For the second weekend in a row, "Lee Daniels' The Butler"
dished out major blows to the new arrivals at the late summer box office. The
Weinstein drama, which stars Forest Whitaker and Oprah Winfrey, fell 31 percent
to $17 million this weekend, bringing "The Butler"'s gross to $52.3
million after ten days. The film isn't raking in quite as much as 2011′s
"The Help," which had earned $57.2 million in its first ten days
(though that film opened on a Wednesday, so that total accounts for only one
weekend), and it won't match "The Help"'s $169.7 million finish.
Still, if word-of-mouth keeps driving slim week-to-week declines, "The
Butler" has a very good chance of reaching $100 million. Even if it just
misses the century mark, the film will triple its $30 million budget
domestically.
But "The Butler" wasn't the only holdover to notch an
impressive drop. "We're the Millers"
held up even better in its third weekend. The Jason Sudeikis/Jennifer Aniston
collaboration fell only 25 percent to $13.5 million, which gives the pot
smuggling comedy a smoking $91.7 million total. "Millers" is
performing even better than Sudeikis' and Aniston's previous comedic offering,
"Horrible Bosses," which had earned $82.6 million at the same point
in its run on the way to a $117 million final tally. Warner Bros.'
"Millers" won't be able to surpass "The Heat"'s $155.9 million
gross to become the biggest comedy of the summer, but it could still catch up
to "Grown Ups 2"'s $128 million total — a phenomenal result for a
film that cost $37 million. Sudeikis chose the right project to launch his
post-"SNL" career.
Hollywood's eternal quest to find another "Twilight"/"Hunger
Games"/"Harry Potter" proved fruitless yet again this weekend.
The $60 million fantasy film "The Mortal Instruments:
City of Bones" misfired in its first five days in theaters,
taking in just $14.1 million since its Wednesday debut — $9.3 million of which
came in over the traditional weekend frame. The Sony-acquired film, adapted
from Cassandra Clare's popular series of novels, joins this year's other YA adaptations,
"The Host" ($26.6 million) and "Beautiful Creatures" ($19.5
million), as potential adventure franchises that badly undercut expectations.
It remains to be seen whether "City of Bones"' dreadful debut will
affect its potential sequel, "The Mortal Instruments: City of Ashes,"
which is currently set to start shooting in Toronto this September. Production
company Constantin would have to feel very bullish about its international
appeal to justify shelling out huge money on
a follow-up — especially given "City of Bones"' weak critical
reception and lukewarm "B+" CinemaScore grade.
In fourth place, critically beloved Brit import "The World's End"
earned a solid $8.9 million from 1,549 theaters, which yielded a nice $5,773
average. ("Mortal Instruments" and "You're Next" opened
much wider in 3,118 theaters and 2,437 theaters, respectively.) The film
starring Simon Pegg, Nick Frost, and Edgar Wright is the final entry in their
comedic Cornetto trilogy, which also includes cult favorites "Shaun of the
Dead" and "Hot Fuzz." "The World's End" opened better
than both of those films, which started with $3.3 million and $5.8 million,
respectively — and given its excellent reviews, it could hold up well over
Labor Day weekend. U.S. distributor Focus Features notes that crowds for the
$20 million film were 58 percent male, 71 percent below the age of 35, and that
59 percent had a college degree. "The World's End" earned an average
"B+" CinemaScore grade, which isn't entirely unsurprising given the
differences in American and British humor.
Disney's "Planes"
dipped 36 percent in its third weekend to $8.6 million. The animated entry,
which was originally intended as a direct-to-DVD release, has now earned $59.6
million against a $50 million budget. That's a full $10 million less than Turbo
had earned at the same point in its run, though the Fox film is considered a
flop due to its $135 million budget. In "Planes"' case, Disney didn't
need the film to perform especially well to turn over a profit — especially
given the endless merchandising opportunities it provides.
1. "The Butler" -- $17.0 million
2. "We're the Millers" -- $13.5 million
3. "The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones" -- $9.3
million
4. "The World's End" -- $8.9 million
5. "Planes" -- $8.6 million
Outside the Top 5, Lionsgate's R-rated horror film "You're Next"
didn't connect with viewers, and it slashed up only $7 million in its first
three days. Typical horror films are an easy sell, but casual movie fans may
have felt unengaged by the film's high-concept marketing campaign, which featured tons of
animal masks, but not a great sense of the story. Despite great reviews,
"You're Next" was issued an unenthusiastic "B--"
CinemaScore.
Woody Allen's "Blue Jasmine"
expanded from 229 theaters to 1,283 theaters this weekend, and while the film
did jump up to ninth place with $4.3 million (giving it a $14.8 million total),
that aggressive expansion may end up limiting the Cate Blanchett vehicle's box
office potential. Jasmine's per theater average dissolved from last weekend's
$10,005 to a much weaker $3,352 this time around, which may discourage
exhibitors from showing the buzzy Sony Pictures Classics film. If word-of-mouth
spreads quickly about "Blue Jasmine," though, it could perform very
nicely over Labor Day weekend, though.
Next weekend, the teens should be very happy given the release of
"Getaway," which stars Selena Gomez alongside Ethan Hawke, and the
concert film "One Direction: This Is Us." Check back t to see whether
either film can unseat "The Butler" over Labor Day.
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