‘Riddick’ Knocks ‘The Butler’ Out of First
Universal Picture’s Riddick starring Vin Diesel opened in first place last weekend with $19.03 million. However, the third installment of the sci-fi franchise opened a bit below expectations of between $20-25 million. Riddick opened 22 percent below the $24.29 million start of 2004’s The Chronicles of Riddick (the second in the series). However with a production budget of $38 million, Riddick was far less expensive than The Chronicles of Riddick. Riddick did open 64 percent stronger than the $11.58 million three-day start of 2000’s Pitch Black (the original).
Vin Diesel battles a monster in Riddick. (Photo: Universal Pictures)
After leading the box office the previous three weekends, Lee Daniels’ The Butler fell to second place last weekend with $8.40 million. The early awards season hopeful from The Weinstein Co. starring Forest Whitaker and Oprah Winfrey was down 44 percent from the previous weekend. The Butler has grossed an impressive $91.40 million through 24 days of release; leaving the film just $8.60 million away from reaching the $100 million domestic milestone.
We’re the Millers took in $7.69 million to place third. Warner Bros.’ break-out comedy starring Jennifer Aniston and Jason Sudeikis was down 39 percent from the previous weekend bringing its 33-day take to $123.61 million. Disney’s Planes claimed fourth place with $4.12 million. The computer animated film was down 47 percent and has now grossed $79.12 million in 31 days. Planes continues to benefit from the lack of new competition for family audiences and will continue to do so until Sony’s Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2 is released on Sept. 27.
Meanwhile, Sony’s One Direction: This Is Us was down a whopping 74 percent to land in fifth with $4.05 million. After a strong opening day performance the previous weekend, the 3D concert documentary has remained largely in free fall since then. With that said, One Direction: This Is Us has still grossed a solid $23.94 million in 10 days. That places the film 42 percent ahead of the $16.84 million 10-day start of 2009’s Jonas Brothers: The 3D Concert Experience, but 50 percent behind the $48.18 million 10-day take of 2011’s Justin Bieber: Never Say Never.
| This Week | Last Week | Movie | Weekend Gross | Cumulative Gross | Weeks |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | N/A | Riddick | $19.0M | $19.0M | 1 |
| 2 | 1 | The Butler | $8.4M | $91.4M | 4 |
| 3 | 3 | We’re the Millers | $7.7M | $123.6M | 5 |
| 4 | 4 | Planes | $4.1M | $79.1M | 5 |
| 5 | 2 | One Direction: This Is Us | $4.0M | $23.9M | 2 |
| 6 | 5 | Elysium | $3.1M | $85.1M | 5 |
| 7 | 8 | Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters | $2.4M | $59.7M | 5 |
| 8 | 10 | Blue Jasmine | $2.3M | $25.1M | 7 |
| 9 | 7 | The World’s End | $2.3M | $21.8M | 3 |
| 10 | 6 | The Mortal Instruments: City of Doom | $2.2M | $27.9M | 3 |
Editor-in-Chief Mark Heckathorn is a journalist, movie buff and foodie. He oversees DC on Heels editorial operations as well as strategic planning and staff development. Reach him with story ideas or suggestions at dcoheditor (at) gmail (dot) com.
