Weekend Box Office: August 2-4

Courtesy of Box Office Mojo:

1.  2 Guns - $27.3 million

2.  The Wolverine - $21.7 million

3.  The Smurfs 2 - $18.2 million

4.  The Conjuring - $13.6 million

5.  Despicable Me 2 - $10.3 million

6.  Grown Ups 2 - $8.1 million

7.  Turbo - $6.4 million

8.  Red 2 - $5.6 million

9.  The Heat - $4.7 million

10.  Pacific Rim - $4.5 million

Action won out over Smurfs during a relatively quiet weekend at the box office, with 2 Guns taking in a decent-but-not-spectacular $27.3 million.  Tracking and the always-reliable Denzel Washington in the lead saw the action thriller possibly opening over $30 million, but after a strong start on Friday, business slowed for the rest of the weekend.  Still, it's a respectable start, and it's Washington's fifth-best opening weekend.

Falling to second-place is The Wolverine, which earned an estimated $21.7 million.  That's a 59% drop from its underwhelming opening last week, but a much better second weekend drop than the much-maligned X-Men Origins: Wolverine, which dropped 69% in its second weekend in 2009.  The X-Men films have never had particularly great legs at the box office, but with not a whole lot of competion and what appears to be decent word-of-mouth (it's a really good movie, dammit!), it's hanging in there.  It's doing great business overseas, where it's earned $159 million. 

Even more grateful for its overseas haul is The Smurfs 2, which underperformed stateside this weekend with $18.2 million.  The original Smurfs earned $35.6 million on it's opening weekend in 2011, but the sequel has only earned $27.8 million since opening last Wednesday.  But it's earned nearly double that amount overseas with $52 million, so don't go scratching The Smurfs 3 off of your 2015 calendars just yet. 

The Conjuring had another great weekend, crossing the $100 million mark with $13.6 million.  That's particularly impressive for a horror film, as those usually disappear after their first weekend. 

In limited release, Woody Allen's Blue Jasmine earned an excellent $2 million in just 50 theaters, while The Way Way Back earned $2.8 million and Fruitvale Station earned $2.7 million.

A pair of kids' films will not being doing the Smurfs any favors next weekend, as Disney's Planes and Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters will be opening in theaters.  Folks looking for laughs can enjoy We're The Millers, while the IMAX should be busy again next weekend with the arrival of Elysium.