Posted on 08/19/2013 11:08:40 AM PDT by servo1969
Love her or hate her, co-star Oprah Winfrey and her big media blitz helped open the pic even if it did little to help her public image by providing more dirt for her detractors. Yet a survey by Fandango found that 72% of Butler ticket-buyers claimed Oprah’s involvement increased their interest in seeing the film which was her first movie role in 15 years. But The Butler still trailed the opening weekend grosses of two recent and similarly race- and civil rights-themed adult pics: 42 and The Help. No one, and certainly not The Weinstein Company, expected director Lee Daniels’ or screenwriter Danny Strong’s biopic (playing in 2,933 theaters) to double its $15M weekend projection much less land on top of the weekend box office. But on Thursday morning it already was the #1 ticket-seller on both Fandango and MovieTickets – a welcome event for such a modest $25M negative cost film. Its 73% Rotten Tomatoes positive reviews and ’A’ CinemaScore from audiences surely helped word of mouth as much as Oprah. (Note that in 1998. at the height of her syndicated power when she could sell anything to anyone, Oprah starred in and produced the film flop Beloved. Now she’s on her struggling cable network. But I’m assured she had no financial investment in the film nor contributed into the P&A nor bought up advance tickets in bulk like the rumors claimed.)
(Excerpt) Read more at deadline.com ...
Let’s just see how it does next week...
Opened at #1 with $25 million?
Must have been a really dreadful weekend all around.
Not that I was going to PAY to see this distorted propaganda piece. Jane Fonda is not a patch on Nancy Reagan.
I can’t imagine anyone would really want to see it
Her “PR Blitz” was accusing some shopgirl in Switzerland, that is it
“The Knockout Game” movie is not coming to a theater near you soon!
“The Knockout Game” movie is not coming to a theater near you soon!
Did any other “big” movies get released?
The other movies released was “Jobs”, just the title alone ensures that many will never see it. It opened at #7, and there was some action movie sequel with cussing kids killing people while wearing ridiculous costumes, something you could not pay me to watch.
I know. Weird huh? From what I’ve read, the whole movie was subjected to h’wood’s literary license. I.e., bunch of exaggerations and lies.
I purposely stayed away from the movie because of that reason.
I won’t see it now until I can see it without charge...Maybe the public library once it is on video.
So screw Oprah and her idiocy.
Forrest Whitaker is a gifted actor, and I think he is worth supporting...he was great as Idi Amin in the The Last King of Scotland.
But Oprah? Forget it.
I won’t see The Butler until I can see it without enriching her.
I recommend seeing “Copperhead”. You can see it in the movies or on demand right now.
“Love her or hate her”
I’ll take the latter for $200 Alex.
That’s a paltry amount. The Twilight saga made over a hundred million one weekend.
Why don’t Conservatives begin a campaign to ‘rewrite the facts of history’ regardless of documented information and produce Hollywood movies for profit?
Wow...what a great racket! Writing fiction any way you want and then passing it off as fact.... for $$$$$$$$$
Who knew!?
Exactly. Watch for a precipitous drop off.
Now what?
I sense a dive like the recent Denzel Washington movie airliner...
Everything Oprah touches turns to $#!t these days.
Other movies have opened with 34 to 38 million in the first weekend and are called failures... this is just blackaganda piece... that is like propaganda but only for blacks.
LLS
$25m is enough to land in first place??
ticket sales have really dropped
*shrug*
won’t get my money.
i won’t even waste the bandwidth to dnload this load of propaganda
It all depends on how much the movie cost to make. Butler’s reported budget was $30 million, so a $25 million opening puts it on a solid path to profitability. Lone Ranger cost $215 million to make so its $29 million opening makes it a bomb. Yes movie revenues are graded on a curve, but that curve is the budget.
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