Four new films open at the North American box office, led by The Weinstein Co. release The Butler. Animated family features remain strong, including Disney Cars spinoff Planes, Sony’s The Smurfs 2 and worldwide box office juggernaut Despicable Me 2.
Four new films opened at the North American box office this past weekend, led by The Weinstein Co. release, The Butler. Directed by Lee Daniels and staring starring Forest Whitaker and Oprah Winfrey, the racial drama brought in $25 million for a first place showing, beating out teen super hero movie Kick Ass 2, thriller Paranoia, and biopic Jobs.
Animated family features are still going strong, with Disney Cars spinoff Planes holding well in its second weekend out, followed by Smurfs 2 and worldwide box office juggernaut Despicable Me 2, now in its seventh week.
Warner Bros. comedy We’re the Millers came in second place, taking in $17.8 million over its sophomore weekend for a domestic total of $69.5 million.
Sony’s Elysium, also in its second weekend out, came in third, earning $13.6 million for a domestic total of $56 million. Directed by Neil Blomkamp and starring Matt Damon, the sci-fi feature took the top spot at the overseas box office, earning $23.4 million for a worldwide total of $95.1 million.
Universal’s Kick-Ass 2, directed by Jeff Wadlow with a cast that includes Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Chloe Grace Moretz and Jim Carrey, debuted at $13.6 million for a fourth-place finish. The original Kick-Ass, released in 2010, opened to just under $20 million.
Disney’s Planes, also in its second weekend out, came in fifth place with $13.2 million for a 10-day total of $45.1 million. Overseas, the animated feature opened in nine markets, including the UK and Spain, making and addiitonal $7.3 million.
Fox’s Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters came in sixth, bringing in $8.4 million over its sophomore weekend for a domestic total of $38.9 million. The VFX-heavy feature came in second place internationally, earning $21.8 million for a worldwide total of $75.4 million.
Produced by Endgame Entertainment and Five Star, the Steve Jobs bio Jobs, starring Ashton Kutcher and directed by Joshua Michael Stern, opened in seventh place. Distributor Open Road Films made $6.7 million for the film’s opening, less than half of the $15 million production budget.
Mark Wahlberg and Denzel Washington's R-rated action feature 2 Guns, directed by Iceland’s Baltasar Kormakur, came in eighth place with $5.6 million for a domestic total of $59.2 million.
Sony’s live action-animation hybrid feature The Smurfs 2 took in $4.6 million over its third weekend out for a total of $57 million and a ninth place finish. Overseas, the family feature came in third place, bringing in $20 million for a worldwide total of $201.9 million.
Rounding out the list at number 10 is Fox’s The Wolverine, which made $4.4 million for a domestic total of $120.5 million. This weekend, The Wolverine passed X-Men: First Class at the foreign box office, where it has so far banked $214.8 million for a worldwide total of $336.9 million.
Universal and Illumination Entertainment's animated feature, Despicable Me 2, now in its seventh week out, slipped to number 12 on the charts but still brought in $3.8 million at the North American box office for a domestic total of $346 million. Overseas, the animated tentpole took in $19.5 million for an international total of $ $435.2 million, and a worldwide total of $781.2 million.
Relativity’s Paranoia, directed by Robert Luketic and starring Liam Hemsworth, Gary Oldman and Harrison Ford, didn’t make the top ten list, opening at number 13 with $3.5 million. The thriller, produced and financed by IM Global and Demarest Films, cost $35 million to make.
Box office numbers were obtained on boxofficemojo.com.
Formerly Editor-in-Chief of Animation World Network, Jennifer Wolfe has worked in the Media & Entertainment industry as a writer and PR professional since 2003.
