'Apes' Rule Again at US Weekend B-O

AUG 15, 2011 - Rise of the Planet of the Apes fended off an onslaught of four new nationwide releases to top the weekend box office again. The Help won the debut dust-up, blind-siding a tepid Final Destination 5, while 30 Minutes or Less and Glee The 3D Concert Movie floundered.

Descending 50 percent, Rise of the Planet of the Apes collected an estimated US$27.5 million. Though steep, the sci-fi thriller's second weekend slide was less severe than Planet of the Apes (2001), I, Robot, G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra and X-Men: First Class, among comparable titles. With a US$104.9 million haul in 10 days, Rise is tracking ahead of fellow 20th Century Fox prequel/reboot X-Men: First Class (US$98 million) and has out-grossed most of its key comps through the same point.

In third place, death started to grip the Final Destination franchise, which saw one of its sequels open lower than its predecessors for the first time. Final Destination 5 drew an estimated US$18.4 million on close to 4,600 screens at 3,155 locations. Meanwhile, few believed in Glee: The 3D Concert Movie, which ranked 11th with an estimated US$5.7 million at 2,040 3D locations. That was far worse than even Jonas Brothers: The 3D Concert Experience (US$12.5 million) among comparable titles.

Cowboys & Aliens is in 6th place with US$7.6 million.

Here are the Top 5 North American B-O studio estimates for Aug 12 - 14, 2011 weekend, in terms of rank, (previous week ranking), Movie name (studio), Weekend takings in USD, (Cumulative gross, USD) and week on chart, courtesy of Boxofficemojo. (US$1=RM3)

1. (1) Rise of the Planet of the Apes (Fox) $27.5 million ($104.8 million) 2

2. (-) The Help (BV) $25.5 million ($35.3 million) 1

3. (-) Final Destination 5 (WB) $18.4 million ($18.4 million) 1

4. (2) The Smurfs (Sony) $13.5 million ($101.5 million) 3

5. (-) 30 Minutes or Less (Sony) $13.0 million ($13.0 million) 1