Three new releases were unable to unseat last weekend's winner.....Hurricane Irene caused all theaters on the East Coast to close on Saturday and majority of Sunday, therefore leading the box office into 2011's second-worst weekend (only ahead of Super Bowl Weekend) and down very considerably from last year...
The Help keeps on rockin' and rollin' as it tops the weekend for the second time in a row, easing 27% to $14.5 million and increasing its' tally to $96.8 million in 19 days. The film has become a huge success for DreamWorks and Disney (who released it through its' Touchstone label) as the flick will become the years' 22nd $100 million movie by the end of this week, or over four times its' relatively cheap $25 million budget. Look for it to have an excellent 4-Day Labor Day Weekend and go on to finish near $140 million.
Out of all the new releases, Colombiana was able to fare the best, but it was only able to match pre-release and analysts expectations with $10.4 million on its' debut, for a per-theater average of a mild $3,982. That was slightly higher than star Zoe Saldana's last action pic The Losers, which had a $9.4 million start, but the opening was just over one fourth of recent revenge pic Salt. The film did earn an A- CinemaScore grade, so the road may not be too bumpy ahead and the extended Labor Day Weekend may help it to at least approach its' $40 million budget stateside.
There was a tie for third place in estimates, but Rise of the Planet of the Apes was able to officially take the #3 spot when actuals were reported. The sci-fi action sleeper eased 45% to $8.9 million, and bringing its' total to a solid $148.7 million in 24 days. The reboot film crossed the $300 million mark worldwide this week, and has surpassed X-Men: First Class' final domestic tally.
Don't Be Afraid of the Dark stumbled out of the gate, with a fourth place debut and earning $8.5 million, for a per-theater average of an okay $3,089. That was a far cry from distributor FilmDistrict's last horror flick Insidious as well as most of this years' other major horror flicks, with Fright Night being the only flick its' a step ahead of. The good news is that the film was only produced for $25 million, which means the Guillermo Del Toro film might be able to break even when its' all said and done. But its' going to need a good hold over next frame's extended weekend as CinemaScore audiences gave it a distressing C- grade.
The other new nationwide release was lucky to get a Top 5 spot, as Paul Rudd's Our Idiot Brother met analysts expectations with $7 million, for a per-theater average of a dismal $2,744. That was far short of this years' other R-rated comedies, and despite decent reviews from critics, it suffered from the fact that it didn't get the respectful marketing and promotional push it deserved. The very good news is that it was just produced for a mediocre $5 million, and Brother will probably go on to become the most profitable of the new releases. But it won't see good legs as the CinemaScore grade was a disappointing C+.
Spy Kids: All The Time In The World didn't save face, dropping 48% to $6 million and finishing in sixth place for the weekend. The reboot has picked up $22 million in 10 days. The Smurfs followed suit in seventh with a better hold, easing 39% to $4.8 million and its' total is $125.9 million in one month of release. Look for both films to see similar numbers over the extended 4-day Labor Day Weekend, as family films tend to pick up business over extended holiday weekends.
With discouraging word-of-mouth, Conan The Barbarian crashed 68% in its' second weekend to eighth place, and earned $3.2 million, for an anemic $16.7 million tally in 10 days. Conan has also seen very disappointing results overseas, and will be lucky to earn north of $20 million stateside.
Steve Carell romance comedy Crazy, Stupid, Love. jumps up one spot to ninth place in its' fifth weekend and has the best hold of the Top 10, dropping 35% to $3.108 million and its' total is $69.7 million in one month of release. Look for a $75-$80 million finish. Fright Night rounded out the Top 10 with a 60% crash to $3.103 million and its' total is a dismal $14.3 million in 10 days, and like Conan, will probably end up with around $20 million.
Overall box office was down 20% from the same time last year when action thriller Takers and supernatural thriller The Last Exorcism were basically neck-and-neck for first place with solid grosses of $20.5 million and $20.4 million. Both films would go on to gross $57 million and $45 million by the end of their runs. The Expendables followed in third with a 44% drop to $9.5 million, while Eat Pray Love and The Other Guys rounded out the Top 5 with 44% and 38% drops to $6.8 million and $6.3 million. 20th Century Fox re-released the biggest blockbuster of all-time Avatar in a new special edition, which landed in eleventh place for the weekend with $4 million.
Here is the Final Top 10:
Rank Film Actual Gross Projected Estimate My Prediction
#1 The Help $14,536,118 $14,300,000 $14,500,000
#2 Colombiana $10,408,176 $10,300,000 $10,000,000
#3 Rise of the $8,867,741 $8,630,000 $8,500,000
Planet of the Apes
#4 Don't Be Afraid Of $8,525,728 $8,680,000 $11,800,000
The Dark
#5 Our Idiot Brother $7,011,631 $6,580,000 $6,300,000
#6 Spy Kids: All The $6,007,180 $5,727,000 $8,100,000
Time In The World
#7 The Smurfs $4,754,766 $4,800,000 $5,500,000
#8 Conan The Barbarian $3,185,094 $3,108,000 $4,000,000
#9 Crazy, Stupid, Love. $3,108,178 $2,905,000 ---
#10 Fright Night $3,103,227 $3,080,000 $3,100,000
