Box office over the weekend was probably lower because of Yom Kippur. But the big news was that Lee Daniels’ “The Butler” just crossed the $100 million mark. That’s quite an accomplishment for an original drama, not based on a bestselling book or play. “The Butler” is adapted from a magazine article by Wil Haygood, but enlarged into its own creation by Danny Strong. If $125 million in its sights, “The Butler” is a grand slam homerun.
Meanwhile: genre flick “Insidious Chapter 2” made $41 million over the weekend. The drop off to number 2 is pretty steep–the widely panned “The Family” made only $14.5 million. The rest of the box office was stagnant. But Woody Allen’s “Blue Jasmine” is at $27 million and on its way to $30 million. The trick will be keeping both “Blue Jasmine” and “The Butler” in theatres through October and November even in limited runs until awards season starts kicking in with nominations.
I did read some “breaking news” yesterday predicting the winner of the 2014 Oscar for Best Picture– even though most of the films haven’t been seen by anyone. To say something might be nominated or is Oscar worthy is one thing. But really, to jump ahead and announce the winner a full six months in advance is a tad silly and shows very little knowledge of how that game works. If that were possible both “Brokeback Mountain” and “The Social Network” would have gotten Oscars. Uh, they did not.
