The Butler

2013 | Biography, Drama, Politician, President, Priviledged Character, Summer

Synopsis

As Cecil Gaines serves eight presidents during his tenure as a butler at the White House, the civil rights movement, Vietnam, and other major events affect this man's life, family, and American society.

Scores

Overall Score
85.9
Popularity Percentile (Year)
85.3%
Box Office Percentile (Year)
93.3%
Review Aggregate
74.1

Critic Consensus

71.9% Fresh • 199 critic reviews

Critic reception is mixed, with 72% of 199 logged reviews marked Fresh. Across reviews, critics repeatedly emphasize historical, emotional, character-driven. Common reservations focus on execution consistency, even when reviewers praise standout elements.

historicalemotionalcharacter-drivenfamily-friendlypoliticalthought-provokingrealisticfunnyupliftingmacabre

Cast

CastYearReported SalaryInflation AdjustedNotes
Forest Whitaker2013$1,248,000$1,680,000(est)
Oprah Winfrey2013$768,000$1,034,000(est)
Mariah Carey2013$578,000$779,000(est)
John Cusack2013$473,000$637,000(est)
Jane Fonda2013$405,000$545,000(est)
Cuba Gooding Jr.2013$356,000$479,000(est)
Terrence Howard2013$320,000$430,000(est)
Lenny Kravitz2013$291,000$392,000(est)
James Marsden2013$268,000$361,000(est)
David Oyelowo2013$249,000$335,000(est)
Vanessa Redgrave2013$233,000$314,000(est)
Alan Rickman2013$219,000$295,000(est)
Liev Schreiber2013$207,000$279,000(est)
Robin Williams2013$197,000$265,000(est)
Clarence Williams III2013$187,000$252,000(est)

Aggregated Reviews

Rotten Tomatoes critic score72.0
RT critic review count199
Rotten Tomatoes audience score78.0
RT audience rating count50,000
IMDb rating7.2
IMDb votes122,479

Box Office ?

CategoryYearReportedInflation Adjusted
Domestic2013$116,632,095$157,027,846
International2013$60,681,700$81,698,924
Worldwide2013$177,313,795$238,726,770

Earnings / Profitability

Estimated net revenues and net expenses for films based on reported and estimated numbers. This income statement should be considered most viable for the first 24 months after the inital movie's release (ie after most lucrative pay windows).
CategoryYearReportedInflation Adjusted
Revenues
Theatrical Net Revenue2013$82,588,728$111,193,493
Digital Rentals ?2013$5,139,000$6,918,903
Digital Purchases ?2013$3,072,000$4,135,993
Physical Rentals ?2013$6,642,000$8,942,470
Physical Purchases ?2013$17,210,000$23,170,717
TV & Streaming Revenue2013$32,656,987$43,967,797
Total Revenues2013$147,308,714$198,329,372
Expenses
Budget ?2013$30,000,000$40,390,558
Print & Advertising (P&A) ?2013$36,926,000 (est)$49,715,391 (est)
Participations2013$11,785,000$15,866,758
Residuals ?2013$3,614,000$4,865,716
Interest & Overhead2013$5,100,000$6,866,395
Total Expenses2013$87,425,000$117,704,818
Movie Net Profit or Loss2013$59,883,714$80,624,554

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