The Butler has outperformed all of its rivals upon its first weekend, having been released on 16th August to much nodding from critics and $25 million (£15.9m) earned. The film showcases an all-star cast, who portray a period of dramatic social upheaval in America, set around the life of the not-entirely-fictional butler, Cecil Gaines (Forest Whitaker).

The Butler Whitehouse
A Shot From The Movie Showing The Kennedys Meeting The Whitehouse's Staff.

Gaines serves as a butler in the White House for 34 years and eight presidents and uses his unique position to witness important presidential discussions of national civil rights issues as the historical events play out. The movie charts such landmark events as Martin Luther King Jr.'s assassination, the Vietnam war, the Nixon resignation, Obama's presidential campaign and the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Gaines' character is based upon the life of Eugene Allen who worked in the White House from 1952 to 1986.

The Butler Whitaker Winfrey
Screen Shot Showing Forest Whitaker & Oprah Winfrey In Character.

The film attracted an unbelievable cast, including Forest Whitaker, Oprah Winfrey, Robin Williams, Alan Rickman, Jane Fonda, Live Shrieber and John Cusack. However, critics tussled with such a well-established band of actors and whether they detracted from the film's core values but it has been generally agreed that the star actors are more of a credit than a hindrance when viewing of the movie.

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Not only did the film shoot to No.1 on its first week of opening, it also beat action movie Kick-Ass 2 and Steve Jobs biopic Jobs to reign supreme over the weekend's box office. The Kick-Ass sequel barely did half of what The Butler brought in, being forced to contend with being fourth most popular film of the week (after We're The Millers and Elysium), and having earned $13.5 million (£8.6m). Jobs, failing to perform to the standards of the Ashton Kutcher movie's hype, was forced to settle with just $6.7 million (£4.3m) and disparaging reviews.

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The Butler, on the other hand, basked in the warmer glow of more favourable reviews with a promisingly sweet rating of 73% on Rotten Tomatoes. Intriguingly, fans have been found to connect more strongly with the film than critics have with reported packed out movie theatres across the USA. Slavery and black rights have become an issue several key films have grappled with in the past year, including Lincoln and Django Unchained, therefore the issue's exposure and persistent popularity may have helped score some points and rake in the cash over the first weekend.