Lee Daniel’s The Butler dominated a weak session in North America thanks to an estimated $25m opening weekend through The Weinstein Company.

Daniels’ all-star drama about a butler who served eight White House administrations stars Forrest Whitaker and Oprah Winfrey.

The three other wide new releases disappointed. Universal’s Kick-Ass 2 arrived at number four on $13.6m from 2,940 theatres and did not compare favourably with its 2009 predecessor, which arrived as an unknown commodity in April 2010 and opened at number one on $19.8m.

Open Road debuted Jobs starring Ashton Kutcher at number seven on $6.7m from 2,381, while the Liam Hemsworth-Harrison Ford thriller Paranoia debuted at number 13 on a miserable $3.5m from 2,459 through Relativity Media.

Warner Bros’ comedy We’re The Millers stayed at number two in its second weekend on $17.8m for $69.5m, while MRC’s Neill Blomkamp sci-fi epic Elysium fell two places to number three and has amassed $55.9m after two weekends through Sony’s TriStar label.

2 Guns ranks eighth on $59.2m after three sessions through Universal.

Fox’s Percy Jackson: Sea Of Monsters in sixth place stands at $38.9m after two weekends.

The limited arena continued to deliver strong results. SPC’s Blue Jasmine ranks number 14 and despite dropping two places added $2.4m from 229 for $9.4m after four weekends.

Fox Searchlight’s The Way, Way Back has amassed $17.8m after seven while Chennai Express stands at $3.9m after two through Indian giant UTV.

Next weekend’s wide releases are The Mortal Instruments: City Of Bones through Sony/Screen Gems; Focus Features’ The World’s End starring Simon Pegg and Nick Frost; and Lionsgate’s Toronto International Film Festival horror sensation You’re Next.

Estimated Top 10 North America Aug 16-182013
Film (Dist) / Est wkd gross / Est total to date
1 (-) Lee Daniel’s The Butler (TWC) WTC Int’l $25m –
2 (2) We’re The Millers (Warner Bros) WBPI $17.8m $69.5m
3 (1) Elysium (Sony TriStar-MRC) SPRI $13.6m $55.9m
4 (-) Kick-Ass 2 (Universal) UPI $13.57m –
5 (3) Planes (Buena Vista) WDSMPI $13.1m $45.1m
6 (4) Percy Jackson: Sea Of Monsters (Fox) Fox Int’l $8.4m $38.9m
7 (-) Jobs (Open Road) Lotus $6.7m –
8 (5) 2 Guns (Universal) Foresight Unlimited $5.6m $59.2m
9 (6) The Smurfs 2 (Sony) SPRI $4.6m $56.9m
10 (7) The Wolverine (Fox) Fox Int’l $4.4m $120.5m

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