Box Office Report: 'The Butler' Wins Again With $17 Million, Crosses $50 Million 
 
 UPDATED: "We're the Millers" also shines as it crosses the $90 million mark; "Mortal Instruments: City of Bones" disappoints, while fans turn out in force for Edgar Wright's "The World's End." 
 
 Further boosting its profile, Lee Daniels' The Butler topped the box office in its second weekend with $17 million, pushing its total to $52.3 million and becoming Daniel's most successful film in North America. 
 
 The Weinstein Co. release -- headlining Forest Whitaker and Oprah Winfrey -- fell just 31 percent as it surpassed the $47.6 million earned by Daniels' acclaimed drama Precious in 2009. 
 
 The Oscar hopeful is broadening out in terms of its appeal to white moviegoers, with Caucasians making up 55 percent of this weekend's audience, compared to 48 percent on opening weekend. The percentage of African-Americans dipped from 39 percent to 33 percent (still far higher than the norm). 
 
 "What happens is that when you get a picture that gets great reaction, word of mouth spreads," said Erik Lomis, president of distribution for TWC, noting that The Butler is also skewing younger. On opening weekend, 76 percent of ticket buyers were over the age of 25; that number has now dropped to 62 percent. 
 
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 The Butler wasn't the only holdover to beat the weekend's three new films. New Line's Jason Sudeikis and Jennifer Aniston raunchy comedy We're the Millers fell a scant 25 percent in its third weekend, grossing $13.5 million to place No. 2. 
 
 The R-rated sleeper hit has now grossed $91.7 million in a major victory for New Line and parent company Warner Bros. following the success of The Conjuring, which cleared the $200 million mark over the weekend at the worldwide box office. We're the Millers and Conjuring will be sizeable profit generators, considering they cost $37 million and $20 million to make, respectively. 
 
 Among the trio of new offerings, the results were disappointing for Mortal Instruments: City of Bones, which took in $9.3 million for the weekend and $14 million for five days (the pic opened Wednesday). 
 
 Based on Cassandra Clare's popular supernatural young-adult book series, Mortal Instruments is the latest YA property to disappoint. The $60 million film, starring Lily Collins as a demon-hunting teen, was produced and financed by Germany's Constantin Films. 
 
 In the U.S., females made up 68 percent of the audience, while 46 percent of those buying tickets were under the age of 21. Sony is releasing Mortal Instruments domestically via its Screen Gems label. 
 
 Edgar Wright's modestly budgeted action-comedy The World's End fared nicely as it opened to $8.9 million from only 1,549 theaters, compared to 3,118 for Mortal Instruments and 2,437 for horror pic You're Next. From Focus Features, the $20 million movie, boosted by stellar reviews and a B+ CinemaScore, placed No. 4. It nabbed the highest location average of any title in the top 10 ($5,773) thanks to diehard fans. 
 
 World's End, starring Simon Pegg and Nick Frost, follows a group of friends who reunite for an epic bar crawl only to discover that their hometown has been infested with supernatural beings. Written by Wright and Pegg, the comedy -- fueled by males (58 percent) -- opened ahead of their Shaun of the Dead ($3.3 million) and Hot Fuzz ($5.8 million) and did best in cities including New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Seattle, Portland and Austin. College graduates made up nearly 60 percent of those buying tickets. 
 
 "It's very satisfying to see our strategy pay off -- target the core and don't worry about anything else," Focus Features president of distribution Jack Foley said. "This is pretty big for a picture like this when competing with films playing on many more screens." 
 
 By opening World's End on 1,549 theaters, Focus was able to keep marketing costs down. 
 
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 Lionsgate's You're Next, about a family whose vacation home is attacked my animal-mask-wearing assailants, opened to a subdued $7.1 million to come in No. 6. Heading into weekend, the horror film had been tipped to beat World's End and Mortal Instruments. 
 
 Woody Allen's critically acclaimed Blue Jasmine cracked the top 10 chart as it expanded into a total of 1,200 theaters in its fifth weekend, marking Allen's widest release ever. However, the Sony Pictures Classics release has now only earned $14.8 million, far less than Midnight in Paris at the same point in its run. At one point, the Cate Blanchett starrer was performing on par with Midnight in Paris.. 
 
 Steve Jobs biopic Jobs, starring Ashton Kutcher, tumbled nearly 60 percent in its second weekend to No. 12, grossing an estimated $3 million for a total $12.1 million. ||||| For the second weekend in a row, Marvel’s $170 million sequel Thor: The Dark World topped the domestic box office chart. The Chris Hemsworth vehicle fell 55 percent to $38.5 million, giving the comic book adaptation $147 million total so far. The Dark World is still on track to easily surpass the original Thor‘s $181 million domestic total in 2011, and it should finish above $200 million. 
 
 Internationally, the sequel has already earned more than its predecessor. The Dark World has grossed $332.8 million internationally and $479.8 million worldwide, far more than Thor’s $268 million and $449 million respective finishes. At this point, The Dark World seems headed for a finish above $700 million worldwide. 
 
 Thor wasn’t the only success story this weekend. The Best Man Holiday unwrapped an outstanding $30.5 million on opening weekend from 2,024 theaters, yielding an excellent $15,115 venue average — the best in the top-10. The film, which stars Terrence Howard, Taye Diggs, and Regina Hall (among others), opened with $10.7 million on Friday, and then ticked up 15 percent on Saturday to $12 million — a rare boost on a film’s opening weekend that signifies great word-of-mouth. Audiences, which Universal reports were 75 percent female and 87 percent African-American, issued the film a rare “A+” CinemaScore grade. 
 
 Holiday‘s predecessor, the 1999 comedy The Best Man, which was also written and directed by Malcolm D. Lee, grossed $9 million on its opening weekend en route to a $34 million total. Given how handily The Best Man Holiday beat that film’s opening weekend, and given its slim $17 million budget, Universal likely won’t wait 14 years before releasing another sequel. 
 
 Third place belonged to CBS Films’ Last Vegas, which continued to demonstrate great staying power and older-audience appeal in its third weekend. The Vegas adventure, which stars Michael Douglas, Morgan Freeman, and Robert DeNiro, didn’t hit the jackpot in its opening weekend, but teensy drops are turning it into a substantial hit. The film fell just 25 percent to $8.9 million this weekend, good for a $47 million running total against a $28 million budget. Last Vegas is set to become CBS Films’ highest-grossing film ever ahead of last year’s Daniel Radcliffe spookfest The Woman In Black, which earned $54.3 million. 
 
 Thanksgiving-themed comedy Free Birds held up in fourth place with $8.3 million, marking a scant 25 percent drop from last weekend, a sensible dip as the holiday approaches. While the film’s week-to-week hold is encouraging, its numbers were unfortunately quite low to begin with. After three frames, Relativity’s $55 million animation has earned just $42.2 million — and that’s without any family competition. 
 
 Jackass Presents: Bad Grandpa rounded out the Top 5, falling by only 32 percent to $7.7 million. Paramount’s $15 million prank film has become one of the runaway smashes of the fall season, and — unlike the other Jackass films — proved an enduring success, rather than a fast burn at the box office. The film has earned $90.2 million so far, and it’s poised to pass the $100 million mark in the coming weeks. 
 
 1. Thor: The Dark World – $38.5million 
 
 2. The Best Man Holiday – $30.6 million 
 
 3. Last Vegas – $8.9 million 
 
 4. Free Birds – $8.3 million 
 
 5. Jackass Presents: Bad Grandpa – $7.7 million 
 
 In limited release, Oscar contender Dallas Buyers Club expanded nicely from 35 to 184 theaters, pulling in $1.8 million this weekend — about $9,701 per theater. Focus Features will continue expanding the film, which has earned $3 million so far, in the coming weeks. New opener Nebraska also fared well in its opening weekend. The Alexander Payne film, which stars Bruce Dern and Will Forte, pulled in $140,000 from only four theaters. 
 
 Next week brings the arrival of The Hunger Games: Catching Fire, and guess what? It’s going to make a lot of money. How much? Stay tuned to EW to find out. ||||| It’s taken over two decades for Orson Scott Card’s classic sci-fi novel Ender’s Game to make it to the big screen, but all the built-up anticipation didn’t lead to out-of-this-world box office numbers. The film adaptation debuted with $28 million from 3,407 theaters on its first weekend — a start in the same range as Will Smith’s misfire After Earth, which opened with $27.5 million earlier this year. Summit and OddLot Entertainment spent $110 million on the space adventure starring Asa Butterfield and Harrison Ford, but Ender’s Game will need great legs domestically and strong returns overseas to justify its cost (and any potential sequels). 
 
 Of course, the film didn’t bomb the way other YA-adaptations like The Host, Beautiful Creatures, or The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones have recently, but its opening was nowhere near the debuts of Twilight or Hunger Games, both of which had less expensive first editions than Ender’s Game. Notably, both of those films targeted young women primarily, while Ender’s Game‘s audience was 58 percent male and 54 percent above the age of 25. Crowds issued the film an average “B+” CinemaScore grade. 
 
 Jackass Presents: Bad Grandpa held up very nicely in second place, dropping just 36 percent to $20.5 million. That is by far the smallest second-weekend drop for any of the Jackass films, and it gives Paramount’s $15 million prank comedy $62.1 million total after ten days. If Bad Grandpa continues to maintain great holds at the box office, it could exceed $100 million total. Take that, Oscar season! 
 
 Third place belonged to CBS Films’ Last Vegas, which opened with $16.5 million in 3,065 theaters. The film, which stars Morgan Freeman, Robert DeNiro, and Michael Douglas, opened ahead of last year’s Hope Springs, another film targeting the oft-ignored 45+ demographic, which started with $14.7 million on the way to $63.5 million total. Thanks strong word-of-mouth and an “A-” CinemaScore grade, older audiences may flock to the theater gradually over the next few weeks and push Vegas‘ total as high as $60 million. For a humble $28 million comedy, that’s a lot like hitting the jackpot. 
 
 Free Birds started in fourth place with $16.2 million, and though the film wasn’t a total turkey, its box office left a lot to be desired. Relativity’s $55 million animated entry, which features the voice of Amy Poehler, opened in an ultra-wide 3,736 theaters with virtually no family competition (Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs 2 arrived six weeks ago), but it could only muster a $4,336 per theater average. On the bright side, Free Birds did spike 82 percent from Friday to Saturday, which suggests that it is playing well with young tots during matinee shows, and it should hold up well as Thanksgiving approaches — especially with an “A-” CinemaScore. It may earn back its budget yet. 
 
 Rounding out the Top 5 was Gravity, which pulled in another $13.1 million in its fifth weekend. Warner Bros.’ $100 million space drama starring Sandra Bullock and George Clooney has now earned $219.1 million total and, with a little awards attention, should ultimately hit about $250 million domestically. 
 
 1. Ender’s Game – $28 million 
 
 2. Jackass Presents: Bad Grandpa – $20.5 million 
 
 3. Last Vegas – $16.5 million 
 
 4. Free Birds – $16.2 million 
 
 5. Gravity – $13.1 million 
 
 Outside the Top 5, 12 Years A Slave continued its successful expansion this weekend. The Oscar contender jumped from 123 theaters into 410 locations and pulled in $4.6 million as a result. That gave the film an excellent $11,220 venue average, thus assuring it will continue to expand into more markets in the near future. Fox Searchlight could have a sleeper hit on their hands. 
 
 On the international front, Thor: The Dark World hammered up a great debut this weekend. The film pulled in $109.4 million from 36 territories, which represents about 70 percent of the international market. The film performed best in the United Kingdom ($13.4 million), France ($9.4 million), and Mexico ($8.2 million), and it still has openings in China and Japan to look forward to. The original Thor grossed $268.3 million internationally in 2011, but after a major exposure-boost from The Avengers, The Dark World seems poised to easily outdo that film’s overall performance. It opens in the U.S. on Friday.
– Lee Daniels' The Butler might have fared very poorly in one Kentucky theater, but it was the winner nationwide for a second week in a row, pulling in $17 million on a sleepy end-of-summer weekend. We're the Millers also held steady, with a $13.5 million haul that gave it the No. 2 spot; the Hollywood Reporter notes that the surprise hit has now earned $91.7 million in a "major victory" for New Line Cinema. Rounding out the top four were Mortal Instruments: City of Bones, with what the AP calls a "tepid" $9.3 million, and The World's End, with $8.9 million. Down in the basement: Ashton Kutcher's Jobs, which came in No. 12 in its second week out, with $3 million. It's earned $12.1 million thus far.