Actor Idris Elba of poses at the Guess Portrait Studio during the 2013 Toronto International Film Festival on September 8, 2013 in Toronto. (Larry Busacca—Getty Images)

“No Good Deed,” a thriller from Sony Corp. (6758) starring Idris Elba, opened in first place in theaters over the weekend, toppling Walt Disney Co.’s “Guardians of the Galaxy.”

“No Good Deed” collected $24.5 million in U.S. and Canadian cinemas, according to an e-mailed statement today from Rentrak Corp. (RENT) “Dolphin Tale 2” garnered $16.6 million, to place second for Warner Bros. in its debut. “Guardians” fell to third place.

Sony’s film is its fourth movie to open in the No. 1 slot this year and is the first new release to debut atop theaters in more than a month as “Guardians” and “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles” led the closing weeks of disappointing summer for Hollywood. Sony withheld “No Good Deed” from critic previews to avoid the leaking of a plot twist, a strategy that may have aided sales.

“We’re building some momentum right now,” Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst at Rentrak, said by telephone. “This is where we get back on track after the traditionally very, very slow post-Labor Day weekend.”

Elba, the British actor known for the TV series “The Wire,” plays a dangerous escaped convict who terrorizes a mother, played by Taraji Henson, and her two young children after she offers to help him.

The film had a production budget of $13.2 million, according to Box Office Mojo, and was projected to collect $19 million, according to researcher BoxOffice.com.

“No Good Deed” benefited from compelling actors and effective marketing via social media that included Instagram and Twitter campaigns, Dergarabedian said.

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SOURCE: Anousha Sakoui and Lauren Coleman-Lochner 
Bloomberg