Riddick stalks the box office!
On what is traditionally one of the slowest box office weekends of the year, Vin Diesel unleashed his Furyan ferocity to thrust RIDDICK to the top with an opening of $18.6 million.
A labor of love for the actor, Diesel's R-rated return to the smooth-headed slayer of mercs and beasts was met with a less-than-interstellar 'B' CinemaScore from audiences and a somewhat chilly critical response (59% average on Rotten Tomatoes). At least it was a lean sequel for the cult-fave galactic felon, tightening down to a reported $38 million budget for his third time on the big screen.
The RIDDICK flicks were never box office blockbusters (PITCH BLACK made $53 million worldwide; $115.8 million globally for CHRONICLES), but Diesel's international profile has since increased significantly thanks to being both fast and furious — FAST FIVE and SIX made most of their considerable wealth overseas, so it will be interesting to see if those same crowds will now also converge for his planet-hopping badass.
Taking second place once again was LEE DANIELS' THE BUTLER, adding another $8.9 million toward an assured $100+ million milestone. Meanwhile the (mostly) Spanish-language comedy INSTRUCTIONS NOT INCLUDED is benefiting from a precious 'A+' CinemaScore, adding another few hundred screens and pushing up to third place with $8.1 million (and easily the highest per-screen average in the Top 10).
The weed-smuggling comedy WE'RE THE MILLERS is still motoring along, now in fourth with $7.9 million. With another $4.2 million, Disney's PLANES continues to keep aloft in the middle of the chart, and without any family alternatives for another few weeks (CLOUDY WITH A CHANCE OF MEATBALLS 2 on the 27th), it will probably stay in that holding pattern.
As usual for concert films, hardcore boy-band fans lined up for opening weekend and then abandoned them, sinking ONE DIRECTION: THIS IS US to sixth place with $4.1 million — a 74% nose-dive from its opening last week. ELYSIUM is somehow still keeping a grip on the chart as other newer releases slide out of sight, while Woody Allen's BLUE JASMINE resurfaces in the Top 10 as it becomes the filmmaker's fifth highest earner.
PERCY JACKSON: SEA OF MONSTERS and THE WORLD'S END hang onto the bottom of the list as GETAWAY heads to the car crusher and THE MORTAL INSTRUMENTS: CITY OF BONES smothers that franchise possibility. In limited release, SALINGER remained reclusive as the new documentary about the author made an unexceptional $22k per-screen average.
Next weekend has Robert De Niro back in the world of mobsters for Luc Besson's action-comedy THE FAMILY, while more low-cost scares occur in INSIDIOUS CHAPTER 2.
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| # | MOVIE TITLE | WKND $ | TOTAL $ |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Riddick | $18.6 M | NEW |
| 2 | The Butler | $8.9 M | $91.9 M |
| 3 | Instructions Not Included | $8.1 M | $20.3 M |
| 4 | We're the Millers | $7.9 M | $123.8 M |
| 5 | Planes | $4.2 M | $79.2 M |
| 6 | Elysium | $3.1 M | $85 M |
| 7 | One Direction: This Is Us | $4.1 M | $23.9 M |
| 8 | Blue Jasmine | $2.6 M | $25.4 M |
| 9 | Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters | $2.5 M | $59.8 M |
| 10 | The World's End | $2.3 M | $21.7 M |