UPDATE: Well things
do change in a hurry don’t they? And sometimes in just a day…

The final weekend numbers are in, and Lee Daniels’ The Butler beat out that One Direction: This Is Us concert film, to be the No.1
grossing film this extended Labor day weekend, making $20 million, compared to
This Is Us’ $18 million for the same four days.

That makes The Butler the first film this year
to be the No.1 film at the box office three weeks in a row with a total gross
to date of $79.3 million.

Here’s the original post before Monday’s numbers came in…

But what’s more interesting is that, in its third week, Lee Daniel’s The Butler has become a steamroller. The film grossed just under $15 million this weekend, and, keep in mind
that, since this is a holiday weekend, which will include late Sunday figures
as well, the final weekend tally for the film is around $20 million.

But what’s also impressive is that, along with We’re The Millers, The Butler’s per week percentage drop is much
smaller than for any film currently in release, meaning that word of mouth for the film is
tremendous and people are flocking to see it. The film is affecting
people in an emotional way which a lot of films are designed to do, but fail.

It would be interesting to see a breakdown of who is currently
going to see the film. Is it a 50/50 split among black and white filmgoers, or
does it skew more towards one group? And is the film still primarily playing to
more mature audiences. or has it expanded to younger filmgoers as well?

(Any readers who have seen The Butler lately tell us what
you saw in regards to the audience.)

I keep revising what I guess the ultimate final b.o.
take will be, and now, at this stage, I can easily see the film hitting the $140-150 million mark.