Culture

Nobody Really Went to the Movies This Weekend

Welcome to the Box Office Report, where….[crickets]…..

By Adam Chandler
This article is from the archive of our partner .

Welcome to the Box Office Report, where….[crickets]…..

1. Transformers: The Age of Extinction (Paramount): $36.4 million in 4,233 theaters.

The fourth Transformers flick, beset by poor reviews, took a mighty tumble from its $100 million opening last weekend. But since nobody really bothered to go to the movies this July 4th weekend, Michael Bay will holds onto the box office crown for another week. In more uplifting news, the action flick passed $400 million internationally, bringing it to the half-billion-dollar mark in just two weeks.

2. Tammy (Warner Brothers): $21.1 million in 3,465 theaters.

The sum of Tammy doesn't quite equal its parts we were told and the wife-husband project by Melissa McCarthy and Ben Falcone was neither loved by audiences or respected by critics. All that said, this is a respectable opening, which surpassed its production budget including a flurry of advertising. Once the heat waves hit, this one will probably hang around.

3. Deliver Us from Evil (Screen Gems): $9.5 million in 3,049 theaters.

What an unimaginative title. Did anyone actually know this movie was coming out? That Eric Bana was still around? That Joel McHale is trying to be serious? Well, in a slow opening, even a creepy NYPD exorcism movie can be king. Or third. It did edge out one of the summer blockbusters though so maybe there's a spirit guiding it all along.

4. 22 Jump Street (Sony): $9.4 million in 3,324 theaters.

One month later, 22 Jump Street did its work tidily. The $50 million sequel has made triple its budget in domestic box offices and managed the rare feat of being well-liked even as the era of the comedy seems to be on the wane.

5. How to Train Your Dragon 2 (Fox): $8.7 million in 3,297 theaters.

All told, June 2014 was much slower at the box office than June 2013, dropping some 16 percent. One of the bigger non-Clint-Eastwood-related disappointments was How to Train Your Dragon 2, which sunk after a solid opening.

This article is from the archive of our partner The Wire.