On crowded weekend, expect ‘Kick-Ass 2’ to fight ‘Butler’ for No. 1

Can the onetime queen of daytime television rule the box office?

That will be the question at the multiplex this weekend as “The Butler,� which features Oprah Winfrey’s first major movie performance in 15 years, faces off against the R-rated action sequel “Kick-Ass 2.� According to those who have seen pre-release audience surveys, the two films will fight for No. 1, with each poised to gross between $20 million and $25 million.

Also hitting theaters this weekend is “Jobs,� the Steve Jobs biopic starring Ashton Kutcher as the late Apple co-founder. The movie is expected to launch with an underwhelming $10 million, but likely won’t fare as poorly as “Paranoia,� the Liam Hemsworth thriller that might debut with only $6 million.

“The Butler� had a long road to the big screen. After the Washington Post published a 2008 story about Eugene Allen, an 89-year-old who had worked at the White House as a butler for eight presidents, Sony became interested in making a movie about him.

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Two years later, however, the studio dropped the project, leaving Laura Ziskin -- the producer behind Sony’s first three “Spider-Man� films -- to raise money for the picture. But Ziskin was battling cancer, and before she succumbed to the illness in 2011 she begged BET co-founder Sheila Johnson to help make the movie a reality. Johnson went on to find over 30 individuals willing to contribute to the film’s $30-million budget, and the movie was acquired by The Weinstein Co. in 2012.

The film has received strong reviews, particularly for Forest Whitaker, who stars as the butler, and Oprah Winfrey, who plays his wife. The movie marks a return to film for Winfrey, as the media mogul has not taken on a major movie role since 1998’s “Beloved.�

Directed by Lee Daniels, “The Butler� is generating the most interest among older women. While Daniels’ critically acclaimed 2009 drama “Precious� -- produced by Winfrey -- was a modest box office success, his last release, “The Paperboy,� tanked. The movie made headlines last year for a scene involving Zac Efron, Nicole Kidman and urine, but didn’t even gross $1 million.

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Financed for just $28 million, the first “Kick-Ass� became a surprise success when it grossed $101 million worldwide in 2010. Though the film produced respectable box office returns and a cult fan following, Lionsgate declined an opportunity to distribute the second film in the U.S. and Canada. So Universal Pictures -- which released the original movie overseas -- acquired worldwide rights to the sequel for about $29 million last year.

Based on a comic book, “Kick-Ass 2� stars Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Chloe Moretz as teenagers who dress up in superhero garb and take to the streets to fight crime. According to tracking, the movie is so far proving most alluring to men over the age of 25.

Producer Matthew Vaughn -- who wrote and directed the original -- independently raised money to make “Kick-Ass 2,� which like the first film had a budget of $28 million. While reviewers loved “Kick-Ass,� they haven’t taken as kindly to the sequel, which critics say includes far more violence. In June, one of the sequel’s stars, Jim Carrey, took to Twitter to blast the graphic nature of the movie, saying he would not promote it come time of release.

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“I did Kick-Ass 2 a month b4 Sandy Hook and now in all good conscience I cannot support that level of violence,� he tweeted. “My apologies to others involve[d] with the film. I am not ashamed of it but recent events have caused a change in my heart.�

“Jobs� is the first of two films about the late Apple entrepreneur to hit theaters, the second of which is currently being penned by “A Few Good Men� and “Newsroom� writer Aaron Sorkin. Kutcher’s take on the businessman, meanwhile, has not been received kindly by critics: On Thursday morning, the movie had notched just a 29% fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Financed by Five Star Feature Films for $13.5 million, “Jobs� was acquired by Open Road Films before the Sundance Film Festival in January.

“Paranoia� stars Hemsworth as a tech marketing prodigy who is recruited to spy on a rival company run by an executive Harrison Ford. With even worse reviews than “Jobs,� the movie doesn’t mark a positive start to Hemsworth’s career as a leading man. While his older brother, Chris, had found success with the “Thor� franchise, the 23-year-old Liam has just begun to try to prove himself at the box office. Though he has a key role in “The Hunger Games� franchise, the younger Hemsworth’s only other big role came opposite his fiancee Miley Cyrus in the 2010 Nicholas Sparks adaptation “The Last Song.�

His latest movie is being distributed by Relativity Media, which acquired the $35-million production at the Cannes Film Festival in 2012.

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