By Leonard Klady Klady@moviecitynews.com
The Weekend Report
Weekend box office went topsy-turvy as Lee Daniels’ The Butler served up the top dish with an estimated $25.1 million opening. Three other films debuted nationally including Kick-Ass 2 that was expected to rank first but had to settle for position three with $13.5 million. Also new were the biopic Jobs with $6.8 million and the thriller Paranoia down the list with $3.5 million.
In the niches Bollywood provided Once Upon a Time in Mumbai: Dobaara with an OK bow of $246,000 and in Quebec the animated Boule & Bill was cel-shocked with $12,400 at 21 venues.
Overall weekend box office generated about $140 million that translated into a 14% dip from one weekend back. It was a scant 1% off the comparable 2012 session when the debut of Expendables 2 led the field with $28.6 million.
Tracking was way off course leading up to the current weekend with pundits prognosticating roughly a $20 launch for Kick-Ass 2 and The Butler perhaps getting as high as $18 million. A spokesman for Butler’s distributor said he saw the possibility based on tracking data of slowly overtaking the presumed leader as one picture built and the other lost steam. However, as the first returns came in Friday afternoon it was clear that the personal/historic saga had a momentum that could not be stemmed.
It’s been well documented how difficult it was to finance The Butler, so its opening strength has to be gratifying for the film’s creative team. According to opening tracking the audience was 60% female with 88% of the audience aged 25-years and older. It was also 39% African American.
Meanwhile, Kick-Ass 2 couldn’t get any traction in the marketplace. The film appeared to hit its target audience with a 63% male crowd and 58% of the audience aged 25-years and younger… they simply didn’t come out at anticipated strength.
The film performed significantly better in its day-and-date international bow in 17 territories where it grossed an estimated $6.3 million.
The results for Jobs and Paranoia were similarly below expectations. Major critics were dismissive of both films with the former getting the brunt of derision. Likely it was too soon to take on the media innovator. Those who did attend broke down 53% male and 59% aged 25-years and older. Paranoia was 54% male and 64% aged 25-years and older.
Blue Jasmine continued its glacial expansion, maintaining strong per-screens. The stealth alternative hits continued to be nonfiction surprises 20 Feet from Stardom and Blackfish.
| Weekend (estimates) August 16 – 18, 2013 | |||||
| Title | Distributor | Gross (avg) | % chng | Thtrs | Cume |
| Lee Daniels’ The Butler | Weinstein Co. | 25.1 (8,550) | NEW | 2933 | 25.1 |
| We’re the Millers | WB | 17.8 (5,350) | -33% | 3325 | 69.5 |
| Kick-Ass 2 | Uni | 13.5 (4,810) | NEW | 2940 | 13.5 |
| Elysium | Sony | 13.3 (4,040) | -55% | 3284 | 55.6 |
| Planes | BV | 13.1 (3,520) | -41% | 3716 | 45 |
| Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters | Fox | 8.4 (2,710) | -42% | 3080 | 38.9 |
| Jobs | Open Road | 6.8 (2,870) | NEW | 2381 | 6.8 |
| 2 Guns | Uni/eOne | 5.5 (2,240) | -51% | 2471 | 59.2 |
| The Smurfs 2 | Sony | 4.6 (1,960) | -51% | 2349 | 56.9 |
| The Wolverine | Fox | 4.4 (2,140) | -45% | 2058 | 120.4 |
| The Conjuring | WB | 3.8 (1,920) | -42% | 2001 | 127.8 |
| Despicable Me | Uni | 3.8 (2,070) | -36% | 1818 | 346 |
| Paranoia | Relativity | 3.5 (1,430) | NEW | 2459 | 3.5 |
| Blue Jasmine | Sony Classics | 2.2 (9,690) | -5% | 229 | 9.3 |
| Grown Ups 2 | Sony | 1.7 (1,380) | -53% | 1241 | 127.4 |
| Turbo | Fox | 1.0 (1,350) | -56% | 759 | 77.6 |
| The Heat | Fox | .87 (1,260) | -56% | 691 | 155.5 |
| Chennai Express | UTV | .82 (4,320) | -63% | 190 | 3.9 |
| Pacific Rim | WB | .71 (1,600) | -54% | 444 | 98.4 |
| Red 2 | Lionsgate | .69 (970) | -64% | 715 | 51 |
| The Way, Way Back | Fox Searchlight | .66 (1,440) | -56% | 457 | 17.8 |
| Fruitvale Station | Weinstein Co. | .51 (1,070) | -64% | 477 | 14.6 |
| Man of Steel | WB | .49 (1,340) | -35% | 365 | 289.6 |
| Monsters University | BV | .43 (1,530) | -37% | 281 | 261.1 |
| World War Z | Par | .42 (1,370) | -36% | 307 | 198.3 |
| The Spectacular Now | A24 | .41 (7,450) | 54% | 55 | 1.1 |
| Weekend Total ($500,000+ Films) | $133.25 | ||||
| % Change (Last Year) | -1% | ||||
| % Change (Last Week) | -14% | ||||
| Also debuting/expanding | |||||
| Once Upon a Time in Mumbai – Dobaara | B4U | .25 (2,020) | 122 | 0.25 | |
| In a World | Roadside | .22 (6,000) | 212% | 37 | 0.32 |
| Blackfish | Magnolia | .18 (1,850) | -24% | 96 | 1.4 |
| 20 Feet from Stardom | Weinstein Co. | .12 (1,390) | -37% | 88 | 4.1 |
| Austenland | Sony Classics | 41,600 (10,400) | 4 | 0.04 | |
| Lovelace | Weinstein Co. | 36,200 (660) | -80% | 55 | 0.32 |
| Ain’t Them Bodies Saints | IFC | 25,700 (8,570) | 3 | 0.03 | |
| Cutie and the Boxer | Weinstein Co. | 19,900 (6,630) | 3 | 0.02 | |
| Tiny Times 2 | China Lion | 19,800 (3,300) | 6 | 0.02 | |
| Flu | CJ Entertainment | 15,200 (15,200) | 1 | 0.02 | |
| Underdogs | FreeStyle | 13,700 (3,420) | 4 | 0.01 | |
| You Will Be My Son | Cinema Guild | 13,200 (13,200) | 1 | 0.01 | |
| Boule & Bill | Metropole | 12,400 (590) | 21 | 0.01 | |
| Les 4 Soldats | Metropole | 9,600 (1,370) | 7 | 0.01 | |
| The Patience Stone | Sony Classics | 6,500 (3,250) | 2 | 0.01 | |
| Spark: A Burning Man Story | Paladin | 5,800 (2,900) | 2 | 0.01 | |
| The Happy Sad | Miasma | 4,300 (2,150) | 2 | 0.01 | |
| Associés contre le crime | Seville | 3,100 (1,550) | 2 | 0.01 | |
| Domestic Market Share (Jan. 1 -Aug. 15, 2013) | |||||
| Distributor (releases) | Box Office (millions) | Market Share | |||
| Warner Bros. (17) | 1182.8 | 16.40% | |||
| Universal (13) | 1171.9 | 16.30% | |||
| Buena Vista (10) | 1099.3 | 15.30% | |||
| 20th Century Fox (13) | 885.5 | 12.30% | |||
| Paramount (12) | 722.1 | 10.00% | |||
| Sony (12) | 661.9 | 9.20% | |||
| Lionsgate (18) | 468.9 | 6.50% | |||
| Weinstein Co. (16) | 347.9 | 4.80% | |||
| FilmDistrict (5) | 120.2 | 1.70% | |||
| Relativity (3) | 105.9 | 1.50% | |||
| Open Road (4) | 93.9 | 1.30% | |||
| Focus (6) | 53.7 | 0.75% | |||
| Sony Classics (13) | 38.5 | 0.55% | |||
| eOne/Seville (16) | 33 | 0.45% | |||
| Other * (219) | 206.5 | 2.90% | |||
| 7192 | 100% | ||||
| * none greater than 0.4% |
