The Butler has distinguished itself from a field of failed new releases at this weekend’s box office. While The Weinstein Company decades-spanning civil rights drama over-achieved with an impressive $25.01 million this weekend, Universal’s Kick-Ass 2 , Open Road’s Jobs and the Relativity-distributed Paranoia failed miserably. Neither Jobs nor Paranoia managed to finish in the top 5
The Jason Sudeikis-Jennifer Aniston Warner Bros. comedy, We’re the Millers, held onto second place in its second week of release with $17.78 million, while last week’s No. 1, Sony’s Elysium, dropped to third with $13.6 million.
Kick-Ass 2, the tale of everyday teenagers who dress up as superhero crime-fighters, opened in fourth place with $13.56 million. The Steve Jobs biopic, Jobs, debuted in seventh place with $6.7 million. Paranoia, which stars Harrison Ford, Gary Oldman and Liam Hemsworth, didn’t crack the top 12 with a horrible $3.5 million in earnings.
The Butler, which was officially titled Lee Daniels’ The Butler after a legal dispute between The Weinstein Company and Warner Bros., stars Forest Whitaker in the title role, with Oprah Winfrey as his wife. According to various sources, the success of the film’s debut has been attributed to The Weinsteins Conpany’s black church marketing plan, Florida watchman George Zimmerman’s acquittal, the U.S. Supreme Court’s Voting Rights Act decision, and Oprah Winfrey’s star power.
Whatever the reason, The Butler becomes another example that dispels the myth that black movies can’t rule the box office.
Here’s the top 10 movies at the theater this weekend, according to Hollywood.com:
1. “Lee Daniels’ The Butler,” $25 million.
2. “We’re the Millers,” $17.78 million ($10.6 million international).
3. “Elysium,” $13.6 million ($23.4 million international).
4. “Kick-Ass 2,” $13.56 million ($6.3 million international).
5. “Planes,” $13.14 million ($7.3 million international).
6. “Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters,” $8.37 million ($21.8 million international).
7. “Jobs,” $6.7 million.
8. “2 Guns,” $5.57 million ($2.1 million international).
9. “The Smurfs 2,” $4.6 million ($20 million international).
10. “The Wolverine,” $4.42 million ($10.8 million international).
