Oprah Boosts 'The Butler,' 'Kick-Ass 2' Proves its Title Is a Lie
Welcome to the Box Office Report, where we're not even going to talk about the paltry $6.7 million gross from Ashton Kutcher's Steve Jobs impression.
.Welcome to the Box Office Report, where we're not even going to talk about the paltry $6.7 million gross from Ashton Kutcher's Steve Jobs impression.
1. Lee Daniels's The Butler (Weinstein Company): $25 million in 2,933 theaters
The "eh" but important biopic featuring a cast of all the famous people had a solid first week in theaters, because Oprah. Plus, critics liked it. Of the weekend's big debuts, The Butler is more or less the only film that should be proud of itself right now.
2. We're the Millers (Warner): $17.8 million in 3,325 theaters [Week 2]
The Jason Sudeikis debutante ball courted enough movie-going suitors for a second week as the salutatorian of the box office report.
3. Elysium (Sony): $16.2 million in 3,284 theaters [Week 2]
It dropped two spots from a number one debut, but Elysium is hanging in there. Actually, the film's North American showing isn't the real story here as far as Sony is concerned: this week, the film grabbed the number one spot on the overseas charts, taking in $13 million from eight markets in Western Europe, which is better than District 9's week 1 pull in the same market.
4. Kick-Ass 2 (Universal): $13.65 million in 2,940 theaters
It fell flat. The best of the worst openers this week grossed less than the $19.83 earned by its predecessor, 2010's Kick Ass. The sequel was supposed to battle The Butler for first place in this week's report, but it didn't even come close. But at least it made the list: in addition to Jobs's 7th-place start, Paranoia pulled in just $3.5 million, putting it 13th this week.
5. Planes (Universal): $13.1 million in 3,716 theaters [Week 2]
Kid-friendly animations of personified modes of transportation tend to do well at the box office, and it looks like Planes no exception. The Box Office Report is now eagerly awaiting Disney's Hyperloop.