Stellar box office debut for Guardians of the Galaxy

The cast and crew of “Guardians of the Galaxy attend the world premiere of the movie at the Dolby Theatre on July 21, 2014 Hollywood, CA (Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images for Disney/AFP)

WASHINGTON: "Guardians of the Galaxy," the Marvel comics superhero flick, stormed the top of the box office, taking in US$94 million (S$117 million) over the weekend, industry estimates showed Sunday (August 3).

With an ensemble cast that includes Bradley Cooper, Vin Diesel and Chris Pratt, "Guardians" bested last week's number one earner, sci-fi thriller "Lucy," which sank to second place with a weekend gross of nearly US$18.3 million, according to box office tracker Exhibitor Relations.

"Get on Up," also in its first weekend out, piled up US$14 million, putting the biopic about the life of US soul singer James Brown in third place. In fourth place with weekend results of US$10.7 million was "Hercules," starring Dwayne "the Rock" Johnson. It dropped two places from last week.

Number five was "Dawn of the Planet of the Apes," a critically praised sequel that pits apes against humans in a collapsed civilization. It drew US$8.7 million in its fourth weekend in theatres. Disney's "Planes: Fire & Rescue," the computer-animated movie about a talking plane that helps fire-fighters save a national park, made US$6.4 million, leaving it in sixth place.

Horror flick "The Purge: Anarchy," meanwhile, dropped two notches to seventh place with a weekend box office total of US$5.5 million. "Sex Tape," a comedy starring Cameron Diaz and Jason Segel as parents frantic to keep their sex tape off the Internet, was number eight, pulling in US$3.5 million.

Not far behind in ninth with US$3.3 million in receipts was "And So It Goes," a romantic comedy with Michael Douglas and Diane Keaton. "A Most Wanted Man," a spy thriller with the late Philip Seymour Hoffman in one of his last performances, held to 10th place in its second week in theatres, earning US$3.3 million.