BOX OFFICE REPORT (AUG. 1-3): 'Guardians of the Galaxy' Crushes August Opening Weekend Record

1. Guardians of the Galaxy (N)
Weekend gross: $94 million / Total domestic gross: $94 million / 
Percent drop: NA
Take a bow, Guardians of the Galaxy. Not only are you a masterpiece, the best Marvel Cinematic Universe movie and one of the best superhero films ever, you're also a box office monster. Guardians of the Galaxy opened with a $94 million weekend, nothing the third best opening frame of 2014 and setting a record for the best August opening weekend. The Bourne Ultimatum previously held that record, grossing $69.3 million in 2007.

Guardians of the Galaxy continues the box office rise of the Marvel Cinematic Universe in the post-The Avengers world. The five movies that preceded The Avengers opened to an average of $82.6 million. After The Avengers set a new opening weekend record with $207.4 million, the four Marvel Cinematic Universe movies since have opened to an average of $112.2 million. That average is padded out by Iron Man 3's $174.1 million opening weekend, but Thor: The Dark World, Captain America: The Winter Soldier and Guardians of the Galaxy have all opened above that old $82.6 million average.

If this opening weekend inflation between Phase One and Phase Two of the Marvel Cinematic Universe holds steady for Avengers: Age of Ultron, expect that movie to open to $281.7 million next May. Marvel Studios can pretty much do whatever it wants now. Ant-Man, Doctor Strange — Marvel is untouchable.

2. Lucy (1)

Weekend gross: $18.3 million / Total domestic gross: $79.6 million / 
Percent drop: 58.4
After Guardians of the Galaxy, not much was going on at the box office this weekend. Lucy and Hercules both took pretty hard falls, with Lucy tumbling 58.4 percent to hang onto second place. Don't feel bad for Scarlett Johansson — she'll be setting new box office records with Avengers: Age of Ultron next summer.

3. Get on Up (N)

Weekend gross: $14 million / Total domestic gross: $14 million / 
Percent drop: NA
No one thought Get on Up could match Guardians of the Galaxy, but the movie was expected to do better than a measly $14 million for third place. Both star Chadwick Boseman and director Tate Taylor have histories that suggested Get on Up could have been stronger. Boseman's last biopic, 42, opened to $27.5 million last year and Taylor's Oscar-nominated The Help opened to $26 million.

4. Hercules (2nd)

Weekend gross: $10.7 million / Total domestic gross: $52.3 million / 
Percent drop: 64.1
Hercules took a bigger fall than Lucy, crashing 64.1 percent in its second weekend. Dwayne Johnson seems like a nice guy — it's unfortunate to see his latest movie flop like this. Can't say that about director Brett Ratner, though ...

5. Dawn of the Planet of the Apes (3rd)

Weekend gross: $8.7 million / Total domestic gross: $189.3 million / 
Percent drop: 48.1

Dawn of the Planet of the Apes is now the highest grossing installment of the Planet of the Apes franchise. The movie added enough over the past week to pass Tim Burton's Planet of the Apes reboot's lifetime gross of $180 million.

Next week's predictions

1. Guardians of the Galaxy

2. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

3. Lucy

4. Into the Storm

5. Step Up All In

SOURCE: Box Office Mojo