All of the good word of mouth (sans some critics) has helped The Butler take the number one spot at the box office, very likely dragging people out who don’t go to the movies. There’s Oprah in the best performance she’s ever given (doesn’t get enough credit for being such a good actress), ditto Forest Whitaker, not to mention David Oyelowo. So, is it a film that is going to get anywhere near the critics awards? Probably not. But it is a story worth telling and a movie worth seeing. Full stop.
Indiewire’s Anne Thompson also points out that The Butler is on track to earn The Help kind of money, aka $169 million. So that’s good news, especially since no one can complain about how the maids were portrayed in an insulting manner, nevermind that those maids were Viola Davis and Octavia Spencer. The Butler does not utilize the magical negro scenario in the least bit. So if it makes money from white ticket buyers? Well, that will be quite something.
Rolling Stone’s Gary Susman breaks it all down:
WINNER OF THE WEEK: Lee Daniels’ The Butler: Actually, there are a lot of winners associated with this one, starting with Harvey Weinstein, who milked a duplicate-title dispute with Warner Bros. for maximum publicity, resulting in his anointing director Lee Daniels as a household-name filmmaker. Then there’s Daniels; not only is he now a name-before-the-title brand name like Tyler Perry, but he also gets props for making a sweeping Civil Rights epic with an all-star cast for just $30 million, then having it open at No. 1 with an estimated $25.0 million on a summer weekend against three other new wide releases.
I don’t buy into the notion of only one slot for “a black movie,” one slot for a “sci-fi movie,” etc. I do think that “The Butler” isn’t strong enough to be included among the 5 to 10 nominees by year’s end.
C’mon, Ryan, the Republicans don’t have a monopoly on bad candidates. I dream of the day, though I know it’ll never arrive, that Nancy Pelosi’s seat became competitive and she’d have to debate. It would be more entertaining than any movie I’ve ever seen. I’d probably have my first sexual stimulation-free orgasm.
I tease, I tease.
I know, I know. And, you do it so well.
😛
That emoticon doesn’t look like it’s sticking out its tongue, as it was supposed to do. Dang newfangled technology! Everybody get off my lawn!
😆
still havent seen it yet but most people seem to say that forest whitaker was excellent and is a definite lock. they say oprah will probably get nominated but he def stole the show. i actually hope he wins though. who knows…could this be his year?
Who is saying this!?? Most reviews are saying Oprah is the best thing about the film. The field of Best Actor is too crowded. Forest Whitaker won’t even be nominated. And as far as his year!??? He had that with “The Last King of Scotland.”
i mean just my friends really. majority of people i know said oprah is just OK.good but not great. honestly at this point i dont care what critics think. im just going to judge for myself. i rarely agree with who ends up nominated these days anyway lol.
Superkk
Your friends are right. Forest is superb in this film.
Oprah the best thing? To me, the best two players besides Forrest Whitaker were Terrence Howard and Clarence Williams. Williams is rarely seen in movies these days and he’s one of the best actors out there. Howard brings spirit to his low-down role.
I’ve come across many comments so far that would bring 12 Years a Slave alongside The Butler in terms of, “The Butler could get nominated for this and this but probably not picture since 12 Years a Slave will be better.” That sort of mentality makes me think people don’t believe 2 films involving the plight of a minority are able, or worthy, of being nominated for best picture. I still need to see The Butler and I feel I know what I’ll think of it but I am open to the Oscar game. Only bring up, “The Butler may do this if 12 Years a Slave can’t do this, or Long Walk to Freedom sneaks in here…” if the nominees are down to those three. Otherwise treat them as separate movies.
However, doth thou knowest how many bricks I will shit if Whitaker, Ejiofor and Elba all get nominated for best actor? 3 of my favorite actors right there.
You’re forgetting what might the best of the bunch with Fruitvale Station.
I just noticed this movie has a 5.7 on that site because 17% of users gave the film a ONE. Now I haven’t seen the movie yet, but that seems mighty unsettling to me. Wonder what’s going on there. Is it simply racists downvoting a “black” movie?
“There’s Oprah in the best performance she’s ever given”
Really? Does The Color Purple not count anymore?? That was easily among the top 5 Best Movies of the 1980s and is among Spielberg’s best.
The box office comparison to The Help is premature, sort of unfair. The Butler’s is already successful and does not have to match the numbers of The Help….. box office float like The Help is rare, only happens once every year or so…. of course it is what every film maker dreams of….. audiences flocking to your film week after week because it is loved. Rare.
I don’t get this “she deserves a nomination but not a win”-thing. If you find a performance worthy of a nomination, you must think it is also a worthwhile winner, otherwise why would you want to see it nominated?
There are only FIVE spots out of hundreds of performances to choose from, so the idea that an actress can be a worthy nominees but an unworthy winner is puzzling to me.
Well, nominating people who don’t deserve to win is an essential step in the Academy’s process of accidentally awarding Oscars to nominees who should never have won.
It’s an American tradition to have undeserving individuals on our final ballots. How else would Republicans ever get to be Senators and Presidents?
[But don’t get me wrong. Oprah deserves to win Best Supporting Actress as much as any Best Supporting Actress of the past several years. If the nominees were Penélope Cruz, Melissa Leo, Anne Hathaway, Oprah and Rene Zellwegger, I’d be voting for Oprah.]
Well, the point is that the people who voted for those Republican candidates, probably felt that they were worthwhile candidates…(how you feel about them is irrelevant because you didn’t vote for them…).
Sure, a LOT of underserving performances have been nominees throughout the years, that’s the name of the game (just like several knuckleheads have been elected to the senate etc.).
What I tried to point out was how individuals (in this particular thread) can perceive of a candidate as nominations-worthy, yet at the same time perceive them as unworthy winners…? Why vote for them (or as an outsider to the process: hope they get nominated) in the first place…?
A nominee worthy performance is different than an Oscar win worthy performance. Its simple, a nominee worthy performance means they were good enough to get into the top 5. A win worthy is a performance where you go WOW thats the scene stealing and flashy type of performance that wins the Oscar.
With an A Cinascore expect this movie to bed I. The Boxoffice for a while. Very well done to everybody apart of this.
Just got back from The Butler and I have to say its a very solid movie. Forest Whitaker gives an oscar worthy performance. Oprah gives a nominee worthy performance, but does not deserve the win, believe me. I think it could get a Best Picture nomination, unless 12 Years A Slave is a masterpiece that just completely shuts it out. But yes, for those who are wondering, the film is Best picture nominee worthy.
If it’s 7+ nominees, I agree. If it were the old school five nominees only, I don’t think it would necessarily be in there.
I agree, if there were only five nominees it wouldnt make it. But 7 or 8+ it can make it. And I’m counting on 9 nominees again haha. They changed the rules, and we end up getting 9 every year. Might as well leave it at 10.
Got an unexpected day off, and decided to watch this. Surprisingly, the theater was almost full. Turned out to be much better than I thought since “Paperboy” was all over the place. Again, Oprah was good, but not great. I think if Daniels/Strong have written more powerful material for Oprah, she could’ve cemented her nom, and maybe a win. I wish the relationship between Gloria and Cecile were written with more depth. However, everything works between Cecile and Louis.
Can David Oyelowo be a double nominee come Oscar time (supporting for “The Butler” and best actor for “12 Years a Slave”)? He was very strong in “The Butler”, and his scenes with Whitaker are emotional and well-developed. Even I get a bit teary eyed at the end *sniff* *sniff*. I think the film was an unexpected surprise, a rebound of form for Daniels after the disastrous “The Paperboy”.
huh? might you be confusing David Oyelowo with Chiwetel Ejiofor? Make sure you keep an eye on future mega-star John Boyega
WOW, I feel soooo stupid. I guess not getting any sleep the previous night will do that to you….sorry guys!!!!
But I’m rooting for a nom for David Oyelowo because I think he went toe to toe with Whitaker. Boyega…will keep an eye on him too.
If I recall correctly, “The Help” didn’t open on a Friday. That’s another indication that “The Butler” won’t be as big.
“The Butler” is a classic example of a movie that’s good, but not great. As I wrote in another thread, the casting of the presidents was atrocious. What was Lee Daniels thinking? OTOH, when I heard the voices of Dinah Washington and Gladys Knight in the movie, it was refreshing that the songs weren’t the same-old biggest hits.
IMHO, Oprah is the only lock for a nomination. I don’t know about an actual win. She met the hype, but I don’t know if she exceeded it the way Cate (who will be in a different category) recently did. Mr. Whitaker is a fantastic actor; “Scotland,” however, remains his best. 50/50 for a nomination. I think writing and directing nominations are off the table, and BP may hinge on the ultimate size of the slots.
Agree with you 100%. I was expecting some knockout performance by Oprah and while it WAS great, I think there will be better out there in supporting roles. That doesn’t meant she won’t win…it is Oprah afterall. I just don’t think at this time it is a performance that earns any sort of ‘she’s the one to beat’ or something similar. I fully expect a nomination though and so far deservedly so.
I am guessing Oprah and yes, a best picture nominee but no director or anything else. Gonna be similar to Blind Side nominations. I DO, however, think that 12 Years a Slave is could get a lot of love. That’s based on trailers of course, but just think that is a movie to watch out for.
Bet your ass that if they go with an Oprah is overdue campaign (and they should!) everyone will eat it, and I include AMPAS members. I, for one, will not get outraged…It’ll be hilarious to see people treating her like acting royalty from until Oscar night 🙂
ugh
what if she doesn’t get the oscar? will she go to Larry King and claim the Academy is racist? well, I guess this time she might be right.
Saw it today. I thought it was good but was frustrated because I think it could have been so much better. The ‘cameos’ by the presidents just really didn’t need to be a bunch of ‘all stars’. I thought it took away from the film, similar to what Peter Travers said in his review.
This won’t be a huge award winner except for Oprah. I think Whitaker should get some love but that field is super crowded.
Historically, movies that do The Help-level business in Week 4 and Week 5 tend to have a lot of appeal to women. The Butler *may* be there, but Oprah’s audience has been fickle before. My prediction is that in 6 weeks when The Butler tops out around $120, we blame it on not enough female appeal/other adult films opening earlier.
I don’t understand Sasha’s “sans some critics” comment. It’s 72% “fresh” on the Tomatometer, so sans a majority of critics, it’s a good movie.
Don’t rely on Rotten Tomatoes. Metacritic is a better gauge and it’s only at 66 average with one perfect score, that one score also being the only one over 90.
Metacritic is a better gauge
Actually both websites are equally flawed.
Yup, I just tryst MC better.
Almost identical numbers for opening weekend as The Help’s August premiere.
Extraordinary thing about The Help is how steady it held with only a -25% drop-off in weeks 2 and 3 — and by the 5th week was still bringing in $25M (for the week)
The Help had the help of its built-in audience from the best-selling novel (just as The Butler attracts Oprah’s fans) so it might be hard to draw direct parallels until we see how word of mouth affects The Butler
Saw the 10am showing. Audience report: Applause at the end. Hankies out, a two hanky tearjerker. Loved the character of Gloria and Oprah brought realism to the performance….however….the makeup person did a poor job of “aging” her. Oprah in real life is 60 y.o. and she never aged over the 50 year period. She stayed the same. The only thing that changed was her wigs and dresses. Whitaker aged quite well. I’m just saying.
Underrated and always give a good performance: Terrence Howard. His personal problems aside, he’s quite the dynamic screen holder.
Now about the subject matter of race relations and race divide. As I walked out, it occurred to me – as will others — much progress has been made by Africans Americans worldwide, esp. when you consider there are more “wealthy” Blacks than at any time in history. And more educated blacks. But there are more impoverished blacks than at any time and there is where the great divide lies. Classism. It’s a dirty word and nobody wants to talk about it, but blacks are losing in the education and financial areas.
Maybe I should get cable TV… I didn’t even realize this movie was coming out this weekend. I was still trying to make time to see Spectacular Now and Prince Avalanche.
I’m not currently expecting it to hit as hard as The Help, when all’s said and done. The Help snuck up on the race (and on audiences, to an extent), as it didn’t have that initial prestige factor. The Butler has that in spades, perhaps even too much, which could impair its chances in the Oscar race.