Audiences decided to spread the wealth this weekend, but Matt Damon and Jodie Foster came out on top.
“Elysium” starring Matt Damon captured the top of a crowded box office this week with a slightly underwhelming take of $30.5 million. Analysts had expected something in the neighborhood of $35 million from director Neill Blomkamp whose 2009 surprise hit “District 9” struck box office gold. It wasn’t all bad news for the sci-fi film starring Damon as a terminally ill rebel who has to invade a private space community in the 21st century. “Elysium” brought in $10.9 million overseas with Russia leading the charge with $6.8 million. There are still plenty of foreign markets left, so Elysium’s story is far from over.
Opening in second place was dysfunctional road trip comedy “Meet the Millers” starring Jason Sudeikis as a pot dealer who recruits a family to sneak a cannibis filled RV into the US from Mexico. Co-starring Jennifer Aniston, the laugher brought in $26.6 million for the weekend and a hefty $38 million for it’s Wednesday-Sunday opening.
Despite originally being meant as a direct to video release, “Planes” earned an encouraging $22.5 milion in its debut for Disney. It wasn’t a Pixar release, but the “Cars” spinoff starring Dane Cook helped tighten the box office race and is easily on the way to making back its $50 million budget.
Another family film with a less than stellar thriller was “Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters.” The myth and magic crowd only brought the sequel $14.6 million over the weekend, but its global total was boosted by a $9.8 injection from overseas. Rounding out the top 5 was “2 Guns”s starring Denzel Washington and Mark Wahlberg which cashed in $11.1 million in its second week.
