1) Lee Daniels’ The Butler- 8.3M Friday, 26M Weekend
The Butler started off strong on Friday, and took a clear lead against four new releases. Even stronger than anticipated word of mouth (which resulted in an A cinemascore) and Oprah’s first film role in 15 years, will keep this as the top attraction for the weekend.
2) We’re The Millers- 5.4M Friday, 16M Weekend, 69M Total
Last week’s surprise hit We’re The Millers is continuing to get audience attention. It performed really strong mid-week, passing Elysium. Millers was edged out slightly by Kick-Ass 2 (but Friday numbers include midnights). Millers should rise to #2 for the weekend.
3) Kick Ass 2- 5.8M Friday, 15M Weekend
Again, box office pundits are calling this a disappointment. Considering the original opened to 19M, and only made 55M domestically, I’d say “what were you expecting?” A B+ cinemascore should help Kick-Ass 2 get around the same gross as the original, probably a little less.
4) Elysium- 3.9M Friday, 12M Weekend, 54M Total
Audiences aren’t as attracted to Elysium as I’m sure the studio had hoped.
5) Planes- 3.6M Friday, 12M Weekend, 44M Total
Disney’s Planes continues to be a the strongest kids film playing.
6) Percy Jackson: Sea Of Monsters- 2.5M Friday, 8M Weekend, 38M Total
Percy lost to Jobs on Friday, but should pull ahead with kids matinees on Saturday and Sunday.
7) Jobs- 2.6M Friday, 7M Weekend
Ashton Kutcher’s superhyped Jobs is disappointing. A B- cinemascore isn’t what the studio had hoped for. At least it isn’t Paranoia.
8) 2 Guns- 1.7M Friday, 5M Weekend, 58M Total
9) The Smurfs- 1.3M Friday, 4M Weekend, 56M Total
10) Paranoia- 1.3M Friday, 3M Weekend
Paranoia is bombing. Hard. And to top it off, it has a C- cinemascore. We haven’t seen a score this low from a wide release in a while. Audiences are hating it, there is no word of mouth. In fact, The Wolverine, The Conjuring, and Despicable Me 2, are all nipping at its heels. Plus, there aren’t Friday numbers for Blue Jasmine. Paranoia might not even finish in the top 10 for the weekend.