Guardians of the Galaxy won the Labor Day weekend box office and in the process added the title of 2014’s top grossing movie to its already secured title of top grossing movie of the summer. And yes, it topped our Top 17 movies of summer 2014 too!

The top three were exactly the same as they were the previous week with Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles landing in second with $11.8 million and If I Stay taking third with $9.3 million.

One of the two wide-release new movies that opened this past week, As Above/So Below, landed in fourth place with $8.3 million and closing out the top five was Let’s Be Cops, adding another $8.2 million to its total haul of $59.7 million.

The other new movie, The November Man, had to be satisfied with its sixth place finish as Pierce Brosnan’s return to the movie spy game earned $7.7 million.

Box office top 10:

1. Guardians of the Galaxy, $16.3 million
2. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, $11.8 Million
3. If I Stay, $9.3 million
4. As Above/So Below, $8.3 million
5. Let's Be Cops, $8.2 million
6. The November Man, $7.7 million
7. When the Game Stands Tall, $5.7 million
8. The Giver, $5.3 million
9. The Hundred-Foot Journey, $4.3 million
10. The Expendables 3, $3.5 million

17 Best Guardians of the Galaxy Quotes

I have lived most of my life surrounded by my enemies. I would be grateful to die surrounded by my friends.

Gamora

• Permalink: I have lived most of my life surrounded by my enemies. I would be grateful to die surrounded...
• Added: August 04, 2014

1. Gamora Gets Real

We love this quote -- Gamora gets mushy.

The folks over at StarWars.com know better than anyone when it comes to the universe created by George Lucas.

So, when they announce that they’ve gone through all of the six Star Wars movies and laid out their top 10 fight sequences, you have to take them seriously. But, wait until you see what is number one and let us know if they got it right!

Top 10 Star Wars Fights

As Star Wars: Episode VII starts shooting again -- now that Harrison Ford’s injury is all better -- we look forward to some new fight scenes cracking this top 10. But, until then, we the experts at Star Wars HQ have compiled quite an impressive list of clips from the top 10 Star Wars fight scenes.

As you see in the above video, a shocker sits at number one! 

9 Most Annoying Star Wars Characters

1. Ani Skywalker

Maybe it was how it was written. Perhaps, it was how it was played by Jake Lloyd... and maybe it was both. But young Anakin Skywalker, known as Ani, was just plain awful. .. and annoying!

The latest The Equalizer trailer was released by none other than Eminem on his social media pages.

See, Eminem -- with Sia -- provides the theme song for the Denzel Washington-starring film and his Guts Over Fear track is previewed throughout.

The Equalizer Full Trailer

The Equalizer and its star are part of our 31 breakout fall movie stars and you don’t have to wait long to check out the Antoine Fuqua-directed reboot of the popular '80s TV show. The film lands September 26 and reunites Washington and Fuqua for the first time since the flick you can see when you watch Training Day online.

Sony has also released a new poster for the thrilling film and you can see it below in our slideshow, along with our full The Equalizer photo gallery. 

The Equalizer Photos

1. The Equalizer Movie Poster

The latest poster for The Equalizer.

Just as the How to Train Your Dragon 2 DVD was announced last week and the film itself crossed the $600 million mark in global box office this past weekend, we have news that DreamWorks Animation has set its sights on June 9, 2017 for How to Train Your Dragon 3.

For fans of the series, the fact that all the key players from the last film will be on board for a third film is great news.

Dean DeBlois is back to write and direct, and Jay Baruchel will obviously be back as Hiccup, with America Ferrera returning as Astrid and Cate Blanchett also coming back as Hiccup’s mom, Valka.

Watch How to Train Your Dragon online and see how the whole adventure got started!

How to Train Your Dragon 2 Photos

1. Gang's All Here in How to Train Your Dragon 2 Poster

The How to Train Your Dragon 2 poster features the entire gang. But, of course, Hiccup is front and center.

In news that’ll make all those Frozen fanatics beyond thrilled, Disney has announced that the characters from the highest grossing animated film of all time will return for a short film this spring.

Elsa and Anna will return in Frozen Fever, which will feature Elsa trying her best to throw her sister Anna the birthday party of a lifetime. She will have help, of course, in the form of Kristoff… and Olaf!

Oscar-winning Frozen directors Jennifer Lee and Chris Buck will helm the project, which will be produced by a familiar face to the Frozen world, producer Peter Del Vecho. And look for an all-new original song from Robert Lopez and Kristen Anderson-Lopez, the creators of Let It Go.

Get ready for Frozen Fever and watch Frozen online and check out our favorite Frozen quotes in the slideshow below!

11 Fun Frozen Quotes

Hi, everyone. I'm Olaf and I like warm hugs!

Olaf

• Permalink: Hi, everyone. I'm Olaf and I like warm hugs!
• Added: February 05, 2014

1. Meet Olaf. He likes warm hugs.

Hi, everyone. I'm Olaf and I like warm hugs!

Dax Shepard has been hired to write, direct and star in a big screen version of the '70s and '80s TV show classic CHiPs. We’re actually quite encouraged by this as Shepard effectively served the same role with his Hit and Run, which surprised us when it debuted a few years back.

Shepard is expected to take his CHiPs in less of a comedic direction than say Starsky and Hutch (with Ben Stiller and Owen Wilson) and bring audiences more of a straightforward action film (with comedy) like Lethal Weapon.

The CHiPs TV show was a sensation and followed a unit of LA-based highway patrol cops who rode their motorcycles across the city and helped fight crime. It starred Larry Wilcox (the role Shepard will play) as Officer Jon Baker and Erik Estrada as Frank “Ponch” Poncherello.

When we were thinking about who would make a great Ponch, one name immediately came to mind and upon further research… he’s the guy attached to star!

End of Watch actor Michael Pena has been signed to play the part and we cannot think of a better one-two punch to bring back a show from our youth to the big screen than Shepard and Pena!

See what we mean and watch End of Watch online to get a taste of Pena as an LA-based cop!

Stay tuned for more as this story develops. 

Hot on the heels of yesterday’s news that Warner Bros. and DC Comics had registered urls for upcoming superhero movies, one of them being Shazam, we know today that the movie is happening and it has its villain.

Dwayne Johnson took to Twitter this morning and posted his announcement that he has accepted the role of Black Adam in the Shazam movie and we cannot think of a better person to take the part.

Johnson had been dying to be part of a superhero franchise for years and it wasn’t clear whether Marvel or DC Comics would get him.

Then, it appeared that he was zeroing in on the Shazam movie for DC, but it wasn’t clear whether he would play Shazam or his arch enemy, Black Adam.

Don’t get us wrong, we love seeing Johnson play the hero as he has done so many times. But, think about what devilish joy he’s going to have being bad in the Shazam movie?!

Black Adam first appeared in 1945 and has been both villain and anti-hero in the comic universe, which could also be part of the appeal for Johnson. He has the same powers as Shazam, including his abilities of supreme strength and lightning manipulation -- not to mention magic as well.

Stay with Movie Fanatic as more details emerge on this exciting news. When can we expect a Shazam movie? Well, according to a previously released story about the Warner Bros. and DC Comics superhero movie slate… July 2016.

Check out Johnson in one of his most recent flicks and watch Fast and Furious 6 online. 

There were two big reasons to be excited about Disney’s inside Frozen special last night on ABC. First, it was announced that Frozen Fever was coming in the spring -- a short film follow-up to the studio’s smash hit Frozen. Then, we got a two-minute clip from the studio’s upcoming film Big Hero 6.

The clip features our main character, Hiro (voice of Ryan Potter), and his robot creation Baymax (voiced by Scott Adsit) and truly sets the tone for this film that is based on the classic Marvel comic. Seems that our hero Hiro… has hit puberty!

Big Hero 6 Clip

As you can tell from the full Big Hero 6 trailer, Hiro is a robotics prodigy who has a gift for creating robots that entertain him and his friends.

That skill will be incredibly important as an evil force has emerged who seeks to destroy his beloved hometown of San Fransokyo.

The gorgeous-looking film is set to hit theaters November 7 and features an impressive voice cast beyond the two leads including Maya Rudolph, James Cromwell, Damon Wayans Jr., TJ Miller, Jamie Chung, Genesis Rodriguez and Alan Tudyk.  

Big Hero 6 Photos

1. Hiro Hamada Poster

The star of Big Hero 6, Hiro Hamada, gets his own poster. He's voiced by Ryan Potter.

Are you ready for some football?

As the football season begins anew here in America, nothing gets you in the mood for a quality football film like seeing it for real. 

Watch Remember the Titans online and there's one of our faves of all-time. 

But, nothing can ruin a good football feeling like a terrible football movie. So, might we recommend avoiding the following 11 films that we believe are the worst of the worst of the gridiron flicks.

We've shown you our 7 football movies that score a touchdown, now it's time for the titans of terrible. 

And maybe it's us, there's one on our list that could divide the masses -- some like it, some do not (like us). Watch Varsity Blues online and let us know if we fumbled the ball on that one! 

Click through and check out our 11 worst football movies... and welcome back, football!

11 Worst Football Movies

1. The Longest Yard

The 2005 remake of the classic The Longest Yard is not only one of the worst football movies, it surely is one of the worst movie remakes. Adam Sandler stars as a member of the prisoner football team who goes against the guards. No thanks, we'll take the original starring Burt Reynolds (who painfully appears in this one).

The man who took us Up in the Air and told us all about Juno is back in the fascinating looking Men, Women & Children. The film is one of our 31 fall films to look out for and when you hear what it’s about and check out it’s newly released teaser trailer, you’ll see why.

The ensemble film follows a group of people -- Men, Women & Children -- as they communicate in this new world order that mainly sees communication through online means.

From high school to (supposedly) happily married, stars Ansel Elgort, Adam Sandler, Jennifer Garner, Rosemarie DeWitt, Judy Greer and Dean Norris explore the complication that is communication in modern relationships in Jason Reitman’s latest.

Men, Women & Children Teaser Trailer

Men, Women & Children premieres at the Toronto Film Festival this week and is out everywhere October 1. 

Click through our slideshow below and check out the arty new poster and a series of stills from this all-star cast.

Men, Women & Children Photos

1. Men, Women & Children Poster

The official, and artful, poster of Men, Women & Children.

For those of you (and by you we mean millions and millions) that have seen Guardians of the Galaxy, the cameo by Stan Lee was pretty terrific. But, according to director James Gunn, that was not the one they had planned.

Gunn took to his Instagram account and posted the below pic of the Lee cameo that he initially wanted. And yes, he was going to be in The Collector’s collection!

Gunn explains it further. “Rocket looks over and sees Cosmo the dog in one display case, Quill looks over into another display case and is surprised by a tentacle slapping against the glass, and Groot looks over and sees, in another display case, Stan Lee.” 

We think it makes perfect sense in the continuity of the film to have cut the scene in replace of Lee hitting on a woman in a bar in Xandar. Lee’s cameos tend to be more of that route than a stunt-gag that the The Collector scene honestly would have been.

Check out our video of an army of Lee cameos!

Stan Lee Superhero Cameos

We adore those Guardians of the Galaxy quotes and the film achieved our top honor in our top 17 summer movies of 2014. And to say we’re excited for Guardians of the Galaxy 2, well now that just goes without saying.

Guardians of the Galaxy Photos

1. The Ronan Poster

Ronan the Accuser gets his own character poster!

If there’s someone in The Avengers who has a good idea who deserves a solo movie from the Marvel world, it’s Robert Downey Jr. He’s had three of his own, that last of which you can see when you watch Iron Man 3 online.

And now that he’s back as Iron Man in Avengers: Age of Ultron, he has some strong opinions on who should be next in the solo movie department.

"The funny thing is honestly at this point everyone deserves a franchise,” Downey said to USA Today.

“I think Jeremy Renner is -- when folks see the Avengers: Age of Ultron he’s just a rock star, a badass. And Ruffalo is pumped. He does great (work). I’d like to hear them talk even more seriously about a Hulk franchise, because that’s been one of the toughest ones to get right. But I’m sure that my parent company is feeling expansive and bold after the summer they’ve had."

But the one he’s hoping for most has to be Scarlett Johansson as Black Widow, and especially since a Black Widow solo movie has long been discussed.

"It would be kind of more appropriate for a character that already was like a Black Widow (to lead a movie). It just seems like whatever Scarlett does people want to go see it."

Downey’s right, people love seeing Johansson in action. Heck her turn as the title character in Lucy has banked more than $100 million domestically and has earned $270 million globally in just five weeks.

On that note, the man who just signed to be Black Adam in Shazam, Dwayne Johnson, knows all too well about getting beat up by Johansson, his Hercules got creamed by her Lucy at the box office!

So, Kevin Feige and Marvel -- Let’s. Make. This. Happen!

When we met the star of Draft Day for our Kevin Costner exclusive interview, he told us that he always wanted to do a football movie. Unfortunately, there was never the right script for him to be a player, but he sure found one for playing an NFL GM in Draft Day, out now on DVD, Blu-Ray and digital download.

As teased in the Draft Day trailer, Costner is the GM for the Cleveland Browns, and yes, it is Draft Day.

The fans of the Browns have their opinions as to who he should choose with their first round pick. The new coach (Denis Leary, brilliant) has a clear opinion. And, believe it or not, so does Costner -- but he still just doesn’t know.

All of this is playing out as the clock is ticking on Cleveland’s chance to pick.

There are a multitude of storylines going on here, and that is why Draft Day is so much more than a football story. It is a tale about family, about love (Jennifer Garner is the team lawyer and a romantic interest), ego (he and Frank Langella, team owner, continually clash), and yes -- thankfully -- football and the passion for the game that millions have for it.

As our theatrical Draft Day review stated, this is a fun ride, and in the last 30 minutes -- without giving anything away -- Costner puts on a clinic and the pace is as riveting as the best thrillers out there.

Capturing that thriller essence is the bonus feature On The Clock: The Making of Draft Day, which looks at how a relatively simple story about drafting a football player could have a feel similar to a police bomb squad trying to diffuse an explosion while the clock ticks. It is impressive how director Ivan Reitman (Ghostbusters) has crafted this flick, and watching him at work with his cast and crew in this bonus feature is pure joy.

The Welcome to Primetime featurette also got our attention in that it showed how, with the NFL’s help (one of the only movies to get the league’s stamp of approval to this extent), the NFL draft has become more of an event each year. It is so much more than determining the future of any given city’s franchise. The draft is a show all unto itself, and Draft Day captures that impeccably.

There’s a Draft Day audio commentary that is fascinating from writers Rajiv Joseph and Scott Rothman that take us inside the extensive research that has this film breathing with a real life pulse.

But, we have to say, we would have wished to have an audio commentary track from Reitman especially, but even Costner to have him talk about the sports movie and what sets this one apart for him. But, alas, it is not to be.

Watch Draft Day online now and see why this film will clearly have you more than ready for the start of a new football season while it also is another Costner sports film that rivets.

Hot on the heels of that riveting The Maze Runner trailer that gave us the "rules" of the maze that has our cast trapped in a mysterious land, we've got a series of character posters that introduce us to the "runners" seeking to break out of that menacing maze. 

Dylan O'Brien leads the cast and this star-making turn in the 20th Century Fox film is why he is one of our 31 breakout stars of fall!

Will Poulter also stars and he and the five leads' character posters truly paint a picture of the rugged nature captured by director Wes Ball from the bestselling YA novel by James Dashner. 

Check out the character posters for The Maze Runner below from this highly anticipated movie that lands September 19.

The Maze Runner Character Posters

1. Dylan O'Brien Is Thomas

Dylan O'Brien is Thomas and when he arrives as a new Maze Runner, everything changes.

We’re guessing the folks behind the success of X-Men: Days of Future Past feel that the great experience they had shooting in Montreal is worth a return to film X-Men: Apocalypse.

News arrives today that Bryan Singer will shoot his follow-up to one of our top 17 movies of summer 2014 in the Canadian city, starting in April in anticipation of a release date of May 27, 2016.

Fox and Singer have managed to keep much of the plot of X-Men: Apocalypse under wraps and little is known about what will happen. But, we understand it is more of a true sequel to X-Men: First Class than X-Men: Days of Future Past, although count on seeing Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine in the next film!

Apocalypse is one of the X-Men world’s most feared and menacing villains and from what we caught at the end of X-Men: Days of Future Past… we can’t wait to see him in full in 2016.

Watch X-Men: First Class online to properly get ready for X-Men: Apocalypse and keep an eye out for the upcoming release of the X-Men: Days of Future Past DVD on October 14.

X-Men: Days of Future Past Photos

1. Beast and Mystique Get Beastly

Who knew that Mystique and Beast hook up? Considering the pair who play them in real life are together, that ought to work.

We were wondering, when those Mockingjay Part 1 Rebel Character Posters premiered: Where is the inspiration for the entire revolution? Jennifer Lawrence’s Katniss was conspicuously absent!

Well, now we know why and it makes perfect sense. She gets a character poster release day all to herself!

And might we say it is the most unique of posters in that Katniss is not facing the camera. She is facing away from it, and all we see are her trademark arrows and she’s dressed all in black, like the rest of the rebels.

Perhaps, just perhaps, we’ll get a second Katniss Rebel Character Poster, when she turns around and is ready to fight.

Because if you know the story from the Suzanne Collins books, Katniss does not quite fit into the rebellion led by President Coin (Julianne Moore) at the beginning of the Mockingjay saga. That’s why we think this first Katniss “rebels” character poster is utterly perfect.

Check out the Mockingjay Part 1 teaser trailer and that further proves our point. And be sure to watch Catching Fire online to get all sorts of ready for the arrival of Mockingjay Part 1 on November 21.

Mockingjay Part 1 District 13 Character Posters

1. The Katniss Rebel Poster

The Katniss "rebel" poster is finally here!

For fans of One Direction, the arrival of the full length trailer for their second concert documentary, One Direction: Where We Are, makes this a very good day.

We at Movie Fanatic were kind of fond of the band’s first concert doc, directed by esteemed documentarian Morgan Spurlock, One Direction: This Is Us.

And given the band’s enormous popularity that shows no signs of waning, it is hardly a surprise that we’ve got a second concert film in as many years.

The boys were discovered by Simon Cowell and since that fateful moment when there were put into a group, they have broken concert records across the globe and amassed a passionate legion of fans that has been unmatched since, dare we say it, the Fab Four!

One Direction: Where We Are Trailer

One Direction: Where We Are will only be released in a limited run for one weekend only on October 10.

In the meantime, be sure to watch One Direction: This Is Us online and hear deafening screaming fans and insanely catchy pop music captured by the best documentary filmmaker working today.   

Now that summer 2014 is behind us, let's look to what could easily be one of the best -- if not the best -- summer movie season ever.

Believe us, Hollywood execs are thrilled the 2014 summer movie season is over with box office receipts down almost 22 percent.

But, as you can probably guess, looking at our slideshow below, they are far from worried because 2015 will easily be the best summer movie season on record and, we would bet, it will also be the most profitable. 

Watch The Avengers online and you know that Avengers: Age of Ultron has to be one of the most anticipated movies coming our way in 2015! 

Watch Pitch Perfect online and know that its sequel will be landing next summer and it will surely be acca-awesome!

And how about this for something to look forward to... watch Despicable Me 2 online, and what would you say if those Minions are getting their own 2015 summer movie? Pretty awesome!

And those three are just the tip of the iceberg that will be 2015 summer movies. 

Click through and witness 23 movies that we believe make 2015 the best summer ever. Period!

23 Summer Movies That Make 2015 The Hottest Ever!

1. Avengers: Age of Ultron

It is fitting that the best summer ever starts with one of the most anticipated movies that is coming our way... Avengers: Age of Ultron. And with the addition of Scarlet Witch, Quicksilver and the villain of all villains in Ultron, this will be one explosive sequel.

Legendary comic force of nature Joan Rivers has passed away this afternoon at the age of 81. Her daughter, Melissa, made the announcement via a statement.

"It is with great sadness that I announce the death of my mother, Joan Rivers. She passed peacefully at 1:17 PM surrounded by family and close friends. My son and I would like to thank the doctors, nurses and staff of Mount Sinai hospital for the amazing care they provided for my mother,” Melissa said in the statement.

"Cooper and I have found ourselves humbled by the outpouring of love, support and prayers we have received from around the world. They have been heard and appreciated. My mother's greatest joy in life was to make people laugh. Although that is difficult to do right now, I know her final wish would be that we return to laughing soon."

Rivers was a staple on The Tonight Show, where she broke barriers as the first female host of late night and even had a fine career in film, directing Billy Crystal in the late '70s comedy The Rabbit Test. Crystal, who recently paid tribute to Robin Williams at the Emmys, will surely release a statement soon and we’ll bring it to you.

For those who want to discover (or relive) the greatness that was Rivers, be sure to check out the astounding documentary that recently chronicled her glass ceiling-breaking work and watch Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work online.

Movie Stars We Lost in 2014

1. Joan Rivers

Trailblazing comedy legend Joan Rivers has passed away at 81.

As you can tell from the moment that first The Boxtrolls trailer arrived, the studio behind it – LAIKA – has not lost a beat and in fact, has only improved since they debuted Coraline several years ago. We marveled at their recent film ParaNorman and have put The Boxtrolls’ September 26 release date firmly on our calendar.

Focus Features and LAIKA are taking fans behind the scenes of their latest film with a featurette that puts the spotlight firmly on the magic makers of the Portland, Oregon-based stop motion animation house.

It is painstaking work, and watching these artists at work and talking about their rich artistic efforts is pure joy in the following featurette.

The Boxtrolls Behind the Scenes

The Boxtrolls follows the story of a group of trolls who live below ground in the Dickensian town of Cheesebridge. They wear boxes over their bodies, thus their name! They adopt a young boy and name him Eggs (Isaac Hempstead-Wright).

When an evil man named Archibald Snatcher convinces the powers that be that the Boxtrolls are dangerous and that he must be allowed to kill them all, both townspeople and the trolls themselves begin a reign of fear of each other.

Eggs takes to the surface to try to convince the people of Cheesebridge that the Boxtrolls are kind souls and no one believes him, except a little girl named Winnifred (Elle Fanning).

The film is fantastic and brilliant on so many levels and one of our 31 fall films to watch.

Watch Coraline online to get a taste of what LAIKA can do and make sure to see The Boxtrolls at the end of September. 

The Boxtrolls Posters

1. The Boxtrolls Official Movie Poster

The official movie poster for The Boxtrolls shows off its eccentric cast!