Box Office Update: Riddick Dethrones The Butler

After 3 weeks on top of the domestic box office--The star packed biopic The Butler finally falls of its perch--thanks to the return of Vin Diesel's anti-hero "Riddick".

Brit boy band One Direction's docu-concert film This Is Us falls hard.

Pamela McClintock of THR:

Vin Diesel's Riddick topped the domestic box office as the fall season got underway, grossing a solid $18.8 million

Prerelease tracking had suggested the male-fueled threequel would open north of $20 million, although Universal was more conservative in its estimate. The first film in the series, Pitch Black, opened to $11.6 million in February 2000, while The Chronicles of Riddick debuted to notably more in June 2004, earning $24.3 million in its debut.

Diesel now owns the rights to the Riddick character, an intergalactic ex-con who can see in the dark. Riddick was independently financed for $38 million, with Universal picking up U.S. distribution rights. The studio also released the first two films in the franchise.

In the latest outing, Riddick is left for dead on a hostile planet and grows ever stronger as he fights off his enemies. The movie also stars Jordi Molla, Matt Nable, Katee Sackhoff, Dave Bautista, Bokeem Woodbine, Raoul Trujillo, Nolan Gerard Funk and Karl Urban.

Riddick opens in 22 international markets this weekend, including the U.K. and Hong Kong.

Lee Daniels' The Butler continues to do strong business as it heads into its fourth outing, coming in No. 2 and grossing $8.9 million. The historical drama, released by The Weinstein Co. and starring Forest Whitaker and Oprah Winfrey, has now earned $91.9 million in North America.

New Line's R-rated comedy We're the Millers continued to chug along, coming in No. 3 with $7.9 million and pushing its total to $123.8 million.

Spanish-language film Instructions Not Included grossed $8.1 million as it expanded into more than 700 theaters. From Pantelion and Lionsgate, the comedy has now earned a strong $20.3 million.

At the specialty box office, Salinger opened to a solid $90,969 from four theaters in New York and Los Angeles for a location average of $22,742.

Next Up: After scaring up big box office with The Conjuring over the summer, director James Wan is back to continue what he started in "Insidious" with the aptly titled Insidious Chapter 2. Robert De Niro, Tommy Lee Jones, Michelle Pfeiffer star in the Luc Besson directed actioner The Family.