Friday Report: 'Guardians' Is Now the Highest-Grossing Movie of the Year
Against two weak newcomers, Guardians of the Galaxy held on to first place at the box office on Friday.

More importantly, Guardians passed Captain America: The Winter Soldier to become the highest-grossing movie of the year at the domestic box office with $262.1 million.

Guardians added $3.8 million on Friday, which is down just 20 percent from last weekend. That puts it on pace for around $16 million for the three-day frame and over $20 million for the four-day holiday weekend.

In the long run, Guardians is now guaranteed to earn over $300 million, and could finish as high as $320 million.

As Above/So Below took second place on Friday with $3.2 million. That's a bit higher than recent Labor Day horror movies Apollo 18 and Shark Night 3D, though that's not saying much. It should earn between $9 and $10 million for the three-day weekend and over $11 million through Monday.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles fell 41 percent to $2.7 million, which brings its total to $153.3 million. It's on track for around $11 million over the three-day frame, and around $15 million for the long weekend.

If I Stay plummeted 62 percent to $2.6 million. Through eight days, the young-adult romance has earned $23.2 million.

The November Man rounded out the Top Five with $2.2 million. That puts it on track for $7 to $8 million for the three-day frame and less than $10 million for the four-day weekend.

Playing at 787 theaters, the Ghostbusters re-release earned an estimated $490,000 on Friday. That's a fine number that's generally in line with recent re-releases like Raiders of the Lost Ark and Top Gun (though Ghostbusters was playing at many more locations). For the four-day weekend, Ghostbusters should wind up with around $2 million.

As of publication, a Friday estimate for Cantinflas was not available.

Weekend Projections

1. Guardians - $16 million ($20.5 million four-day)

2. Ninja Turtles - $11.5 million ($15.7 million four-day)

3. As Above/So Below - $9.5 million ($11.4 million)

4. If I Stay - $8.7 million ($11 million four-day)

5. The November Man - $7.8 million ($10 million)

Discuss this story with fellow Box Office Mojo fans on Facebook. On Twitter, follow us at @boxofficemojo, and follow author Ray Subers at @raysubers.

Related Charts:

Grosses for Friday, August 29, 2014

• 2014 Domestic Box Office