The Butler (2013) 

 

Release date: August 16, 2013

Director: Lee Daniels

Writer(s): Danny Strong, Wil Haygood (article)

Starring: Forest Whitaker, Oprah Winfrey, David Oyelowo

Estimated budget: $30 million

U.S. Box office: $116,632,095

Foreign: $59,966,813

Worldwide: $176,598,908 

 

After leaving the South as a young man and finding employment at an elite hotel in Washington, D.C., Cecil Gaines (Forest Whitaker) gets the opportunity of a lifetime when he is hired as a butler at the White House. Over the course of three decades, Cecil has a front-row seat to history and the inner workings of the Oval Office. However, his commitment to his "First Family" leads to tension at home, alienating his wife (Oprah Winfrey) and causing conflict with his anti-establishment son.