New Releases Have Lackluster Openings

Lee Daniels’ The Butler led the box office last weekend with a strong debut of $24.64 million. The early awards season hopeful from The Weinstein Co. had been widely expected to find itself in a close race with Universal Picture’s Kick-Ass 2 for first place last weekend, but ultimately had no problem out-pacing Kick-Ass 2‘s disappointing performance. Awards season buzz around the performances of Forest Whitaker and Oprah Winfrey, the title controversy surrounding the film and the lack of dramas in the marketplace this summer are all factors that helped The Butler exceed expectations.

Oprah Winfrey and Forest Whitaker star in Lee Daniels’ The Butler. (Anne Marie Cox/The Weinstein Co.)

Warner Bros.’ We’re the Millers held up very nicely last weekend with $17.96 million. The R-rated comedy starring Jennifer Aniston and Jason Sudeikis was down only 32 percent from its opening weekend and held steady in second place. We’re the Millers has grossed $69.69 million in 12 days, a figure which is made even more impressive by the film’s modest price tag for a high profile summer release.

As mentioned, Kick-Ass 2 was off to a disappointing start. The superhero sequel starring Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Chloë Grace Moretz and Jim Carrey debuted with $13.33 million, which placed the film in fifth place behind both Elysium and Planes. That was well below pre-release expectations and was 33 percent softer than the $19.83 million start of 2010’s Kick-Ass. While the original film was well liked by its niche audience, a sizable percentage of that audience ultimately wasn’t interested in a second helping. The one saving grace for Kick-Ass 2 is that with a reported production budget of $28 million, it was inexpensive for a superhero film.

Last weekend’s other two wide releases opened to even softer results. Open Road’s Jobs took in $6.71 million to place in seventh, while Relativity’s Paranoia debuted all the way down in 13th with just $3.53 million. The Ashton Kutcher led Jobs opened on the low end of its modest expectations, while Paranoia — which features Liam Hemsworth, Gary Oldman and Harrison Ford — delivered the smallest opening weekend of 2013 to date for a film debuting in more than 2,000 locations.

Sony’s Elysium, the previou weekend’s top film, fell two spots and 54 percent to place in third last weekend with $13.69 million. The Neill Blomkamp directed sci-fi film starring Matt Damon and Jodie Foster has grossed $56.00 million through 10 days of release. Disney’s Planes landed in fifth with $13.39 million. The DisneyToon Studios produced computer animated spin-off was down 40 percent and one spot from its opening weekend’s debut. Planes has grossed $45.34 million through 10 days of release, which is solid given the film’s modest price tag for a computer animated film. Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters took in $8.75 million to place in sixth. Fox’s fantasy sequel was down 39 percent from its opening weekend. Sea of Monsters has grossed $39.28 million in 12 days of release, placing it a lackluster 35 percent behind the $60.13 million 12-day start of 2010’s Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief.