Four new releases debuted in a heavily crowded frame this past weekend, but it was Neill Blomkamp's futuristic social commentary Elysium that emerged victorious with its $30 million opening.
Elysium stars Matt Damon as a dying factory worker in the year 2154, who's only chance of survival is to find a way aboard a luxurious space colony where the wealthy are provided with the finest health care of the future. Elysium is supplied with a more prominent cast and larger budget than Blomkamp's 2009 directorial debut, District 9, but while Elysium secured the top spot at the box office this past weekend, it failed to match the director's previous opening.
The other three new releases, We're the Millers, Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters and Planes fought over the remaining spots in the Top 5, leaving last week's #1, 2 Guns barely hanging on to the final spot at the box office.
Note: These #'s are based on Sunday's projections and can change with Monday's actual #'s
#1 Elysium (NR)
$30.4 million / $30.4 million total
In 2009, director Neill Blomkamp made his mark on Hollywood with sci-fi critical darling, District 9, which later garnered four Oscar nominations including a Best Picture nod. His latest film Elysium, however, is already trailing District 9 opening up to just over $30 million. District 9 broke out with a $37 million opening with a lesser known cast and smaller budget.
#2 We're the Millers (NR)
$26.6 million / $38.0 million total
2 Guns hadn't even been out a week and there's yet another movie about drug smuggling and stealing millions out of Mexico. Even with a two-day head start on the weekend frame, We're the Millers didn't slow down locking into a runner-up spot its opening weekend. The Jason Sudekis and Jennifer Aniston comedy opened to a fairly impressive $27 million, on par with 2008 comedy hit, Tropic Thunder which also debuted in mid-August.
#3 Planes (NR)
$22.5 million / $22.5 million total
Originally, Planes was grounded as another straight-to-video release for Disney with its direct sequel Fire and Rescue to follow in 2014. Plans changed and the poorly received Cars spin-off made it way to the big screen, pulling in a modest $22 million. A typical Pixar opening was out of sight from the start, but don't expect a lower audience turnout to put a hurting on the merchandise sales.
#4 Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters (NR)
$14.6 million / $23.5 million total
Percy Jackson is no Harry Potter. At least the boy wizard can manage to debut in summer or winter and still rake in a few hundred million domestically. The same unfortunately can't be said about the Percy Jackson franchise, which abandoned a lucrative President's Day frame for a mid-August release. Add on top of that, it's been over three years since Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief and these twenty-somethings are over ten years older than their book counterparts.
#5 2 Guns (1)
$11.1 million / $48.5 million total
Four new releases over the weekend, barely kept 2 Guns on the Top 5 charts for a second week in a row. Formerly last week's #1, 2 Guns dropped four spots and looks to plummet even further with another four releases set to debut this Friday. A finish around $80-90 million seems certain for the Denzel Washington and Mark Wahlberg late summer action flick.
Opening Next Week: Jobs, Kick-Ass 2, The Butler, Paranoia
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