LOS ANGELES, Aug 26 — Civil rights drama “Lee Daniels’ The Butler” took home its second US and Canadian box office title, topping a Jennifer Aniston comedy and a newly released supernatural teen film.
“The Butler”, starring Forest Whitaker and Oprah Winfrey, earned US$17 million (RM55.7 million) in ticket sales from Friday through Sunday, according to studio estimates. Jennifer Aniston comedy “We’re the Millers” came in second with US$13.5 million.
Among three late summer newcomers, “Mortal Instruments: City of Bones” landed in third with US$9.3 million, comedy “The World’s End” finished fourth with US$8.9 million, while low-budget horror film “You’re Next” only managed the No. 7 slot, with US$7.1 million.
“The Butler”, which also topped movie charts a week ago, is inspired by the real-life story of an African American man who served as a White House butler for eight US presidents. Whitaker stars as the title character and Winfrey plays his chain-smoking, hard-drinking wife.
The movie distributed by The Weinstein Company has rung up sales of US$52.3 million through its first two weekends, far surpassing its US$25 million budget paid by 28 investors, and is drumming up buzz as an awards season contender.
“Mortal Instruments”, which stars Lily Collins as a teen who works to protect the world from demons, performed best among the weekend’s new entries. The movie, another bid to reach the teen audience that made “Twilight” a blockbuster, is based on a popular series of young adult novels written by Cassandra Clare.
German company Constantin Films produced “Mortal Instruments” for US$60 million, and Sony paid for US marketing and distribution. The movie opened on Wednesday and added about US$4.8 million ahead of the weekend, for a five-day total of US$14.1 million.
Rory Bruer, Sony Pictures’ president of worldwide distribution, said that as the weekend progressed the film saw increasing business from its base of teenage girls, and had performed within the studio’s expectations.
“People are liking this film, so there’s more to this story as far as the future of the film goes,” Bruer said.
British sci-fi comedy “The World’s End”, which was accurately projected to haul in about US$9 million, tells the story of five friends who reunite for a pub crawl and become the planet’s only hope for survival from an alien invasion.
Noting that the film “opened this weekend against a very competitive field of new titles”, Focus Features said in a statement that its fourth-place finish “indicates that the core fan audience, buoyed by strong word-of-mouth and social media buzz, helped to power the film to a successful weekend”.
“World’s End”, which has been playing in some foreign markets since July, cost US$20 million to produce, according to the Box Office Mojo website.
“You’re Next”, the latest entry in the inexpensive horror film genre, performed the weakest among the new entries, falling far short of pre-weekend forecasts for a US$15 million opening.
The movie, which tells the story of a gang of axe-wielding murderers who wear animal masks and terrorise a family reunion, was shot for under US$1 million, with Lionsgate reportedly acquiring the rights for about US$2 million.
Woody Allen comedy “Blue Jasmine” expanded to 1,200 cinemas and earned US$4.3 million over the weekend. The film stars Cate Blanchett as a woman falling apart after her husband’s financial misdeeds cause her to lose her posh New York lifestyle. Cumulative sales since its July 26 release have reached US$14.8 million.
The Weinstein Company distributed “The Butler”. “We’re the Millers” was distributed by Warner Bros., a unit of Time Warner Inc. “You’re Next” was released by Lions Gate Entertainment Corp. Sony Corp’s movie studio released “Mortal Instruments” and “Blue Jasmine”. “The World’s End” was released by Focus Features, a unit of Comcast Corp’s Universal Pictures. — Reuters
