Audiences go in One Direction!
As the summer withered away and people had various other ways to occupy their time over the long weekend, the boy-band fans ventured out to see their current favorite singing haircuts, putting ONE DIRECTION: THIS IS US at the top of the box office with an opening of $17 million.
The clean-shaven performers grabbed the attention of their target audience (which presumably does not quite align with the JoBlo readership), putting its three-day opening figure somewhere between the Jonas Brothers ($12.5 million) and Justin Bieber ($29.5 million) among 3D concert movies featuring teen-friendly pop creations. (Yes, that was as interesting to write as it was for you to read.)
The slender songboys nudged LEE DANIELS' THE BUTLER from the #1 spot that it's held for two weeks, pushing the Forest Whitaker-fronted film to second with $14.7 million — although when the extra day's receipts are taken into account tomorrow, it could be THE BUTLER back on top of the long Labor Day weekend.
If the White House drama continues its minor drops (this weekend was down just 10% from last), it seems likely to make its way to $100 million. Even with that success, will it still be fresh in the minds of voters when awards season arrives?
The R-rated drug smuggling comedy WE'RE THE MILLERS is still sparking up the crowds, rolling into third with another $12.6 million as it cruises across the $100 million mark. Disney's PLANES actually soared a bit higher this weekend to fourth place after circling #5 for two weekends.
The biggest (or only) surprise of the weekend was the comedy INSTRUCTIONS NOT INCLUDED premiering in fifth place with $7.5 million. The Mexican import opened on only 347 screens (a fraction of everything else on the chart), yet had a per-screen average more than three times that of the puppy-cute quintet at the top.
ELYSIUM remained in orbit around the middle of the chart, while THE MORTAL INSTRUMENTS: CITY OF BONES is a franchise non-starter (its $31.7 million worldwide total is barely half its budget) and THE WORLD'S END kept the pubs open a little longer.
The new Ethan Hawke vehicular actioner GETAWAY crashed in ninth place with $4.5 million. Fans of pop star Selena Gomez clearly weren't excited about watching her sit in the passenger seat of a speeding muscle car, but at least Hawke can take some comfort from already rocking the summer (and with lower budgets) with THE PURGE and BEFORE MIDNIGHT. GETAWAY (from DUNGEONS & DRAGONS director Courtney Solomon) also wiped out on Rotten Tomatoes with a lethal 2%.
PERCY JACKSON: SEA OF MONSTERS closed out the list as the household horror flick YOU'RE NEXT left after one week, taking Woody Allen's BLUE JASMINE and KICK-ASS 2 off the chart with it. Further down, the new tech thriller CLOSED CIRCUIT, featuring Eric Bana and several other familiar faces, fizzled with $3 million since its Wednesday opening. THE GRANDMASTER expanded to 750 screens for $2.4 million, while director Brian De Palma's sexy remake PASSION (starring Noomi Rapace and Rachel McAdams) got jilted in limited release to just $33,800 on 14 screens.
Next weekend offers a single new wide release, the return of Vin Diesel's intergalactic badass RIDDICK.
What September release are you most interested in seeing? VOTE HERE!
| # | MOVIE TITLE | WKND $ | TOTAL $ |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | One Direction: This Is Us | $17 M | NEW |
| 2 | The Butler | $14.7 M | $74 M |
| 3 | We're the Millers | $12.6 M | $109.5 M |
| 4 | Planes | $7.7 M | $70.8 M |
| 5 | Instructions Not Included | $7.5 M | NEW |
| 6 | The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones | $5.2 M | $22.6 M |
| 7 | Elysium | $6.3 M | $78.4 M |
| 8 | The World's End | $4.7 M | $16.5 M |
| 9 | Getaway | $4.5 M | NEW |
| 10 | Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters | $4.4 M | $54.9 M |