WEEKEND BOX OFFICE: 'Butler' Serves Up Shocking Upset Over Violent 'Kick-Ass' Sequel

In what was one of the most unpredictable weekends of the summer, let alone the year, Lee Daniels' The Butler denied Kick-Ass 2 from living up to its name and taking the top spot this weekend at the box office.

After various legal disputes over the title and scheduling changes, there's been plenty of buzz surrounding The Butler. Oprah Winfrey has also been diligently promoting the period piece, which she also stars in. The Butler plays up the "based on a true story" characteristics attributing to the 30-plus year tenure of a White House butler.

Foul-mouthed superhero sequel, Kick-Ass 2 debuted with a disappointing fourth place start, opening just over $13 million. The weak opening shocked many moviegoers and analysts after the first film's audience grew on home media and was expected to translate strong for the sequel. The Steve Jobs bio-pic, Jobs and Harrison Ford's Paranoia also opened over the weekend; neither of which snagged a spot in the Top 5.

'Hobbit' Digibook Leads Off Epic Middle-Earth Trilogy

Cornered and nowhere to run, this is the perfect place to keep audiences hanging another year.

Harsh criticisms such as overindulgences and cheap marketing ploys have been thrown around the film circles a bit too much regarding Peter Jackson's return to Middle-Earth in nearly a decade. Sure, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey only covers 1/3 of a 300-page children's book, leaving audiences hanging for two more 3-hour sequels, but there's nothing wrong than building up a little anticipation. Not at all.

In the first leg of this three-movie trek, Bilbo Baggins (Martin Freeman) sets out from his comfortable hobbit hole in the midst of the Shire's green pastures to join 13 dwarves who have been displaced by a  dragon plundering their mountain stronghold. For those joining the adventures of fantastical Middle-Earth for the very first time should know that along the way, birds, beasts and a gangly creature called Gollum are obstacles in the way of reclaiming the Lonely Mountain.