The Guardians of the Galaxy have muscled their way back to No.1 at the Australian box office, reclaiming the hotly contested throne from The Inbetweeners 2.

The Marvel space opera starring Chris Pratt and Zoe Saldana rocketed back into first place over the weekend with $1.894 million, according to the Motion Picture Distributors Association of Australia.

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It was enough to shove the Australian-filmed Inbetweeners sequel into second, which took $1.568 million, while foodie flick The Hundred-Foot Journey remained steady in third.

If I Stay, the latest tear-jerking novel adaptation from Hollywood, debuted in No.4, pushing Lucy, starring Scarlett Johansson, into fifth.

Another new entry, Woody Allen’s Magic in the Moonlight opened in sixth place, while Sylvester Stallone’s The Expendables 3 slipped two rungs into seventh.

Australian films Predestination, starring Ethan Hawke, and Joel Edgerton’s crime thriller Felony debuted in eighth and ninth spot.

Meanwhile Begin Again, starring Mark Ruffalo and Keira Knightley, slipped three places, but hung onto the ladder in tenth.

TOP 10 FILMS FOR THE WEEKEND OF AUGUST 28-31:

1. Guardians of the Galaxy – $1.894 million (Walt Disney)

2. The Inbetweeners 2 – $1.568 million (Roadshow)

3. The Hundred-Foot Journey – $1.302 million (Walt Disney)

4. If I Stay – $1.088 million (Warner Bros)

5. Lucy – $822,618 (Universal)

6. Magic in the Moonlight – $761,593 (Entertainment One)

7. The Expendables 3 – $463,639 (Roadshow)

8. Predestination – $201,560 (Pinnacle Films)

9. Felony – $185,429 (Roadshow)

10. Begin Again – $162,359 (Roadshow)