1. The Equalizer- $35M
Old reliable. That's what they should call Denzel Washington, especially when it comes to action movies like The Equalizer. This one is based on the 1980s TV series, and reunites Denzel with his Training Day director, Antoine Fuqua, and it got off to a strong start with $35M. It's the third biggest opening of his career, and let's be honest that people like him better in tough guy-mode than they do in a film like Flight, although that one did pretty well, too. With Sony Pictures having already moved forward on a sequel, Denzel is guaranteed to come back for what would be the first follow-up of his storied career which is pretty amazing to consider.
2. The Maze Runner- $17.5M/$58M
Sliding a respectable 46% in its second week is The Maze Runner, and it looks like the next big YA franchise to sit alongside The Hunger Games and Divergent. At a cost of only $32M this one is playing huge for 20th Century Fox, which is why they've already lined up sequel The Scorch Trials for next year.
3. The Boxtrolls- $17.25M
Critics have always been big fans of Portland-based animation studio Laika, lavishing their prior films Coraline and ParaNorman with high praise. Matching box office has failed to follow, but with The Boxtrolls' $17.25M debut they've earned their biggest opening weekend yet. While a bit weirder than their other projects, the humor is clearly targeted at kids and geared to appeal to wider audiences, and it seems to have paid off. Internationally, The Boxtrolls got off to a solid start with an additional $11M.
4. This is Where I Leave You- $7M/$22.5M
5. Dolphin Tale 2- $4.8M/$33.6M
6. No Good Deed- $4.6M/$46.6M
7. A Walk Among the Tombstones- $4.2M/$20.8M
8. Guardians of the Galaxy- $3.7M/$319.1M
Unbelievably, the strongest hold of the week goes to Guardians of the Galaxy, which slipped only 22% and added another $3.7M. It's now surpassed the $318M domestic haul of Marvel's Iron Man, and the $644M worldwide total for Thor: The Dark World.
9. Let's Be Cops- $1.9M/$79.6M
10. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles- $1.4M/$187.1M
