It was another slow weekend, as summer comes to a close....
The Help has become the first and only movie this year to top the box office three weekends in a row, as the period drama is benefiting from very strong word-of mouth. Having a slight uptick on the three-day weekend to $14.6 million, it earned $19.9 million over the four-day Labor Day Weekend for a strong $124.3 million tally in 26 days. With no real competition coming up, look for The Help to reach the $150 million mark domestically before its' all said and done.
The biggest new release of the weekend was adult drama The Debt, which earned second place with a solid $9.9 million on its' debut weekend and $12.9 million over the extended weekend (for a per-theater average for the three-day weekend was a good $5,427 from just 1,826 theaters). This is a much higher than analysts expectations. The Focus Features film opened on Wednesday and has grossed $14.8 million in six days. No budgeting information has been revealed, but the film recieved just a "B" CinemaScore grade, and although critical response was mostly positive, it doesn't look like it's going to hold very well in the future, as adult dramas rarely fare well at the box office, unless if they are leaning closer towards comedy, such as Bridesmaids and Bad Teacher.
As I expected, it is a close race between the other two new releases, as Apollo 18 and Shark Night 3-D were just $300,000 apart of each other in the three-day estimates, tallying $8.7 million (per-theater average of a dismal $2,614 for the three-day period from around 3,500 screens at 3,328 theaters) and $8.4 million (per-theater average of a poor $2,995 from around 4,200 screens at 2,806 theaters and 86% of business from 3-D showings), for four-day totals of $10.7 million and $10.1 million. For the three-day period, both films reached only the same heights that Don't Be Afraid of the Dark reached last weekend. Both are horror flicks, and they failed to connect with audiences, as the films earned mediocre D and C grades from CinemaScore audiences. In analyst terms, Apollo 18 was closer to expectations, and was produced for just $5 million by distributor The Weinstein Company (through Dimension Films), which means it will likely be very profitable. Shark Night was produced for around $30 million by distributor Relativity Media (through Rogue Pictures), who will likely see their fourth bomb out of five movies.
Rise of the Planet of the Apes held spectacularly in its' fifth weekend, sliding just 11% for the three-day weekend with $7.9 million, for a $10.3 million tally over the extended period (it actually was in fourth place for the extended period). The sci-fi action sleeper has earned $162.6 million in one month of release. Colombiana followed with a nice second weekend hold, down just 28% to $7.5 million and earned $9.6 million over the holiday weekend, bringing its' total to $24.1 million in 10 days.
Our Idiot Brother held well in its' second weekend despite the negative word-of-mouth, easing 22% to $5.5 million, and matching its' opening frame for the four-day period ($7 million). The Paul Rudd comedy has earned $17.3 million in 11 days. With families out in force, Spy Kids: All The Time In The World saw a slight uptick from last weekend, easing just 20% to $4.8 million, for a $6.8 million four-day weekend and upping its' total to $31.2 million in 18 days. Look for the series reboot to finish its' run near $45 million.
Don't Be Afraid of the Dark held much better than other horror films, easing 39% to $5.2 million over the three-day weekend and $6.4 million over the extended period. With $17.8 million in 11 days, look for a finish close to $30 million. The Smurfs rounded out the Top 10 in their sixth weekend, easing just 14% for the three-day weekend to $4.1 million, and has earned a total of $5.7 million in four days for a $133.7 million total in 38 days.
Overall box office from the four-day Labor Day holiday weekend was up 6% from last year when George Clooney thriller The American took the top spot with $16.7 million over four days and $19.8 million since its' Wednesday start. The film saw negative word-of-mouth and ended up with just $35.6 million. Robert Rodriguez horror spin-off Machete debuted in second with a decent $14.1 million over the same amount of time. The Danny Trejo flick would crash to a $26.6 million finish. Takers and The Last Exorcism further separated apart from each other in third and fourth, down 34% and 57% for the four-day with $13.5 million and $8.8 million. Justin Long romance comedy Going The Distance rounded out the Top 5, debuting with a poor $8.5 million over four days, and would end up with a disappointing $17.8 million.
Here Is The Final Top 10:
Place Movie Actual 3-Day/4-Day Gross Projected 3-Day/4-Day Estimates My 3-Day/4-Day Predictions
#1 The Help $14,594,623/$19,881,571 $14,500,000/$19,000,000 $9,500,000/$12,000,000
#2 The Debt $9,909,499/$12,851,600 $9,900,000/$12,551,000 $5,500,000/$7,000,000
#3 Apollo 18 $8,704,271/$10,705,556 $8,700,000/$10,700,000 $9,600,000/$11,800,000
#4 Rise of the Planet Of $7,915,295/$10,325,485 $7,900,000/$10,350,000 $5,700,000/$7,300,000
The Apes
#5 Shark Night 3-D $8,404,260/$10,126,458 $8,640,000/$10,300,000 $11,000,000/$13,500,000
#6 Colombiana $7,463,200/$9,570,213 $7,452,000/$9,460,000 $6,000,000/$7,500,000
#7 Our Idiot Brother $5,450,884/$7,038,249 $5,500,000/$7,000,000 $3,200,000/$4,300,000
#8 Spy Kids: All The $4,817,284/$6,801,885 $4,800,000/$6,608,000 $5,000,000/$7,000,000
Time In The World
#9 Don't Be Afraid Of $5,195,268/$6,382,227 $5,090,000/$6,185,000 $4,100,000/$5,300,000
The Dark
#10 The Smurfs $4,099,478/$5,724,093 $4,100,000/$5,600,000 $4,000,000/$5,500,000
