Weekend Box Office for August 30 - September 1: One Direction is #1

Morgan Spurlock's concert documentary, One Direction: This is Us, was the weekend's biggest movie with $17 million, a better debut than similar films focused on the Jonas Brothers and Katy Perry but worse than those for Justin Bieber ($33 million), Hannah Montana ($31 million) and Michael Jackson ($23 million). It's also grossed more than every other Morgan Spurlock film combined, no surprise considering their very limited releases and less mainstream subject matter. The next best performing new film was Spanish-language comedy Instructions Not Included, which opened at fifth and managed to make $7.5 million in only 374 theaters. Higher-profile limited release Closed Circuit only made about $2.5 million in 870 theaters. Getaway crashed into ninth place with $4.5 million.

The Butler, We're the Millers, and Planes took the third, fourth and fifth places. They and Elysium all experienced very minor drops of about 10% or less. In America, Millers should become the summer's second most successful comedy following The Heat. Percy Jackson had a low 16% drop. Though it's sure to disappoint domestically, it's reached $54 million and $137 million worldwide. Other interesting worldwide benchmarks include Pacific Rim reaching $400 million (only $100 million coming from America) and Jurassic Park breaking $1 billion with help from its 3D rerelease. See how other movies performed here.

8/3 Update: One Direction actually topped the 3-day weekend with only $15.8 million, and is expected to come in second to The Butler's $20 million throughout the entire Labor Day weekend. It had a big Friday and steadily dropped throughout the weekend, which seems to have skewed analysts' projections. See the 4-day Labor Day weekend estimates here.

Weekend box office estimates for August 30 - September 1:

1. One Direction: This is Us; $17,000,000; opening weekend

2. Lee Daniels' The Butler; $14,742,000; $74,007,000 total; -10.7%; 3rd weekend

3. We're the Millers; $12,610,000; $109,565,000 total; -3.4%; 4th weekend

4. Planes; $7,756,000; $70,844,000 total; -9.6%; 4th weekend

5. Instructions Not Included; $7,500,000; opening weekend

6. Elysium; $6,300,000; $78,404,000 total; -9.0%; 4th weekend

7. The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones; $5,200,000; $22,654,000 total; -44.3%; 2nd weekend

8. The World's End; $4,759,000; $16,568,000 total; 2nd weekend

9. Getaway; $4,505,000; opening weekend

10. Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters; $4,425,000; $54,965,000 total; -16.1%; 4th weekend