Labor Day weekend is generally one of the weakest of the year, if not the weakest, and this one is no different. Topping out at #1 this week is Morgan Spurlock's concert doc, One Direction: This is Us, about your kid sister's favorite boy band. So all of those pointed, informative documentaries Spurlock has been responsible for? Combine the grosses for all of them and they don't come close to this rather frivolous project, which Sony shelled out around $10M to produce. The studio has to be happy, as the debut will put it ahead of Jonas Brothers: The 3D Concert Experience by the end of tomorrow, and possibly beyond Katy Perry: Part of Me by the end of the week.
2. Lee Daniels' The Butler- $14.7M/$74M
3. We're the Millers- $12.6M/$109.5M
As the R-rated comedy We're the Millers shoots past $100M, it's also on the edge of surpassing $150M worldwide. Not bad for a $40M comedy with only Jennifer Aniston and Jason Sudeikis as its main draws. Granted, Aniston is half-dressed in most of the marketing, and as we've seen previously with Horrible Bosses, that goes a long way putting butts in seats.
4. Planes- $7.7M/$70.8M
5. Instructions Not Included- $7.5M
Making the biggest splash of the week was Spanish-language comedy Instructions Not Included, which opened at only 347 theaters and pulled in a whopping $21K average. The film, which was written, directed, and stars Hispanic TV vet Eugenio Derbez, centers on a bachelor playboy whose life is upended when he learns he's a father. Lionsgate took a crack at targeting the Hispanic community a couple of years ago with the Eva Mendes dramedy Girl in Progress, but that film failed to deliver even in limited release. The Weinstein Company fared better with the Patricia Riggen drama Under the Same Moon back in 2007. This will be one to keep an eye on, especially as it expands into foreign markets.
6. Elysium- $6.3M/$78.4M
7. The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones- $5.2M/$22.6M
8. The World's End- $4.7M/$16.5M
9. Getaway- $4.5M
Warner Bros. knew they had a stinker on their hands with the Ethan Hawke/Selena Gomez action flick Getaway, which is why they waited until the last second to bother promoting. Why pour in money on film that, even at its best, is going to be perceived as a Fast & Furious knock-off? In the end, the reviews were atrocious as expected, so bad it takes a dump on the good things Hawke and Gomez have done recently, such as The Purge, Before Midnight, and Spring Breakers. Speaking of which, it's worth noting that even though Getaway is an unquestioned failure, the $4.5M is nearly half of what Before Midnight took in for its entire run....worldwide. Guh.
10. Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters- $4.4M/$54.9M
