Box Office: 'Riddick' ends three-week reign of 'The Butler'

Credit: Universal

The Mortal Instruments couldn't do it. One Direction couldn't do it. But apparently, Vin Diesel could.

It's true, the three-week reign of Lee Daniels' The Butler has come to an end thanks to Riddick. The sci-fi action epic topped the domestic box office with a solid $18.7 million, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

Diesel, who now owns the rights to the Riddick character, got independent financing for the feature to the tune of $38 million, with Universal picking up U.S. distribution rights. The studio also released the first two films in the Riddick franchise, Pitch Black and The Chronicles of Riddick. This third film in the Riddick saga helped drive revenue up 24 percent from last year's post-Labor Day weekend.

"Face it, this is never a great weekend. I was hoping Riddick would get to $20 million, but this is a great result," said Nikki Rocco, Universal's head of distribution.

However, despite falling to second place for the first time, Lee Daniels' The Butler continues to do strong numbers heading into its fourth weekend, earning $8.9 million and bringing it closer to the $100 million mark in North America. The historical drama, starring Forest Whitaker and Oprah Winfrey, currently has a domestic gross of $91.9 million.

Another movie that remains strong is New Line's We're the Millers, which came in at No. 3 with $7.9 million and pushing its North American gross to $123.8 million.

Meanwhile, Spanish-language film Instructions Not Included continued to surprise, grossing $7.4 million as it expanded into more than 700 theaters. Currently sitting at fourth place, the comedy from Pantelion and Lionsgate has now earned a strong $20.3 million.

But not every film is keeping its numbers high. Last week's No. 2 box office contender, One Direction: This Is Us, fell to sixth place this week with a relatively weak gross of $4 million. However, this isn't that big of a shock, since concert films tend to do their best business in the first weekend before dropping off considerably in subsequent weeks. Indeed, the film's $23.9 million North American gross is nothing to ignore.

Check out the full top 10 below via Deadline / The Hollywood Reporter:

1. Riddick ($18.7 million)

2. Lee Daniels' The Butler ($8.9 million)

3. We're The Millers ($7.9 million)

4. Instructions Not Included ($7.4 million)

5. Planes ($4.1 million)

6. One Direction: This Is Us ($4 million)

7. Elysium ($3 million)

8. Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters ($2.3 million)

9. Blue Jasmine ($2.3 million)

10. The World's End ($2.2 million)