films in their cinematic universe...

This weekend saw two movies named after their lead characters go head-to-head. In one corner, you have 'Lucy.' In the other, 'Hercules.' If you asked the average person who would win in a battle between Dwayne Johnson and Scarlett Johansson, most would probably side with the guy whose nickname is "The Rock." But the box office this weekend went in a completely different direction.

Despite three very different new challengers, 'Dawn of the Planet of the Apes' continued to rule over the box office this weekend. This doesn't spell disaster for the newcomers, but it does spell further success for the sequel to 'Rise of the Planet of the Apes,' which is riding extremely positive word of mouth to a big box office tally.

Look, everyone knows that it's your obligation as a human being to go see a new 'Transfomrers' movie when it comes out whether you want to or not. It's the only explanation for the success of the past three films (since no one actually likes them) and it's the only explanation for the massive first weekend of 'Transformers: Age of Extinction,' which had the biggest opening of 2014 so far.

Unless your movie was named 'Jersey Boys,' this was a pretty excellent weekend at the box office for all parties involved. A new film opened big in the number one spot, last week's champions held on strong, and others continued to perform well further down the charts. But boy, it really kinda' sucks to be 'Jersey Boys.'

Everyone expected '22 Jump Street' and 'How to Train Your Dragon 2' to open well, but you won't find many people who expected the raunchy R-rated comedy to open bigger than the family friendly animated adventure. But here we are! Both films opened well, but '22 Jump Street,' like the first film, is has taken a hammer to all expectations.

Ah, the summer. The time of the year where the box office is ruled by superhero movies, science fiction extravaganzas and, uh, slightly quirky cancer weepies. What? For reasons that will baffle some people, 'The Fault in Our Stars' effortlessly took the number one spot at the box office this weekend, gliding past its bigger, more expensive and more ferocious competition and making it look easy.