Going into the weekend, most box office watchers were predicting that Kick-Ass 2 would win the weekend, with Lee Daniels’ The Butler coming second. In the end The Butler did better than expected and took the top spot, with Kick-Ass 2 faltering and only managing fourth place on the chart.
The Butler took $25 million to take the top spot, about on par with The Help, which opened August 2011. It did a lot better than expected, with Hollywood once more underestimating the African American audience, who turned out in large numbers to support the civil rights themed movie. With good word of mouth building, some are saying it could end up taking $100 million.
Kick-Ass 2 ended up fourth with a comparatively dismal $13.5 million, about half what some had expected and six million below the first film’s opening weekend take. However the Kick-Ass only really became a hit on DVD, so the sequel will now have to hope it can do the same.
The only other new movie in the top 10 is Jobs, which took $6.7 million. It’s not a great start but about in line with expectations. It seems that mixed reviews didn’t help a movie that never managed to really sell why you should want to see a film about Steve Jobs.
At least it did better than Paranoia, as despite the presence of Harrison Ford, Gary Oldman and Liam Hemsworth, it only took $3.5 million for a 13th place finish. Many expect it to become the lowest grossing movie Ford’s ever starred in.
Take a look below for the US box office top 10 for the weekend of August 16th-18th.
| Rank | Title | Weekend Gross (millions) | Total Gross to date (millions) |
| 1 | Lee Daniels’ The Butler | $25.0 | $25.0 |
| 2 | We’re The Millers | $17,7 | $69.5 |
| 3 | Elysium | $13.6 | $55.9 |
| 4 | Kick-Ass 2 | $13.5 | $13.5 |
| 5 | Planes | $13.1 | $45.0 |
| 6 | Percy Jackson: Sea Of Monsters | $8.3 | $38.9 |
| 7 | Jobs | $6.7 | $6.7 |
| 8 | 2 Guns | $5.5 | $59.2 |
| 9 | The Smurfs 2 | $4.6 | $56.9 |
| 10 | The Wolverine | $4.4 | $120.4 |
After a couple of quiet weeks, there was a bit of a crush of new movies at the US box office this weekend, and heading into the weekend nobody was entirely certain which would end up on top. In the end it was the Matt Damon sci-fi Elysium, which took $30 million to top the chart. That’s a passable start, although not as much as the $35 million plus Sony had been hoping for.
Early last week many had expected The Smurfs 2 to take the top spot this weekend at the US box office, but in the end it had to settle for the number three spot. Topping the list was 2 Guns, with the Mark Wahlberg and Denzel Washington action flick taking a solid but unspectacular $27.3 million. Many have suggested that the fact the marketing concentrated on the stars and said little about the story may have held the film back.
The Wolverine has taken the US box office crown with a $55 million opening. While that’s not a bad take, and certainly better than recent disappointments such as The Lone Ranger and Pacific Rim, it’s still being seen as rather soft, as most had expected it to take $60 million plus.
