Box Office Update: Elysium Wins Battle, "Millers" Win War

Neill Blomkamp’s latest sci-fi film Elysium is the winner of a very crowded 3-day race at the weekend box office...While the adult comedy We're the Millers won the 5-day race with a very healthy total.

New family films "Percy Jackson And The Sea of Monsters" and Disney's Planes did not fare all that well thanks to the glut of choices out there.

Pamela McClintock of THR:

A jam-packed marquee resulted in decidedly mixed results for four new films jockeying for position at the North American box office.

Neill Blomkamp's Elysium -- the latest in a string of dystopian epics -- won the crowded race, even thought it opened lower than expected, taking in $30.5 million.

Sony and MRC had hoped the Matt Damon and Jodie Foster starrer would clear $35 million and match the $37.4 million debut of Blomkamp's breakout hit District 9, which opened in mid-August 2009. However, an overall B CinemaScore could have hurt word-of-mouth as the weekend got underway (it did receive an A- from moviegoers aged 18-24).

Blomkamp became an overnight sensation with District 9, although that movie cost $30 million to produce, while Sony paid $115 million for worldwide rights to Elysium, which was packaged, financed and produced by MRC (It's not clear what the exact budget was).

New Line's We're the Millers was arguably the big winner among the new offerings. Opening midweek, the R-rated comedy grossed $26.6 million for the three-day weekend to come in No. 2, and a hearty $38 million for the Wednesday-Sunday stretch.

Directed by Rawson Marshall Thurber, We're the Millers stars Jason Sudeikis, Jennifer Aniston, Emma Roberts and Will Poulter as a fake family who smuggle marijuana out of Mexico. Ed Helms also stars in the film, which benefited from an A- CinemaScore.

On Friday, it looked as if Disney's Cars spin-off Planes would break the recent animation curse and hit $30 million in its debut, but no such luck. Battling the continued glut of family product, both Planes and Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters suffered.

Planes, coming in No. 3 and earning an A- CinemaScore, opened to $22.5 million. The film cost a modest $50 million to produce -- far less than most animated studio films -- since it was originally intended for a direct-to-DVD release. Based on the strength of matinee business, box office observers originally believed the film would even hit $30 million.

Pixar did not produce Planes; rather, it was the brainchild of DisneyToon Studios, Disney's direct-to-DVD unit. Dane Cook leads the voice cast of Planes, playing the role of Dusty Crophopper, who dreams of being able to fly at high speeds.

Like We're the Millers, Fox 2000's Sea of Monsters also opened midweek, grossing a tepid $23.5 million for the Wednesday-Sunday stretch, including a weekend gross of $14.6 million. The sequel, costing a pricey $90 million to make thanks to a big special-effects budget, came in well behind the $38.7 million earned by the first Percy Jackson over the long President's Day weekend in 2010.

Based on the bestselling YA series by Rick Riordan, Sea of Monsters earned a B+ CinemaScore, same as the first film. Thor Freudenthal directed this time out, with Logan Lerman, Brandon T. Jackson and Alexandra Daddario return in the top roles.

Next Up: It's another crowded weekend as Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Chloë Grace Moretz, Christopher Mintz-Plasse return for "Kick-Ass 2";  Liam Hemsworth comes down with a case of Paranoia;  Ashton Kutcher stars as tech pioneer JOBS; And potential awards contender The Butler is at your service.