The drama “If I Stay” took the top spot at the box office, but it may not stay there for long, as Marvel's “Guardians of the Galaxy” is enjoying a strong resurgence. Meanwhile, Frank Miller's “Sin City: A Dame to Kill For” is D.O.A.
“Stay,” which stars Chloe Grace Moretz, Jamie Blackley and Mireille Enos, picked up $6.8 million on Friday, easily topping “Guardians” which picked up another $4.8 million in its fourth weekend.
However, it looks likely that “Guardians” will pull ahead of “Stay” by Sunday. “Stay” is expected to earn a slightly disappointing $16.8 million, while “Guardians” could rack up slightly more.
The Marvel film — starring Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana and the voices of Vin Diesel and Bradley Coooper — is poised to become the biggest domestic hit of the summer. Having already earned $239 million, it will have no trouble crossing the $250 million mark by Sunday. “Transformers: Age of Extinction” is just about finished with a $243.4 million theatrical run.
Meanwhile, “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles” placed third on Friday, with audiences shelling out another $4.5 million for the Michael Bay-produced remake. Its domestic total currently stands at $133.4 million.
The 20th Century Fox Jake Johnson-Damon Wayans Jr. comedy “Let's Be Cops” arrested $3.2 million on Friday, increasing its domestic haul to $37.4 million.
Rounding out the top five was the Christian sports drama “When the Game Stands Tall,” which scored a solid $3 million in its debut. The drama should earn around $10 million this weekend. It stars Jim Caviezel, Laura Dern and Michael Chiklis.
Looking like one of the summer's biggest high-profile flops, Frank Miller and Robert Rodriguez's belated sequel “Sin City: A Dame to Kill For” got murdered by the competition, coming in sixth place with just $2.6 million.
Though it boats an impressive cast including Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Bruce Willis, Jessica Alba and Lady Gaga, it will likely earn a paltry $8.5 million for its first weekend; the original 2005 film scored more than $29 million in its debut.
Likewise, neither “The Giver” nor “The Expendables 3” were able to turn around their box office woes.
Look for complete weekend estimates Sunday on HitFix.