The summer’s breakout hit will extend its reign into the fall.
Disney/Marvel’s “Guardians of the Galaxy” looks like it is in the clear to win a fifth box office crown in seven weeks, as only one new movie opens semi-wide in theaters this weekend. That fresh entry, “The Identical,” is a Christian-themed movie about music in the south during the 1950s, starring Ray Liotta and Ashley Judd.
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Despite some recognizable names attached, “The Identical,” which is from Freestyle Releasing and directed by Dustin Marcellino, seems unlikely to excite the base the way several other surprise hits, such as “God’s Not Dead,” did earlier this year, when it made $62 million on a $2 million budget. “The Identical” will open in just under 2,000 theaters, and will likely take in just a few million at the box office.
After a huge $94 million opening weekend, “Guardians” is now at $283 million domestic and $556 million worldwide; it made $22 million over the four-day Labor Day weekend, and $17 million over the traditional three-day span, which was just a 5 percent drop from the prior weekend, making it the biggest domestic success of the year.
“Guardians” continued dominance has been enabled in part by the soft releases of several films over the last few weeks, including Chloe Grace Moretz‘s YA drama “If I Stay” and the Pierce Brosnan action flick “The November Man.”
“If I Stay” from Warner Bros. opened to $15 million on the weekend of Aug. 22nd, and has amassed $37 million domestic thus far. “November Man” opened to $9.8 million last weekend, with a 6th place finish.
Most Hollywood eyes, of course, will be on Toronto over the weekend.