After a month at the top, 'Guardians of the Galaxy' has finally fallen from the number one spot on the box office charts. All it took was a modestly budgeted thriller starring Idris Elba and Taraji P. Henson. But 'No Good Deed' didn't just push Marvel off its throne -- it exceeded all expectations and looks like it may be the rare September release to actually be a hit.

FilmWeekendPer Screen
1No Good Deed$24,500,000$11,264$24,500,000
2Dolphin Tale 2$16,550,000$4,527$16,550,000
3Guardians of the Galaxy$8,041,000 (-22.4)$2,591$305,926,000
4Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles$4,800,000 (-26.2)$1,623$181,041,000
5Let's Be Cops$4,300,000 (-22.8)
$1,561$72,972,000
6The Drop$4,200,000$5,192$4,200,000
7If I Stay$4,050,000 (-27.1)$1,332$44,937,000
8The November Man$2,750,000 (-36.2)$1,018$22,495,000
9The Giver$2,626,000 (-23.2)$1,166$41,329,000
10The Hundred-Foot Journey$2,461,000 (-21.8)$1,267$49,409,000

 

With a $24 million opening, 'No Good Deed' is already well on its way to making its money back. If the crowds stick around (and since this is the dead month of September, they may), the film has a strong chance of hitting $70 million or so. That's really good for a movie of this scale, especially one that was sold on its premise rather than its actors. In any case, the success of 'No Good Deed' means that a lot of people got to see more Elba and Henson this weekend, which is only a good thing.

'Dolphin Tale 2' opened in second place with $16 million, which is a few million shy of the first film's $19 million but sill respectable. Part one went on to gross a very strong $72 million, but it's unlikely that the sequel will be able to get there. If people actually like the movie and word of mouth is strong, it may be able to get pretty close, though.

In third place, 'Guardians of the Galaxy' continued to play strong, grossing another $8 million, bringing its grand total to $305 million. That means it's officially the first 2014 release to break the $300 million barrier, which is a huge milestone for a film that every had doubts about up until its release. Since the film suffered a small 22% drop, expect it to continue to play well throughout September. The same goes for 'Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles' in fourth place, which suffered only a small drop and made $4 million, bringing its total to $181 million. The big question now is whether or not it can crack $200 million. It's going to be close.

In fifth place, 'Let's Be Cops' continued to showcase surprising legs, adding another $4 million to its total. With $72 million in the bank, the film is officially one of the year's biggest sleeper hits -- it never had a huge weekend, but it has continuously made money while no one was looking.

Unfortunately, the weekend's third and final new release bombed. 'The Drop' rode mixed reviews to a poor $4 million opening and not even James Gandolfini's final performance could muster much interest from the moviegoing public.

In the final stretch, 'If I Stay' continued to do solid business, 'The November Man' kept on bombing, 'The Giver' made enough money to not look like a total flop, and 'The Hundred-Foot Journey' prepared to cross the $50 million mark.

More From KISS 104.1