In a surprise turn of events, neither new releases ‘The Expendables 3’ or ‘Let’s Be Cops’ were able to boot off ‘Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles’ and ‘Guardians of the Galaxy’ from the top two spots at the weekend box office.

‘Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles’ proved staying power. It held first place at the box office for its second weekend, bringing in $28.4 million.

‘Guardian of the Galaxy,’ which has been out for its third weekend remained at second place at the weekend box office. It brought in $24.7 million.

And while expectations for ‘Expendables 3’ were high with actions stars like Sylvester Stallone, Mel Gibson and Arnold Schwarzenegger in the film, it failed to even achieve third place at the weekend box office. It took fourth place with $16.2 million.

Many are pointing to an issue of piracy for the cause of the film’s poor performance, while others are saying piracy alone would not be reason for the numbers to fall short so badly. It may be a matter of franchise fatigue setting in, especially since it is the third installment.

Other new release this weekend, ‘Let’s Be Cops’ took third place at the weekend box office with $17.7 million.

It’ll be interesting to see what happens next weekend – if ‘Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles’ and ‘Guardians of the Galaxy’ can remain in the top holding positions.

New Movie Releases This Week: August 22, 2014

For those looking for an action, crime thriller:

• Sin City: A Dame to Kill For
  Stars: Mickey Rourke, Jessica Alba, Josh Brolin, Joseph Gordon-Levitt
  Some of Sin City’s most hard-boiled citizens cross paths with a few of its more reviled inhabitants.

For those looking for a drama flick:

• If I Stay (PG-13)
  Cast: Chloe Grace Moretz, Mireille Enos, Jamie Blackley, Joshua Leonard
  Life changes in an instant when Mia Hall falls into a coma after a car accident. During an out-of-body experience, she must decide whether to wake up or live a life far from what she had imagined.

For those looking for a comedy:

• Are You Here (R)
  Cast: Owen Wilson, Zach Galifianakis, Amy Poehler, Jay Gates
  Two childhood best friends embark on a road trip back to their hometown after one of them learns he has inherited a large sum of money from his recently deceased estranged father.

Come back each week for the latest information on new movie releases and upcoming releases at the theaters! To check out all movie flicks playing at Long Island theaters, visit LongIsland.com’s Movie Times!

Photo by Lsapbonipp, via Wikimedia Commons under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported, 2.5 Generic, 2.0 Generic and 1.0 Generic