Summer's not been so bad

Those who deliver the annual Hollywood summer eulogy have more reason to be forceful this time around than they were last year. Overall, however, the season has not been a disaster, and reports of the death of Hollywood have been exaggerated. Box office for the summer is tracking some 15% behind the comparable session in 2013, but let's not forget that last year delivered a record. This is not meant as an apologia, because the downward trend in attendance continues, and the declining appeal of 3D – not to mention larger, more affordable TV screens and the allure of alternative entertainment – is a big headache for Hollywood. But the season will only be as good as the movies in it, which is why this has been a pretty poor one. That said, Hollywood is on course to deliver the first $1bn (£603m) August, and June's $1bn-plus haul gained on 2013 by a few points. July was the first not to deliver $1bn in 12 years. The fear among studio executives must be that digital platforms represent a major threat, but with day-and-date launches for tentpoles, we're not there yet.

Summer 2015 could be so good

Product flow will always be key. Once 2014 ends on what will probably be a respectable note, all eyes will turn to summer 2015. And what a whopper that is shaping up to be. Here are 10 reasons why it will probably become the biggest summer on record: Avengers: Age of Ultron, Star Wars: Episode VII, Ted 2, Jurassic World, Terminator: Genisys, Mad Max: Fury Road, Magic Mike 2, Ant-Man, Monster Trucks, Pixels. If you speak to movie executives and box-office observers in Hollywood, this is already being spoken of as a fait accompli.

Guardians sets sights on topping 2014

The Marvel Studios hit Guardians of the Galaxy generated an estimated $17.6m in its fourth weekend, returning to pole position. It was aided and abetted by a pretty dull trio of new releases that provided little by way of challenge. Executives at distributor Buena Vista will be chuffed with the $251.9m running total, which puts it top of the summer pile and third in the year to date. Ahead of it are Captain America: The Winter Soldier on $259.8m and The Lego Movie on $257.7m. But Guardians will overtake both by the end of next weekend's final summer session over the Labour Day holiday, becoming the top movie of the year so far.

• Why do women love Guardians of the Galaxy?
• Peter Bradshaw's Guardians of the Galaxy review – smart and funny retro thrills

Sin City 2 flops

The R-rated sequel to Sin City was the flop of the weekend. For some time, people in Hollywood have been saying, quite rightly, that nine years is too long. That's the gap between the first film, which opened top in April 2005 on $29.1m, and went on to gross $74.1m, and new release Sin City: A Dame to Kill for. Eighth place, on $6.5m from 2,894 theatres, says it all: not good enough. You could tell from the presentation at Comic-Con in San Diego in late July that the movie looked past its sell-by date and bereft of ideas, and the audience has confirmed that.

• Xan Brooks' Sin City: A Dame to Kill for review – disreputable but deodorised
• Sin City: A Dame to Kill for director Robert Rodriguez hails advances since 2005 original at Comic-Con

If I Stay, Game do enough in first session

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For an $11m movie, Warner Bros and MGM's young-adult adaptation If I Stay, starring the ever excellent Chloë Grace Moretz, did enough to put it on the path to profit. While $16.4m is hardly setting the box office on fire, it will ensure a probable break-even in theatres before what should be a solid ancillary run. When the Game Stands Tall is a faith-based sports drama starring Jim Caviezel – who played Jesus in The Passion of the Christ – as a high school coach who delivers amazing results. While the same cannot be said of the movie, it arrived at number five on a decent $9m, a pretty good result. Same idea: the movie is the type that plays well on DVD and the producers know they have an in-built faith-based market.

North American top 10, August 22-24 2014

1. Guardians of the Galaxy, $17.6m. Total: $251.9m

2. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, $16.8m. Total: $145.6m

3. If I Stay, $16.4m (new)

4. Let's Be Cops, $11m. Total: $45.2m

5. When the Game Stands Tall, $9m

6. The Giver, $6.7m. Total: $24.1m

7. The Expendables 3, $6.6m. Total: $27.5m

8. Frank Miller's Sin City: A Dame to Kill for, $6.5m

9. The Hundred-Foot Journey, $5.6m. Total: $32.8m

10. Into the Storm, $3.8m. Total: $38.3m