Box Office News: Hurricane Lowers Attendance, ‘The Help’ Still Tops

Printer-friendly versionE-mail page to friendPDF version

CHICAGO – Hurricane Irene caused some drops in the number of attendees out on the east coast this weekend, but “The Help” was still able to come in at number one at the box office, marking the second week in a row where the film led the pack. This is quite the accomplishment considering the film finished in second place in its debut weekend and came in as the front runner in its second and third weeks in the theaters.

The numbers don’t lie: This weekend was affected a great deal by the bad weather out east. While “The Help” was number one, it only brought in $14.3 million, making it the second lowest number one film at the box office in 2011, only ahead of the February 25-27 number one film, Hall Pass ($13.5 million).

Coming in at number two in the box office and number one in new releases was “Colombiana,” which still managed to land in eight figures with $10.3 million. “Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark” was able to rake in $8.7 million, good enough for third place, and “Our Idiot Brother” made $6.6 million, placing the comedy in fifth place.

“Rise of the Planet of the Apes” had another solid showing over the weekend with $8.65 million in its fourth weekend on the big screen, putting it just behind “Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark” in fourth place this past weekend. The $8.65 million raised the prequel film to a total box office of $148.5 million.

We’ll see what happens next weekend when the storms have cleared out and “The Help” attempts to become the first film to win the box office three weekends in a row in 2011. The film will have to beat out all the currently-showing films as well as the new releases of “Apollo 18” “The Debt” and “Shark Night 3D.”

1. The Help — $14.3 million – down 28% — $96.6 million total
2. Colombiana — $10.3 million — new
3. Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark — $8.69 million — new
4. Rise of the Planet of the Apes — $8.65 million – down 46% — $148.5 million total
5. Our Idiot Brother — $6.6 million — new
6. Spy Kids: All the Time in the World in 4D — $5.7 million – down 51% — $21.7 million total
7. The Smurfs — $4.8 million – down 39% — $126 million total
8. Conan the Barbarian — $3.1 million – down 69% — $16.6 million total
9. Fright Night — $3 million – down 61% — $14.2 million total
10. Crazy, Stupid, Love — $2.9 million – down 39% — $69.5 million total

By TIM MARTENS
Contributing Writer
HollywoodChicago.com