It was expected to be a close race, but nobody saw the projected second place finisher to nearly double the projected first place finisher's actual gross. Lee Daniels' historical drama The Butler came out ahead of expectations, and pulled in $24.6 million, for a per-venue average of a strong $8,400. That is a great debut, and with solid reviews and an "A" CinemaScore, plus no competition for older audiences, Butler looks well-positioned to have a long run at the box office. Butler opened to around the same as similar drama The Help, which would go on to become a sleeper sensation, earning over $160 million domestically. Part of the reason why the movie succeeded was due to the presence of Oprah Winfrey, but distributor The Weinstein Company, who scored their fourth-biggest opening ever, really did a great job with the marketing. Plus, with basically no choices for older audiences this summer, this allowed that demographic to flock to this. TWC was hoping for a $20 million debut, and the budget was a fairly tidy $30 million.We're The Millers repeated in second with a terrific hold, off a Top 10-best 32% to $18 million, for a very strong $69.7 million gross in 12 days. The R-rated comedy is now a lock to earn over $100 million stateside, becoming the fourth one this year to pass that mark, after The Heat, Identity Thief and The Hangover - Part III.
After topping last weekend, Elysium didn't show signs of good word-of-mouth. The sci-fi thriller was off 54% to $13.7 million, for a $56 million 10-day gross. Sony's not-good summer just won't reverse here, as Elysium won't reach the century mark, nor will it come anywhere near District 9's final gross.
Disney's Planes held decently in its' second go-round, off 40% to $13.4 million, for a 10-day start of a good $45.3 million. That may not be as strong of a hold as Turbo's second frame, but some kids did go back to school this past week, which may be part of the reason of this worse decline. Planes is looking prime for a Labor Day bump, and is looking like it could earn as much as $80 million domestically, which would be amazing for a small-budget cartoon.
Kick-*** 2 was projected to finish in a tie for third place, but wound up in fifth place when actuals were released with $13.3 million, for a per-venue average of a not-good $4,535. That is around two-thirds of the original's $19.8 million debut, and with strong buzz, it definitely doesn't make sense why this didn't at least match that film's gross. Fan inflation may have been the cause. But this franchise wanna-be never seemed to have a chance at getting a sequel, as its' predecessors' performance was barely average. Distributor Universal Pictures should still wind up in OK shape with this though, as the budget was just $28 million, and the film is off to a very good start overseas. The CinemaScore was a "B+".
Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters held very well, off 39% to $8.8 million, for a 12-day pick-up of $39.2 million. Considering the fact fantasy films drop 55% or more on average, this is a great hold and will keep the sequel playing through Labor Day. At this point, a $65 million final gross (dependent on how it fares against The Mortal Instruments) would be fairly good (especially with strong international grosses).
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2 Guns continued its' rapid descent, off 48% to $5.8 million, for a $59.t million gross in 17 days, or just over double its' opening weekend. With apparently bad audience reception, the film may finish as a bit of a disappointment in an otherwise strong year for Universal. The Smurfs 2 also is failing to connect with audiences down the road, off 49% to $4.8 million. With just $57 million in 19 days, the film will embarrassingly finish as the lowest-grossing animated film of the summer. However, overseas will put this well into the black. The Wolverine rounded out the Top 10 in its' fourth weekend, off 44% to $4.5 million, for a 24-day pick-up of $120.6 million, with not much further to go. But again, overseas is putting it well into the black.
Meanwhile, the final new release, thriller Paranoia, failed to connect with audiences on an extremely crowded weekend. Opening in 13th place with $3.5 million, the per-venue average was a terrible $1,435. Even with Harrison Ford, Liam Hemsworth and Gary Oldman in the cast, the Relativity Media-financed project, despite solid marketing, wasn't given enough attention. Bad reviews and a "C+" CinemaScore signal a very short run in theaters, and it will likely fall short of $10 million by the time its' done.Overseas, its' reported that Elysium topped the foreign circuit with close to $25 million from 20 markets. Its' at close to $100 million worldwide so far, and is pacing ahead of District 9 through the same point. Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters expanded to 36 territories and earned a solid $21.5 million, for an early overseas total of $35 million. Jackson should ultimately wind up ahead of its' predecessor's $140 million overseas tally. Pacific Rim continued to do strong in China, and added another $20 million overall, for a $380 million worldwide tally so far, and should wind up around $425 million. The Smurfs 2 virtually tied Pacific with another $20 million, for a $150 million overseas tally so far. Despicable Me 2 continued to wow with another $19.5 million thanks to a strong debut in Russia, and is at $780 million worldwide so far, and will likely close with around $850 million, a huge sum for an animated sequel.
