Expendables 3, the third film in the Expendables franchise, was a flop in theatres. The winners at the box office were Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Guardians of the Galaxy. The action movie starring Sylvester Stallone and Harrison Ford debuted in third place at $5.9 million. Sequels often fail to live up to expectations and there was a lot of stiff competition this summer from other films.

Expendables 3 has an large ensemble cast of major action stars, but the film dealt with problems before it was released. Lionsgate filed a lawsuit against several websites for pirating the film, leading to thousands of downloads three weeks before it opened in theatres. The distribution company was granted a temporary restraining order. Another reason for why the movie did badly could be that audiences are tired of aging action stars. Even with the help of big names like Arnold Schwarzenegger, Wesley Snipes, and Antonio Banderas weren’t enough for the sequel to be a success. The years on the actors are showing and seem a bit old for this type of action. In addition, it had lackluster reviews and seemed like a rehash of the other two films.

Audiences seem more interested watching science fiction storylines on the big screen. With unique plots, cool special effects, and material to fall back on, TMNT and Guardians beat out the competition. Maybe people are looking for films that are more original. It could be time for Stallone and the others to retire the guns and action gear, and let a younger generation take over. The stars are veterans of the genre and look it. They are all over 50, and less believable as men on a mission. People prefer watching mutant turtles and superheroes in space. Films based on comic books have done the best in theatres.