There has been quite the battle at the US box office this weekend with a number of very different films released across North America on Friday. Lee Daniels, the filmmaker that brought us PRECIOUS and this past year’s THE PAPERBOY, has a number one hit on his hands, and potential Oscar glory, with THE BUTLER, starring Oprah Winfrey and Forest Whitaker in the title role. The film made a substantial dent in proceedings over the three days to Sunday, taking an estimated $25 million in receipts. The movie, which revolves around a long-standing employee of the White House, played by Whitaker, saw off huge competition from the slightly more hyped KICK-ASS 2, which only secured the fourth spot with just $13.5 million in the bank, a huge disappointment for the action-comedy sequel.
Between those two movies were the Jennifer Aniston led comedy WE’RE THE MILLERS, which opens in the UK this coming Friday, which retained the number two position with $17.7 million in its second week, and Neill Blomkamp’s ELYSIUM, which also opens here next weekend, with $13.6 million over its second week in cinemas.
Rounding out the top five this week is Disney’s PLANES, the spin-off from CARS, which hit here last Friday to luke-warm reviews, which made a paltry $13.1 million in its second week, bringing its total domestic haul to $49 million, just shy of its budget.
Two of this weekend’s other new entries far from delivered, with the Ashton Kutcher led JOBS, which revolves around the life of the late Apple founder, landing just over $6 million and position number seven on this week’s chart, and PARANOIA, a movie which re-teams AIR FORCE ONE stars Harrison Ford and Gary Oldman, which failed to even make the top ten. The film, which also stars Liam Hemsworth, made a very disappointing $3.5 million, positioning it at unlucky number thirteen on the countdown, a spot behind DESPICABLE ME 2, which has been on release for seven weeks. The film is going to have to go-some to get anywhere near its reported $35 million budget.
| Title | Weekend | Total | |
| 1. | Lee Daniels’ The Butler | $25,010,000 | $25 |
| 2. | We’re the Millers | $17,780,000 | $69.5 |
| 3. | Elysium | $13,600,00 | $55.9 |
| 4. | Kick-Ass 2 | $13,568,000 | $13.5 |
| 5. | Planes | $13,141,000 | $45 |
| 6. | Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters | $8,375,000 | $38.9 |
| 7. | Jobs | $6,700,000 | $6.7 |
| 8. | 2 Guns | $5,600,000 | $59.2 |
| 9. | The Smurfs 2 | $4,600,000 | $56.9 |
| 10. | The Wolverine | $4,425,000 | $120.4 |
Hit Box-Office-Mojo for more, and check back here at the start of the week to see how the UK top ten stands for this past weekend.
Source: Box-Office Mojo
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