Movies With Butter

Much like the idyllic space station that is the film’s subject matter, Elysium soared high above the other new releases on the box office charts this weekend. Its lead was not substantial, however, as the rest of this weekend’s new releases came in right behind it.

Elysium earned $30.4 million over the weekend, higher than any of this weekend’s films were projected to earn. In this case, it seems that a little social commentary goes a long way when vying with three other films over weekend earnings.

Next came We’re The Millers, which earned $26.5 million over the weekend, just a bit over its projected gross. Since it opened earlier in the week, it gets to add that to its previous revenues for a total of $38 million.

After that came Planes, which earned a bit below its predicted range at $22.5 million.

This is still preferable to the earnings letdown that befell this weekend’s final release, Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters, which fell below even its low predicted gross, pulling in only $14.6 million. It’s not all bad new, though—since it opened before Friday, its actual earnings total is currently $23.4 million.

In the honorable mentions department, 2 Guns remained at the top of the holdover films, earning another $11.1 million for a total of $48.5 million.

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