‘Riddick’ Dethrones ‘The Butler’ At The Box Office

Vin Diesel’s sci-fi romp Riddick managed to knock Lee Daniels’ The Butler from the top spot at the box office on Friday.

Although the acclaimed drama has managed to hang on to the number one position for three weekends in a row, the Fast and Furious 6 star’s latest adventure knocked the flick from first place. Diesel’s action movie generated around $7 million in receipts on opening day.

However, Deadline points out that Riddick probably won’t make a lot of money over the weekend. According to the website, this is typically one of the slowest weekends for movies. Analysts believe the sequel will only bring in around $17.5 million when all is said and done.

The Hollywood Reporter paints a somewhat more positive financial picture. Their estimates put the flick’s weekend total at approximately $20 million. Considering the movie carries a production budget of around $40 million, this shouldn’t be a huge disappointment.

Riddick also has the benefit of opening in 22 international markets this weekend. Since this genre tends to fare better overseas than it does in the US, Universal Pictures could walk away with quite a bit of cash from foreign territories. Diesel’s star power should held drive business as well.

Director David Twohy’s flick pretty much has the weekend to itself. While The Butler will likely continue its impressive run at the box office, Riddick is the only new release on the big screen. This is the End was re-released on Friday, though it probably won’t pose much of a threat.

Even if the movie doesn’t make a ton of money during its theatrical run, the sequel will probably do strong business on home video. Although Karl Urban’s Dredd failed to find an audience on the big screen, it later became a modest hit on Blu-ray and DVD.

Are you planning to catch Vin Diesel in Riddick this weekend?

[Image via Universal Pictures]