The Butler kicks Kick Ass 2 ass at the box office

Marking a victory for Lee Daniels and his high-profile cast, The Butler won the Friday box office with an estimated $8.3 million as it raced ahead of three other new films -- Kick-Ass 2, Jobs and corporate thriller Paranoia.

The Weinstein Co.'s The Butler, returning Oprah to the big screen after a lengthy absence, is headed for a $24 million-plus weekend after nabbing stellar reviews and an A CinemaScore. The movie tells the true story of Eugene Allen (Forest Whitaker), a butler who served in the White House through eight presidential administrations. Oprah plays Allen's wife.

Heading into the weekend, most thought Universal's Kick-Ass 2 would win the weekend with a $20 million-plus debut because of younger fanboy moviegoers. The sequel, however, is lagging, grossing an estimated $5.8 million on Friday for a projected $15 million-plus weekend. That could put it No. 3 behind The Butler and We're the Millers.

Kick-Ass 2, starring Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Chloe Grace Moretz and Jim Carrey, won't match the success of the original Kick-Ass, which debuted to just under $40 million in spring 2010. The sequel, rebuffed by most critics, received a B+ CinemaScore.
Jobs, the independently produced Steve Jobs biopic starring Ashton Kutcher, and the corporate thriller Paranoia are faring even worse.

Made for under $15 million, Jobs took in an estimated $2.6 million on Friday for a projected $7.5 million to $8 million weekend, putting it at No. 6 or No. 7. The Open Road release was produced and financed by Five Star Films, with Endgame Entertainment partnering on the marketing. Jobs' performance is likely hurt by dismal reviews and a B- CinemaScore (Sony and Aaron Sorkin have their own Steve Jobs film in the works).

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/box-office-report-butler-tops-608472



Didn't see that coming...

 

I believe that. I saw it about five hours ago and it was packed. Loveed it. Hope everyone else saw it too.

 

I wanna see both.

 

Nah, ill pass on the butler. Hollywood and their obsession with glorifying blacks in subservient positions.

 

co-sign.

 

well1 tyler perry vs hundreds of white directors who better funded to do whatever movies they want. i don't love all of his movies but at least some of of them are good. tp has stated that popularity of madea has allowed him to fund his more serious films.. tp is not as big as hollywood.

 

As I said on other threads Tyler Perry has a built in audiance:Black women. There has not been a "Tyler Perry" for Black males or IC's. Spike Lee is asking people for money in spite of the fact he had made some money making movies. Other Black directors don't have the clout of Perry,Winfrey,to make the movies they want to make and audiences want to see. P187,that is why Black women loved to see Perry's films and tv shows he knows what they liked. So far there has been no Black director who can push a brother's buttons for them to see a flick about themselves.

 

AGAIN 1 vs a hundred. tp isn't perfect but he's a start.

 

x2 and this is the same dude that made Precious.

 

This. Tired of this mess from the black community.

 

TELL EM! FUCK THIS MOVIE!

 

4North1Side2, The Butler was one of the best films I've seen in a very long time. It was not about glorifying the black man in a subservient role at all. It was a true story of an incredibly strong man who lived through decades of some of the worst times. This is a movie EVERYONE should see.

 

While it's a true story told extremely well, 4north does have a strong and valid point. The fact that if you're black in Hollywood and want to make a movie that not only performs critically, but commercially too, which in turn can generate a wealth of diverse audiences (sans white), you'd have to play into the same familiar roles in which a big group of people would be comfortable to find and watch.

 

So, these types of historical stories shouldn't be told?

I mean, like it or not, blacks were butlers and maids and the like back then. We can't just close our eyes and pretend that isn't a part of our history. And, just because the main character is a butler, I guess his life doesn't deserve to become a movie.

I posit it took more strength and courage to endure those kinds of jobs back then, then anything we have to put up with now. I want to see the kind of heroic black men and women who could live that kind of life portayed on film. You couldn't be weak to do. That took strength. Real strength. See, they paid the price for us to be able to live anyway we choose and not have to 'ish from anyone for it. To not embrace their stories is to turn our colective backs on their sacrafices. I can't be that disrespectful.

So, as much as I embrace Idris Elba, Will Smith, Denzel, etc ... running ish on film in today's world, I want to see well done stories like The Butler about how things were in our not too distant past. It's as much a part of my blackness as Malcom, Martin and Medgar.

Just sayin'.

 

Best films you've seen in a while? :smt078

The fact is there is too much Precious, The Maid, The Butler, The Help, Driving Miss Daisy type movies getting the spotlight. It's 2013, we are much MORE than that! We've been Toms and servants in films for 100 yrs. now.

"Everything you are and everything you have, is because of that butler." That quote from the movie said it all. The message these movies continue to enforce "Hey black man, shut your fucking mouth and do as I say and everything will be ok"

Shit is played the hell out now. Blacks should be getting better and bigger roles on a more consistent basis now then this crap. We have an endless amount of better stories to tell than some "excuse mista president, wud u like some mo wata?"

Funny movies like





With real strong black lead characters barely make a profit at the theaters and are hardly nominated for any awards... I wonder why... not really.

 

What's next, The Field Hand, The Shoe Shiner, The Mammie, The Barber, The Buck? "But but but, it's about a story of strength, perseverance, and survival" If you don't stand for something, you fall for anything and I see it's working.

[YOUTUBE]_ASZ6K9cPNk#t[/YOUTUBE]

 

Ya, this is just some catcher freeman type mess. When's will smith gonna do another action flick? At least he doesn't play the servant

 

I'd like to know what black writers are going to write a movie that doesn't deal with the above stereotypes? In case you haven't noticed, our biggest figures in entertainment are rappers and a couple of actors. It seems like every black kid you see wants to be an athlete, rapper, or music producer or some bullshit like that.

Try convincing them to become authors, write screenplays or become directors...but those aren't the cool professions.

Know what the highest grossing movie ever directed by a black director is?

Scary Movie.

That should tell you something right there.

 

Where would we be if you weren't here to enlighten us lol

 

While I understand the point of wanting a vast array of acting opportunities for black men, I am surprised to hear a black man say this isn't an important role. I am Jewish and recognize the importance of telling Holocaust stories. We all need to be reminded of the atrocities forced on human beings. We mustn't ever forget or minimze what happened.
As far as The Butler goes, I did not just see a black man cowering to a white man. I saw a strong intelligent black man who was part of making things right in a time where that was very difficult to do.
I guess it's all about interpretation.