Rough weekend at the box office: Which movie won?

Last week, I admitted that with just one major big-budget film opening at the weekend box office, I'd probably skip the theater in favor of...well...anything else. So that's exactly what I did and not only that, what did I do instead of hitting up the local cineplex? I watched paint dry (we're refinishing our cabinets). It was probably far more entertaining for me than seeing Riddick, though I understand if others don't share that sentiment.

Some folks did make their way to the theaters to see Riddick, the third Vin Diesel movie featuring the character (the other two being Pitch Black and The Chronicles of Riddick. Overall though, this was a dismal weekend at the box office for Hollywood, not surprisingly. Riddick finished first in the box office race (if you can even call it that), taking in $18.7 million. That's good enough for first place, and probably good enough for Universal. The movie had a $38 million budget, so it made back a good chunk of that this past weekend. It will probably at least make $38 million or more in coming weeks.

As for the rest of the box office: Meh. Box Office Mojo says this was officially the slowest movie weekend of the year. I had cabinets to paint - why did you guys stay away? Football? I certainly wouldn't fault you for that. Not surprisingly, Lee Daniels' The Butler continues to do well. The film finished in second place, taking in an additional $8.9 million (for a total gross of nearly $92 million so far). Third place went to the Spanish-language film Instructions Not Included, which expanded into additional theaters. Clearly, this one is resonating with audiences, because it made $8.1 million.

Rounding out the top five are We're the Millers (which I still haven't seen, darn it!) and One Direction: This is Us (which I will never see unless someone pays me, and even then, I'm reasonably sure I won't like it).

Did anyone see anything interesting in theaters this week? I hope at least some of you have the options of seeing some great lesser-known movies like The Way Way Back and Blue Jasmine. If not, you're welcome to come help me with my home renovation project while we wait for something theater-worthy to arrive.

Photo courtesy of EW.com