Fireworks were everywhere in America except at the box office this Fourth of July weekend. Ticket sales were down 44% from last year when ‘Despicable Me 2’ and ‘The Lone Ranger’ hit theaters. The drop makes this the weakest Fourth of July box office in the past decade.
‘Transformers: Age of Extinction’ holds tight at the top of the box office over the holiday. The fourth film in the franchise grossed another $36.4 million at the domestic box office and has surpassed $400 million globally.
Melissa McCarthy continues her streak of box office hits as ‘Tammy’ took in $21.2 million over the weekend and $32.9 million over its 5-day release. Although the film didn’t live up to studios expectations, the film is already a smash as it only cost $20 million to produce.
The horror flick ‘Deliver Us From Evil’ pulled in $9.5 million over the weekend and $15 million over its five-day release. The film currently holds a 33% on Rotten Tomatoes which could hurt its chances of trying to recoup its $30 million budget.
‘22 Jump Street’ fell to fourth place and comes in just under ‘Deliver Us From Evil’ with $9.4 million. It brings its domestic total $158.9 million.
Rounding out the top five is Dreamworks animated film ‘How to Train Your Dragon 2′ which earned $8.9 million.
How do these compare to the numbers from last year? ‘Despicable Me 2′ lead the 2013 box office with a massive $83.4 million and ‘The Lone Ranger’ opened in second with $29.2 million. Melissa McCarthy’s cop comedy with Sandra Bullock ‘The Heat’ slid to third place in its second week with $24 million.
Hopefully ‘Rise of the Planet of the Apes’ will set the box office back on track when it hits theaters on Thursday night.
