Box Office: Riddick Claims Top Spot With $18.7M

Vin Diesel’s apocalyptic sci-fi thriller “Riddick’ claimed the top spot at the box office this weekend, scoring a solid $18.7 million domestically. Pundits had predicted anywhere from $18 to $20 million, so that number is on target.

The Universal flick unseated The Weinstein Co.’s “Lee Daniels’ The Butler,” which fell to second place with $8.9 million. The winner for the past three weeks, “Butler” fell just 40 percent in its fourth weekend, reaching $91.9 million domestically through Sunday.

Total state-side box office was up by 25 percent, compared to the same time frame last year. We can thank the little film that could – Lionsgate-Pantelion’s Hispanic crowd-pleaser “Instructions Not Included,” which earned $81. million from just 717 locations, up from 384 last weekend. Total domestic haul so far: $20 million and change.

Warner Bros.-New Line’s R-rated hit comedy “We’re the Millers” fell just 38 percent in its fifth outing, with $7.9 million, lifting its domestic total to an impressive $123.8 million. It really is very funny. I loved that movie.

Sony’s “One Direction: This Is Us” dropped 74 percent in three days, grossing an estimated $4.1 million.

At the specialty box office, Exclusive Media’s drama “Adore,” starring Robin Wright and Naomi Watts, earned a meager $125,400 from 57 locations, averaging just $2,200 per screen.

The indie, about two mothers who become romantically involved with each others’ sons, played better on smaller screens; the film debuted in the top 15 on iTunes this weekend.

Overseas, Sony’s futuristic movie “Elysium” ranked first with an estimated $21.2 million. Of that, China contributed $11.7 million in its first weekend locally. So far, “Elysium” has raked in $127 million internationally and $212 million worldwide.

Domestic Box Office

Film (Weeks in release): 3-day gross*; Locations; Per-theater average; Cume*; Percentage change

1. Riddick (1): $18.7; 3,107; $6,010; $18.7; –
2. Lee Daniels’ The Butler (4): $8.9; 3,330; $2,673; $91.9; -40%
3. Instructions Not Included (2): $8.1; 717; $11,297; $20.3; +3%
4. We’re the Millers (5): $7.9; 3,445; $2,300; $123.8; -38%
5. Planes (5): $4.3; 3,003; $1,409; $79.3; -45%
6. One Direction: This Is Us (2): $4.1; 2,735; $1,499; $24.0; -74%
7. Elysium (5): $3.1; 2,241; $1,383; $85.1; -52%
8. Blue Jasmine (7): $2.7; 1,069; $2,515; $25.4; -33%
9. Percy Jackson … Monsters (5): $2.5; 2,045; $1,222; $59.8; -44%
10. The World’s End (2): $2.3; 1,520; $1,514; $21.7; -54%

Overseas Box Office

Film (Weeks in release): 3-day gross*; Territories; Screens; Int’l cume*; Global cume*; Percentage change

1. Elysium (5): $21.2; 52; 10,630; $127.1; $212.2; +18%
2. White House Down (11): $12.6; 31; 4,140; $79.9; $152.7; +530%
3. We’re the Millers (4): $9.9; 41; 3,400; $55.1; $178.9; -9%
4. The Conjuring (8): $8.5; 47; 3,800; $124.5; $259.7; -30%
5. One Direction: This Is Us (2): $7.6; 66; 3,320; $26.0; $50.0; -48%
6. Riddick (1): $7.4; 31; n/a; $7.4; $26.1; –
7. The Smurfs 2 (6): $7.3; 71; 5,450; $199.2; $267.4; -14%

*in millions of $