Movie Box Office was a race to the finish this weekend, with Lee Daniels’ The Butler edging out the Morgan Spurlock One Direction documentary, This is Us.
The Butler, which stars Forest Whitaker and Oprah Winfrey, grossed $20 million for the four-day holiday, pushing its domestic total to an $79.3 million. Charting at #1 three weekends in a row, it became the first North American movie of 2013 to do so.
As late as Sunday, Sony/TriStar predicted that This is Us would win the four-day weekend with $21.5 million after coming in ahead of The Butler for the three-day stretch. But Monday, is a new day, and the documentary fell short of that figure, coming in at $18 million. That number is still pretty good, considering it’s modest $10 million dollar budget.
Co-producer, Simon Cowell, must be at least a little disappointed not to make number 1. But he’ll be crying as he deposits all the money the movie nets him into the bank.
On a side note: The director and co-producer, Morgan Spurlock, headed the McDonalds expose, Supersize Me. Alas, no major dirt is unearthed about One Direction in This is Us, although I hear they spend a good bit of the movie shirtless. Which is a revelation of sorts, no?
