Sunday, August 28, 2011

'The Help' tops weekend box office for a second time with $14.3 million

"The Help" topped the weekend box office for the second weekend in a row. The film, which stars Emma Stone, brought in an estimated $14.3 million, according to the Associated Press.

The weekend sum raised the movie's domestic total to $96.6 million and the film is expected to cross the $100 million mark on Tuesday.

Overall, box office business was sluggish as a result of many East Coast theaters closing in order to ride out hurricane Irene, which was downgraded from a hurricane to a tropical storm Sunday. Box offices totals are expected to be off by 15 to 20 percent, according to studio estimates, and about 1,000 theaters shut down for at least part of the weekend as a result of the storm.

One of the new releases for the weekend, "Colombiana" with Zoe Saldana, finished in second place with an estimated $10.3 million.

"Colombiana" stars Saldana as Cataleya, who witnesses her parents' murder in Bogota, Columbia and grows up to be a stone-cold assassin. She works as a professional hit man by day and at night, tracks down the mobster responsible for her parents' death, one vigilante murder at a time. Former "Alias" star Michael Vartan stars as Saldana's love interest, a sensitive painter.

Katie Holmes' horror film "Don't Be Afraid of the Dark," opened in third place with $8.7 million. The movie is a remake of the 1970s TV movie about a household terrorized by tiny, savage creatures. It was directed by Gillermo del Toro, best known for directing "Pan's Labyrinth." Del Toro is currently co-writing and producing a remake of "The Haunted Mansion," a film about the popular Disneyland attraction.

Four weeks after its release, "Rise of the Planet of The Apes" is still in the top five films at the box office. The blockbuster film starring James Franco brought in an estimated $8.65 million for the weekend to finish in fourth place.

The comedy "Our Idiot Brother," which featured familiar faces like Paul Rudd, Elizabeth Banks and Zooey Deschanel, debuted in fifth place with $6.6 million for the weekend.

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