'The Help' is Tops for 3rd Weekend at US B-O

SEPT 5, 2011 - The Help stayed on top for the third weekend in a row, remaining the saving grace of a moribund close to Summer 2011. Down only two percent from last weekend, the drama earned an estimated US$14.2 million, lifting its total to US$118.6 million in 26 days. For the four-day Labor Day weekend, distributor Walt Disney Pictures projected The Help at US$18 million. The last movie to hold the top spot for three weekends was Inception.

Among the modest debuts, The Debt was the only remotely impressive one. Ranking second, the thriller collected an estimated US$9.7 million at 1,826 locations, or nearly three-quarters of The American on the same weekend last year, and has tallied $11.6 million since its Wednesday debut. Distributor Focus Features noted that The Debt played mostly to folks over 30 years old, and that the audience was near evenly split between genders.

The horror movies, Apollo 18 and Shark Night 3D, were just US$60,000 apart in their estimates, but both were bloodless.

Here are the Top 5 North American B-O studio estimates for Sept 2-4, 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) The Help (Buena Vista) $14.2 million ($118.6 million) 4

2. (-) The Debt (Focus Features) $9.7 million ($11.6 million) 1

3. (-) Apollo 18 (Weinstein/Dimension) $8.7 million ($8.7 million) 1

4. (-) Shark Night 3D (Relativity) $8.6 million ($8.6 million) 1

5. (4) Rise of Planet of the Apes (Fox) $7.8 million ($160 mil) 5