Thumbing its nose at the idea that adult-aimed, mid-budgeted dramas can’t find success at the box office, Hugh Jackman/Jake Gyllenhaal thriller Prisoners has launched well in the US, making $21.4 million in its first weekend.
The film shoved last week’s champ, horror Insidious - Chapter 2 down to second place, with James Wan’s latest making $14.5 million. That was ahead of Robert De Niro action comedy The Family in third with $7 million. Comedy drama Instructions Not Included continued to do well, adding more cinemas and surging to fourth place with $5.7 million despite having been in release for four weeks. There was no such good news for dance film Battle Of The Year, which launched in fifth place and could only manage $5 million.
**We’re The Millers was down one place to sixth and $4.6 million, while Lee Daniels’ The Butler fell to seventh with $4.3 million. Riddick sank to eighth place, making $3.6 million, while the week's new arrival, a 3D ‘toon based on The Wizard Of Oz, **never quite found the Yellow Brick Road to success, stumbling in at ninth with $3 million. In its defence the film did only launch in 318 cinemas… In 10th place we find Planes, which added $2.8 million.
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