It wasn’t The Help that needed any sort of assistance last weekend, but the likes of Conan the Barbarian, Spy Kids: All the Time in the World and Fright Night could have used some. The Help looks like The Blind Side all over again, but maybe not on the same scale since I don’t expect it to finish with $250 million in North America like the Sandra Bullock flick did.
So The Help took 1st place with $20 million and what makes the number all the more impressive is last week this movie made $26 million for 2nd place. In the year 2011 you don’t see movies opening wide and then falling just 23.1% the following weekend. Actually, this year only Bridesmaids, The Lincoln Lawyer and Limitless fell less in their 2nd weekend. So far The Help has made $73.9 million in 13 days and considering the weak upcoming releases, I wouldn’t be surprised if it comes up number 1 next weekend also. Based on how well it has done so far, I’m estimating that it will finish around $150 million in North America.
To my surprise, Rise of the Planet of the Apes was 2nd with $16.1 million. I say surprise because, while the numbers are ok, I wasn’t expecting them to be enough for 2nd place. Suffice to say, everything new underperformed so first come, first serve. Rise of the Planet of the Apes is at $135.2 million after 18 days, on track for $170-175 million.
In 3rd place we find Spy Kids: All the Time in the World with $11.6 million. Way back in 2001, Spy Kids opened with $26.5 million while the last one from 2003 made three times as much as this new one. Having cost only $27 million, it won’t lose money but I seriously doubt the people involved are happy with this numbers.
Conan the Barbarian is 4th with an abysmal $10 million. Unlike Spy Kids, this is a $90 million movie that should have made a lot more. I mean come on, Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Conan the Barbarian opened with $9.6 million more than 29 years ago. This is bad beyond anything Lionsgate could have imagined.
The Smurfs is 5th with $7.8 million for a smurfing total of $118.4 million in 25 days and still going strong. Fright Night was 6th with $7.7 million and while not as bad as Conan (only because it cost $30 million), this remake is just as humiliated by the 1985 original that opened with $6.1 million. Keep in mind, back in the 80′s, an opening weekend wasn’t as important to the success of a film as it is now.
The last new release, One Day starring Anne Hathaway and Jim Sturgess, came in 9th with $5 million.
For those curious, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 is now at $366.6 million, Captain America: The First Avenger is at $165.2 million while Transformers: Dark of the Moon is making one last push to $350 million.
