BOX OFFICE REPORT (AUG. 2-4): '2 Guns' Takes Surprise Win While 'The Smurfs 2' Smurfs the Bed

There are fewer examples of a lazy animated movie than the Smurfs movies. As I kid, I remember watching the actual Smurfs cartoons, and these movies aren't those Smurfs. They suffer from the same disease that plagues beloved childhood properties like Alvin and the Chipmunks, and that we should all pray doesn't destroy Peanuts when the genius behind Ice Age: Continental Drift drags the poor Charlie Brown gang into 3D. While I would have loved to see The Smurfs 2 make no money, I'll settle for a third-place opening that barely made half of what The Smurfs made when it opened in 2011.

1. 2 Guns (N)
Weekend gross: $27.06 million / Total domestic gross: $27.06 million / Percent change: NA
I could be wrong, but I'm pretty sure that either Mark Wahlberg or Dwayne Johnson have been at the top of the box office for half of 2013's weekends, with Wahlberg chalking up another win with 2 Guns. Did anyone expect this one to trump both a Smurfs sequel and The Wolverine? Moviegoers like Wahlberg and Denzel Washington, and sometimes that's all it takes for a movie to catch fire.

2. The Wolverine (1)

Weekend gross: $21.32 million / Total domestic gross: $94.64 million / Percent change: -59.9
OK, so I finally saw The Wolverine past weekend, and while it had some weak third-act issues, it was a massive comeback from X-Men Origins: Wolverine. Is there a chance that The Wolverine has performed as well as we thought it would because A) a large part of the movie is in subtitles and B) Wolverine spends much of the film fighting the ghostly memories of a woman he loved and whose death he blames himself for? Not quite the rah-rah action of Wolverine versus fake Deadpool from Origins.

3. The Smurfs 2 (N)

Weekend gross: $17.55 million / Total domestic gross: $17.55 million / Percent change: NA
If you paid money to see The Smurfs 2, well, the smurfs on you, you smurfing smurfers.

4. The Conjuring (2)

Weekend gross: $13.03 million / Total domestic gross: $107.96 million / Percent change: -41.3
When will the commercials for The Conjuring stop? This movie's time has passed.

5. Despicable Me 2 (3)

Weekend gross: $10.13 million / Total domestic gross: $326.41 million / Percent change: -42.1

Despicable Me 2 is now the fifth highest grossing animated film in history, passing Shrek the Third this weekend. I'm pretty sure this'll be its final resting spot, as the No. 4 movie on this list, Finding Nemo, grossed $380.84 million.

Next week's predictions

1. We're the Millers

2. Elysium

3. The Wolverine

4. 2 Guns

5. Planes

SOURCE: Box Office Mojo