The box office has been really slow as of late, giving Lee Daniels’ The Butler a perfect chance to win two weeks in a row. But the drama’s dominance may be coming to an end this weekend, since One Direction, the British pop group loved by young girls everywhere, is hitting the big screen.
One Direction: This Is Us is the latest in a string of pop-documentaries that mix concert footage with behind-the-scenes looks. However, since Justin Bieber: Never Say Never debuted with $73 million in 2011, the pop-umentaries have failed to light up the screen. Box Office Mojo predicts that the film will open with at least $20 million, which would easily top Katy Perry’s Part of Me, which only debuted to $7 million last year.
Since this is Labor Day weekend, The Butler and other holdovers are still expected to do well. Entertainment Weekly predicts that The Butler could be just behind This Is Us with around $20 million, while We’re The Millers might stick around for another $17 million (although that seems a little high for the comedy’s fourth weekend).
Disney’s Planes could bring in the family crowd again and Elysium may stick around the top five, but both will probably gross under $10 million.
The other wide release this weekend is Getaway with Ethan Hawke and Selena Gomez. The film is getting hammered by critics and THR notes that the film is looking at a $6 million to $7 million opening. It currently has a 1 percent fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
Close Circuit has been in theaters since Wednesday and only grossed $248,704 in two days.
image: Sony